Once Human

First of all, only play the steam version.
Never confirm or give out your email address.
Block Webview Helper and render.exe in your firewall, which is a strange browser built into the game, only ONCE_HUMAN.exe is allowed. Everything works fine like this.

I recommend that you do not link or tell anything about your social media.
Only buy through steam if you want to support the game, which is completely free. You can only buy cosmetic improvements, which is good.

From the beginning, the game is engaging and addictive.
There is plenty to do and best of all, you can do everything in any order you want.
I would say that the game is one of the most beautiful games I have ever played in its genre.
Amazingly similar to the original The Secret World.
The monsters and zombies are very similar and the general atmosphere too. The puzzles were harder in TSW.
Both have similar built-in browsers, think about it.

The game runs well at 3840x2160 resolution with best settings+ 60fbs on my configuration which is: 64GB, AMD RX 6950 XT and AMD 5800X3D.

Finally, I would like less childish pokemon style gameplay elements and a full map for Manibus.
Personally, I only recommend permanent servers.
I just don't feel like starting everything over again in a slightly different environment.

Game is really fun, but the grind after grind with resets will wear some people down very fast. After doing it enough, I've become burned out on the whole "rinse and repeat" process. A lot of folks I know love the game though, so all in all, worth a try at least.

Old guy gamer here...
This game is a chill use of old guy gaming time. That's all some people need to know.
p.s. ( feels like a little bit of division mixed with destiny and not overtly pay to enjoy)

Once Human Review – A Game That Lost Its Identity and Future
When Once Human launched in 2024, it felt genuinely fresh within the survival/zombie genre. Its dark atmosphere, intriguing lore, and intuitive base building systems made it easy to overlook its rough edges, especially as a FTP title. Sadly, instead of improving over time, the game has steadily declined.
The biggest problem is a complete loss of identity. Once Human no longer knows what it wants to be. What began as a grounded post-apocalyptic survival experience has slowly turned into a confused blend of Rust-style grind, Pokémon-like mechanics, and anime-inspired fantasy aesthetics. Seasonal updates frequently erase player progression, while major gameplay and lore changes are introduced without meaningful player consultation.
Progression itself feels hollow. Endgame activities often reward the same low-tier loot found in early zones. Deviations, mods, and builds rely heavily on RNG, regularly punishing players for time investment and skill. In many cases, difficult content offers worse rewards than random, low effort encounters, making advancement feel pointless.
Technical and design issues further drag the experience down. Long standing bugs remain unresolved, specialization systems are unbalanced or outright broken, and even basic mechanics such as item stacking or combat with enemies in water are inexplicably flawed. The vendor system encourages item scalping, while the refusal to implement an auction house actively damages the ingame economy.
The game also demands excessive grind and constant rebuilding, making it hostile to casual players. For many, the Christmas update was the final straw, as it drastically altered the game’s lore and core combat systems, undermining what once made Once Human unique and enjoyable.
Pros
+Strong original lore and atmosphere (early content)
+Intuitive and satisfying base building
+Interesting concept with massive unrealized potential
Cons
-No meaningful sense of progression
-Heavy RNG with minimal player agency
-Identity crisis and tonal inconsistency
-Persistent bugs and broken systems
-FOMO-driven design and frequent progression wipes
-Developers consistently ignore player feedback
Why I’m Still Leaving a Positive Review
Im leaving a positive review solely because I have over 6k hours in Once Human. At its core, especially early on this game delivered something genuinely special, and for a long time it was worth my time. Those hours weren’t wasted, they were earned back when the game respected its own identity, atmosphere, and systems.

Summary: Great game for loot hoarders and base builders. It however contains predatory money practises. example: you see an outfit bundle worth 3380 of premium currency but the only top up options are 2280 and 3880, this means you have to buy more top up than you actually wanted to. unfortunatly this is echo'd throughout the store and its not the only predatory practise either. if you are a publisher reading this? cut that stuff out..it will only prevent new people joining the game.

Once Human really is a great game. When it first launched, and through that first year, I would have called it top-tier and a must-play. Even now, I still recommend it, but I can’t give it a full 5/5 anymore. For me, it sits at a 4/5.

A lot of that comes down to the direction of the patches. The devs keep changing things that were not the problem, nerfing certain weapons, gutting the original mod and build identity that made progression fun, and generally making everyone weaker. They have also continued simplifying gameplay by removing or flattening mechanics that added depth, like Calibration and the old resource progression through metals such as tin and aluminum. It feels like they keep adding training wheels to a game that was already easy enough.

