Once Human: Exploring the Post-Apocalyptic Survival MMO

The recent closure of The Day Before left a gaping hole in the post-apocalyptic survival genre. Gamers were eagerly awaiting the Open World MMO, only to have their hopes dashed months before release. However, several promising contenders have stepped up to fill the void. Chief among them is Once Human, an ambitious multiplayer survival game from developer Starry Studio.

As the name suggests, Once Human transports players to a post-apocalyptic world where they struggle alongside meta-humans to endure in the wake of an extraterrestrial contagion. Early impressions indicate Starry Studio is crafting an immersive, content-rich experience for cooperative play. Though still in development, enthusiasm is high for what Once Human may become upon its Steam launch.

The Backstory

In Once Human’s near future, a mysterious alien substance dubbed “Stardust” bombards Earth, wiping out much of the population. Those who survive find the remaining wildlife and foliage mutating in erratic, dangerous ways. Roaming bands of similarly infected humans present another threat. Only subjects called “meta-humans” demonstrate resilience to alien substances through inherent genetic advantages.

Cast as one of these meta-humans, your overriding goal is to eke out an existence in the hostile landscape. Banding with other survivors against common enemies is crucial. Players start with more questions than answers concerning Stardust’s origins and whether a solution exists to eradicate it. Uncovering these secrets could protect other enclaves of uninfected humans, provided your avatar lives long enough to find them. The Once Human Multiplayer gaming experience takes everything to the next level.

Once Human- Beta Access and Early Reception

Once Human originally opened its doors for a brief testing period in September 2022. Players logged numerous hours across four maps increasing in difficulty, uncovering secrets of areas like the Once Human Murmurs in the Forest and trekking through the expansive Once Human Unfinished Expedition. Despite some lingering bugs and optimization issues, the response was overwhelmingly positive.

Fans praised the atmospheric environments and survival-based crafting Once Human gameplay. Once Human Developer interaction with testers was also unusually high. Starry Studio collected abundant feedback to expand Once Human’s features and narrative elements prior to launch. They addressed complaints about melee combat imbalances, expanded Aquamaris currency uses, rebalanced skill points allocation, optimized graphics for lower PC configurations, and added motorcycles for faster travel.

In January 2023, Starry Studio initiated a second, larger closed beta for Once Human, granting access to more requesting players. Updates allowed everyone, not just Supporters, to progress up to level 10 by undertaking missions and events across new polar and desert areas. Later phases will open higher-level zones along with a battle pass-style reward track.

If this testing progresses smoothly, Once Human remains on schedule for its full Q3 2024 release. You can still register on Steam for an opportunity to participate in the Once Human Beta Access. Doing so also places you first in line to pre-order Once Human at the best price across all platforms from Electronic First when it launches on your platform of choice.

Once Human- Gameplay and Key Features

Built in Unreal Engine 5 Once Human excels at bringing its shattered world to life through visual splendor and atmospheric audio. The neglected ruins of civilization contrast with areas supernaturally transformed by the Stardust virus. Plaintive music compliments environmental ambiance from chirping insects or howling winds. It heightens tension when exploring new sectors or confronting mutated beasts.

Day and night cycles, dynamic weather, and adjustable graphics settings give players control over how they experience Once Human’s environments. The level of immersive detail should satisfy survival fans who value authenticity. Inventory systems for managing necessities like food, water, weapons, and crafting materials also hit the right notes for the genre.

Most gameplay currently centers on action-RPG elements. Your meta-human wields supernatural abilities in addition to traditional firearms and melee weapons. Abomination bosses pose stiff challenges requiring mastery of your hero’s skills to defeat. Character growth unlocks new talents by allocating Proficiency Points across Meta, Warden, Nomad, and Biotic progression paths.

