Once Human Review – Not The Meta

If you visit the Steam page for Starry Studio’s Once Human, it tells you this is an open-world survival action game. There are MMO elements, but also some bits of horror and base-building (the 3D Platformer tag is probably a troll, so ignore that). It outlines the post-apocalyptic setting, where a mysterious substance called Stardust has infected every living creature. Still, it doesn’t tell you that you glide Breath of the Wild-style on a dark raven or summon a motorcycle to get around while listening to The Beach House by Space Doves.

Sometimes, you discover depressing notes from the old world, including one about the child who seemingly starved to death after his father ran off with all the food and his brother hasn’t returned in days. A key NPC, who reminds me of Zero from Drakengard, will bring up how most of your kind have been wiped out.

"The lore and overall state of the world are interesting, but the actual narrative, especially some of the writing, could use much more work."

Then it’s back to an outpost brimming with players of your ilk, some dressed in Catwoman-like outfits. It’s also pertinent to note that I spent the first two hours of the game looking for pants, eventually settling on crafting my own. I also have a crimson butterfly (not that one), which can fight by my side and deal massive damage. There are other “minions” like this that exist in the world, offering benefits like mining, scavenging, and even serving as turrets.

Once Human is a low-key trip, and I don’t hate it. In some ways, you can sit back and chill through its various machinations, whether building your base, cooking food or casually hunting for materials. This isn’t to say it’s exceptional or stands out from your typical survival crafting sandbox, but there is some intangible appeal that keeps me coming back.

As noted before, humanity is pretty much dust…or, more accurately, Stardust. They haven’t died, instead mutating into horrible creatures. It doesn’t concern the player at first, who awakens, post-admittedly-detailed-character-creation, in a ruined lab. After rendezvousing with V (not that one either), you learn more about the catastrophe and what the Deviants are. You’re a Meta-Human, created by the organization Rosetta to fight against the Stardust after meeting with Mitsuko, the first of your lot, in an alternate dimension (after exploring some Control-inspired environments). It’s probably less all over the place than I’m describing.

However, the pacing is fairly quick, teaching you the fundamentals of setting up a camp and hand-crafting weapons before engaging in battle with Stardust-infused terrors. I found it interesting how one of the more significant lore details – that it was Rosetta opening the door to cosmic horror-esque Great Old Ones, which ultimately led to the Stardust infestation – is revealed through an optional question. The lore and overall state of the world are interesting, but the actual narrative, especially some of the writing, could use much more work.

"There’s this feeling that Once Human wants to fast-track several of the more time-consuming aspects, which I can appreciate."

Not that any of this matters when you’re out in the real world. After laying claim to a territory and establishing your base, it’s time to tackle the various Monuments around the map, defeating the Great Old Ones within. Base-building follows the same cycle seen in ARK: Survival Evolved and Palworld. Earn enough XP to level up, and you can unlock various recipes (known as Memetics), ranging from furniture and higher-tier material crafting to ammo and weapons.

The crafting requirements for weapons and armor can feel hefty when starting, especially when it requires multiple items (which must be crafted separately from different materials). Surprisingly, this doesn’t feel all that grindy after some exploration, though you need better and rarer materials as the tiers expand.

However, I’m not a fan of the blueprint fragment system. Unlocking and discovering blueprints is fine, but searching for this many fragments by opening chests to fuse them into a singular blueprint is boring. Nothing killed the excitement for me like discovering a higher-rarity blueprint, only to see that it’s a fragment. While a long-term grind is understandable since you get loot drops from exploration, the requirements could be dialed down (especially when fragments are also required to enhance blueprints).

In terms of survival, there’s the whole Sanity mechanic, which can affect you when drinking contaminated water or food. It never really felt like a problem due to the abundance of cooked meats and boiled water, though (and the meters don’t drain all that quickly). There are other things to deal with, from infections and even gastric troubles, each requiring different treatments, so it’s more nuanced than your average survival crafting action RPG. Nevertheless, there’s this feeling that Once Human wants to fast-track several of the more time-consuming aspects, which I can appreciate.

"Combat is thankfully on point – shooting and movement feel responsive, with a decent range of weaponry to unlock (the bow turned out to be a favorite with its satisfying headshots)."

Unfortunately, the base building could use some further refinement. The free camera to zoom out and construct my property is appreciated, but the snapping leaves something to be desired. It can be finicky when placing walls or ceilings, and I’d appreciate some deformation tools much earlier on to even out the terrain jutting through the floor.

When venturing out to gather materials, you encounter multiple points of interest, like abandoned hospitals, farms, estates and the Monoliths, which are more like forts to assail. I can appreciate the difference in structures, though many objectives boil down to finding a Rift Anchor (necessary for unlocking the Monolith), opening weapon/armor crates or the Mysterious Chests, which contain blueprint fragments, and killing enemies. As much “turn your brain off” as this can be, it gets dull after a point, though some random events and puzzles out in the world do occasionally spice things up.

Combat is thankfully on point – shooting and movement feel responsive, with a decent range of weaponry to unlock (the bow turned out to be a favorite with its satisfying headshots). Even the melee combat isn’t half bad – initiating melee strikes even with a different weapon equipped allows for quick reactions.

You can even opt for a stealth approach thanks to a “backstab” option, which consists of loudly chopping or bashing an enemy multiple times. After downing some enemies, you can use their parts as weapons against them. The head of a Searchlight fiend, for example, can be used to scorch enemies. It’s also possible to levitate explosive barrels and toss them into a crowd to clear out multiple targets, though this could be far less snappy than I wanted.

"Overall, Once Human still elicits a mixed reaction. It’s not bad – there are far worse survival crafting games with less enjoyable gameplay loops and more grinding."

Enemy AI could use some further tuning, though. Some bigger enemies will pose a threat, but the regular mobs will stand around, waiting to die. At least some can use firearms, making them a viable threat at range. Boss battles are better and at least have some mechanics to them, even if they’re not that deep.

Visually, Once Human looks decent and scales well, depending on your requirements. While the aesthetic can be a mixed bag at times, the mix of surreal and realistic environments works for the most part. The soundtrack is standard fare outside of the radio playlists (whose existence I’m still trying to wrap my head around), and the voice acting is serviceable. I couldn’t recall any noteworthy performances through any of this, but the actors try their best.

Overall, Once Human still elicits a mixed reaction. It’s not bad – there are far worse survival crafting games with less enjoyable gameplay loops and more grinding. The mashing of multiple different titles and genres, from looter shooters to horror and MMOs, is easy to get lost in, despite the wild tonal shifts (society is essentially screwed, but also, giant fluffy cat pet).

That feeling of mimicking other, superior games is present, like with The First Descendant, but at least the lore and cosmic horror aspects have something to them. For now, it could use more original ideas, revamp its blueprint system, better story-telling, etc. alongside more features and quality-of-life changes.

This game was reviewed on PC.