That said, there is still a lot here that is genuinely impressive, and honestly, some of it should be studied by other developers. First, this game is free. Second, it is a cross-platform open-world MMO with real co-op brilliance. That part deserves real praise. Being able to jump into a huge, beautiful world with friends across platforms, build together, explore together, grind together, and actually function as a team through Hives and Warbands is something a lot of studios still fail to deliver well. Once Human does. That alone makes it stand out.

The world is visually stunning, there are hours upon hours of exploration, and the gameplay loop is still fun enough to keep pulling me back in. The Scenario system is also a cool idea on paper. Scenarios last 4 to 8 weeks, and once one ends, you can stay, but the general idea is to carry your progress and mods into a new one. It gives the game a seasonal MMO structure that can be really engaging when the content is fresh.

And I have to put extra emphasis on this part, because it matters so much in modern gaming: Once Human is not pay-to-win. That is one of the best things about it, and frankly, more developers need to be paying attention. You do not get strong by swiping a card. You get strong by playing, learning the systems, grinding, experimenting, and understanding how the game works. That should be the standard across the industry, and Once Human deserves real credit for that.

The downside is that while they have avoided pay-to-win, they absolutely lean hard into overpriced cosmetics. Most of the better outfits seem geared toward female characters, which is fine, but I would not mind getting a strong male outfit once in a while that does not look like it belongs in a futuristic crop-top catalog.

My bigger issue, though, is content. For all the polish, style, and potential this game has, it feels like they have not delivered enough truly new and engaging content. No real standout new Scenarios, same map, recycled ideas like the current Vision Wheel feeling like a mashup of previous ones, and one of the most fun modifiers we had, the low-gravity event we lovingly called “Jumpy Time,” got removed. That kind of thing hurts.

So yes, Once Human is still a great game. It is beautiful, genuinely fun, impressively cross-platform, refreshingly not pay-to-win, and still worth playing. But it also feels like a game that had all the momentum in the world, then started sanding down the very systems that made it special instead of expanding on them. I want to keep it at 5 stars, I really do, but until they stop simplifying what did not need simplifying and start delivering stronger new content, I can’t. 4/5. Still worth your time, just not untouchable anymore.

This game hits all the right notes, and it's a surprise it works so well. It pulls elements from survival games, looter-shooters, and even unique titles like Palworld and horror MMOs like Secret World. I'm sure I'm missing some others, too.
Considering it's asking price of 0,- it's absolutely great. Ubisoft would've published it for 79,99 despite having that online-shop nonetheless (and also adding convenience-items).
What is great
Exploration is rewarding.
The scenery is beautiful.
Quests, monsters, and locations are incredibly creative—and by that, I mean totally bonkers.
The community is friendly.
It has a hint/comment feature similar to the Souls series.
Loot remains useful even in the endgame, making it a hoarder's dream (or lovely nightmare).
It's genuinely free-to-play, with no essential content locked behind a paywall. The world is vast and full of events and features that won't cost a cent. I have not even found convenience-items to buy.
The game is highly optimized and runs great on PC, and while it works equally well on mobile, it never feels like a mobile game on a computer.
Building is simple and easy, and you can relocate your entire base with a single keypress. Yet, it's complex enough to allow for creativity and variety.
Quality of life (QoL) is excellent. You're rarely punished for mistakes; you only lose a few items upon death if you fail to revive yourself, and you can easily pick them back up.
The story and quests are mostly voiced and well-translated, especially for a game that I believe is Chinese in origin.
Newbie guidance is strong, with a clear questline, a dedicated guide section, and an "AI" assistant that answers game-related questions.
The Sci-Fi Horror theme is a unique selling point, and some scenes can be genuinely scary for timid players.
What is decent
Shooting and hit feedback are just okay—not excellent like Destiny or great like Borderlands.
It feels a bit too easy, which is coming from a player who's having bad skills.
The story is mediocre, but I didn't expect much.
The in-game shop is a mess. The prices are outrageously high for cosmetic items, which doesn't encourage players to support the developers. Paying $30 for a mediocre dress or $99 for a flashy outfit is more expensive than buying real-life clothes. The predatory currency conversion is also frustrating—you need a calculator to figure out what anything costs. While it's completely ignorable, it gives a bad impression. Even Diablo IV has fairer prices, and that's saying something. The mixed pricing, with the battle pass having a clear price, makes it even more confusing.
I miss some more story around bosses (so far, haven't seen everything). You go in, either solo or grouped, directly fight a boss with simple mechanics, loot, rinse-repeat or leave. A boss-clear in <1 Minute. Chain-able.
What is not so great
There are bugs here and there, but nothing major or frequent.
The game has overly convoluted currencies, events, and a confusing UI. There's a lot to do, but it's hard to find anything.
As the shop offers cosmetics, you're surely not drowning in (visual!) options when building. I have wood and stone in one color. There might be free options somewhere, but I haven't found them yet.