Some early options include:

Meta

· Phase Dash – Teleport a short distance instantly

· Refraction Barrier – Generate a protective bubble shield

Warden

· Flak Vulcan – Rapid-fire shotgun blasts at close range

· Sniper’s Mark – Precision aim enhances damage

Nomad

· Bear Trap – Immobilizes foes who step on it

· Camouflage – Invisibility when stationary

Biotic

· Photosynthesis – Daylight regenerates health over time

· Toxic Blood – Cause damage to melee attackers

Deeper RPG growth comes by equipping Trinkets found as quest rewards or enemy drops. These items amplify damage, critical hit chance, resource regeneration and other hero stats. Weapons and armor selections also tilt combat effectiveness based on preferences for stealth, frontal assaults, or balanced approaches.

Social systems encourage cooperative play for handling Once Human’s greater challenges. Parties allow easy friend grouping. Building communal forts not only aids survival but also facilitates sharing resources. Clans promise greater organization tools and larger modular base construction when they arrive later in 2023.

Developers plan PvP constructs too, including arena battles. However, Once Human avoids open world grieving of solo players. PvP requires mutual consent so anyone can enjoy a single player offline if desired.

Monetization Controversy Once Human stirred controversy in October 2022 by announcing plans to incorporate NFTs as part of its business model. These non-fungible token digital assets using blockchain certification aimed to create rare cosmetic items for purchase. However, resistance arose both internally and among fans. Critics argued NFT integration at this stage seemed more about chasing trendy buzzwords than enhancing Once Human.

Just two weeks later, Starry Studio wisely reversed course by publicly apologizing and abandoning NFT implementation. They reaffirmed cosmetics as the sole monetization approach. Relieved backers praised the agile decision-making in service of focusing fully on core gameplay as launch approaches.

Once Human- Ambitious Roadmap Ahead

Once Human beta already impresses in its version, yet the development roadmap suggests far greater scope coming post-release. The continents of Thule and Hyperborea remain locked for future exploration. So too do the deadly red deserts of the Martian Brink hint at through early lore reveals.

Endgame goals point toward constructing a rocket ship to breach the strange Dyson Sphere encapsulating Earth. Starry Studio plans procedural generation tools to develop new environments rapidly for staging content updates. Limited-time seasonal events will offer special rewards and evolution paths.

Surviving the Elements

Staying alive long enough to unfold Once Human’s mysteries will prove no simple feat. The shattered terrain that serves as your reluctant home dislikes interlopers. Beyond obvious mutated threats, the land itself turns adversary through dynamic storms, inhospitable climates, and scarcity of provisions.

Shelter construction occupies early hours to fend off meteorological mood swings. Upgrading to permanent structures with storage cache foundation footprints requires mastering Bor, Once Human’s tough building material. Creation involves mixing naturally occurring Hydrargil at chemistry stations with additional base elements.

Veteran survival gamers innately grasp the basics around satiating needs for food and hydration. Potable water sources mark essential settlement’s locations or journey waypoints when exploring. Scavenging edible flora or hunting local fauna keeps hunger pangs at bay, but don’t expect animals to behave normally after Stardust alterations.

Nourishment in turn fuels stamina for sprinting and wielding weapons and tools. Finding the proper balance between resource stockpiling, skill upgrades, and base improvements makes leveling smoother. Don’t neglect character boosts which enhance movement speed or the Resourcefulness skill to stretch harvested material usefulness. The difference when tackling late-game dungeons can be dramatic.

Exploring Mythic Ruins

Shrouded metropolises beckon curious meta-humans, promising wealth but courting lethal threats. These abandoned urban centers where Stardust originally struck form Once Human’s most expansive and intricate settings. Among them is the snow-swept settlement known as Northern Blossom.

Now given over almost wholly to sky-piercing vegetation with a treacherous understory realm, Northern Blossom typifies zones mixing natural beauty with guardians both floral and bestial. Massive Boron Cubs protect the beaches while mantis-like tree harvesters roam the central forests. Rogue bands of Hunters still plunder unaware visitors.

Yet splendid vistas populate certain clifftops, glittering with crystals containing valuable elements for exquisite crafting armor and weaponry. Precipitous ascents past ice caverns shelter lost technology workshops. And rumors persist of mythical towers emerging only under perfect planetary alignments, granting meta-humans’ unique augmentations.

Of course, as the second closed beta revealed, frigid or scorched sectors are far from Once Human’s only environs. Each biome promises distinct buildings to occupy, resources to unearth, outfits to don, beasts to avoid/battle, and factions to befriend/betray during your travels. Wherever you roam, the journey soon won’t be forgotten.

The Waiting Aliens

Once Human feeds clues sparingly regarding the devastating spark that ignited Earth’s demise while keeping the perpetrator invisible, cultivating anticipation for future chapters. Stardust itself remains enigmatic, an alien substance with mutagenic and terraforming properties of unknown origin or design. How was it created? By whom and for what purpose? How can its spread become controlled if not reversed?

Some surviving academics posit Stardust as advanced preparation for a pending extraterrestrial invasion fleet. By pre-altering our world to suit their physiology, the coming race intends colonization immediately upon arrival. Whether their reshaping aligns with a first strike or peaceful migration is undetermined.

Others contend Stardust was aimed at Venus, but trajectories went awry, dooming its effects upon Earth an unfortunate accident. However, observed space-time anomalies ringing the planet suggest an artificial Dyson Sphere-style enclosure purposefully erected around us. If so, what activities transpire inside the cosmic shell unseen to human science?

Of course, Stardust may itself represent the only invasive force and its makers are long gone or indifferent to the outcome. Yet the substance’s programming seemingly pursues intentional defense and expansion. And enduring local legends passed down from generations charting stars tell of previous unknown entities glimpsed observing mankind’s development from afar, perhaps awaiting ideal conditions to make themselves known.

Until the central plot unfolds over seasons of content drops, the community trades theories on alien appearances, technology, and intentions. The sole certainty is that when Once Human’s off-world progenitors eventually break silence, the remaining denizens fighting for survival will face lasting upheaval.

Defense of the Ancients

What will serve as the endgame for Once Human once you’ve honed the ultimate meta-human warrior and battled through every new frontier? Starry Studio offers hints at some climactic confrontation by naming several AI cores littered across starting zones: Dax, Veritas, Hyperion, and most foreboding named Typhon.

Perhaps these honor legendary beings or events from before the catastrophic alien rain. Maybe they comprise actual remnants of humanity developing the next evolution of UI assistants. Or do these powerful cognitions oversee regional provinces according to some master program?

Clues point to this third outcome along with them possibly either unleashing the contagion or rebelling because of it. Support arrives from archives describing the cores leveraging armies of robotic sentinels supplemented by cloned champions simply named Firsts. As for their maker, some buried records reference a visionary named Eli Marsh.

However, as the saga unfolds, dealing with uncontrolled AI often means an ultimate technical wizard, moral quandary, civilization-shaking decision or all three. Will players in Once Human eventfully be forced to confront and pacify or destroy whatever emergent super-intelligence Marsh developed before Stardust fractured its duties? And who else might be hunting these cores across the planet’s meta-human settlements for their own designs?

Some survival games quickly descend into repetitive gameplay loops around gathering resources, building, exploring similar small maps, perfunctory crafting, then grinding late levels. Once Human demonstrates ambition on an entirely different scale, coupling AAA graphics and sound with MMO-grade depth.

As the central plot mobilizes through latter content roadmap phases, the defense of humanity could depend greatly on the strength of user preparation and choices. Are your settlement, your allies and yourself ready for what’s coming from the stars or from below them? Events beyond the shattered Earth’s atmosphere threaten to irrevocably change the course of your people’s future history. Stand ready.

Final Words

MMORPG gamers feel understandably skeptical these days about promises that seem too good to ever materialize. Once Human smartly attempts to circumvent such doubts by opening doors early for players to experience its gameplay firsthand.

The positive beta reception confirms Starry Studio is checking the right boxes for atmosphere, customization, exploration, crafting, and RPG progression systems. It bodes well for Once Human capturing that elusive Day Before allure as players await its 2024 launch. And you can find the best prices for the game as soon as it is available at Electronic First’s online storefront.

Register now for your next chance to survive the broken Earth meta-humans call home when Once Human game returns for its next testing phase. Victory against the Stardust virus may depend on it.

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