Post-apocalyptic survival gameOnce Humanjust hit the gaming scene with a full release, and it’s been enjoying a hugely enthused fanbase. However, despite the incredible amount of acclaim the title is seeing from its fans, some concerns aboutOnce Humanhave stunted its reception on Steam and other platforms.
Once Humanis a free-to-playsurvival game, one set in a post-apocalyptic world with sci-fi and cosmic horror elements. It features all the base building, crafting, and co-op features that have become a mainstay of the genre—all with the twist of a mutant influence, an infection that has turned even non-living material into abominable monsters. The title is the development and publishing debut of Starry Studio, one of NetEase Games' newer teams.
Once Human’s Controversial Launch Is More Than Meets The Eye
Despite glowing praise from some avid fans,Once Humannonetheless suffers from middling reviews, mainly on Steam. The reasoning behind them stems not just from dissatisfaction, but the number of controversies that the title has already gotten into; these range from server issues all the way to accusations of a data-insecure EULA policy. Fortunately, in an era where video game scandals grow more outrageous by the day, Starry Studios has been able to show a level of transparency that’s mostly quelled fandom outrage.
Data Privacy in Once Human
Starry Studios has had to respond to allegations againstOnce Human’s third-party EULA, which many have described as being particularly egregious in the data it harvests. The EULA gives NetEase the ability to collect government ID, demographic information, IP address, and more. The developers have since stated that data such as government ID is only collected when necessary (such as if age information is changed) and is immediately deleted after use. Others have also noted that players only need to enter their government ID if they live in a country where it would be required, such as South Korea.
The conversation around what data iscollected byOnce Humanhas shifted somewhat to the EULA’s banality, with many taking the opinion that the text is merely a more explicit version of what most EULAs in gaming already request. Indeed,Once Humanisn’t a rare case in the slightest—and it could be suggested that the game has been subject to undue scrutiny. Nonetheless, considering how much of a problem data leaks have become in the games industry and beyond, the scene as a whole should be subject to tougher regulation around data protection.
Six Week Resets
That’s not to say all complaints surroundingOnce Human’s launch have been unfounded, though. For a more unique problem,Once Human’s seasonal resetshave confused even the most loyal of fans; Starry Studio’s plans to forcibly reset player progress back to level 1 every six weeks has been an anathema to the motivations of many.
Fortunately for fans, the development team have been incredibly receptive on this issue, making it known that blueprints and other resources will be carried over. They have also changed the game to ensure that players will not have to re-buy cosmetics, and fixed an issue where players would have to buy the same cosmetic for multiple characters. Still, a seasonal reset will sting some—and Starry Studios has stated that it’s willing to scrap the idea or create servers with more content inheritance.
Once Human Server and Crash Issues
Fans have noticed many instances where their server has crashed, a semi-frequent occurrence during this rocky launch period. This strain on servers is evident from the emergence of long queue times for thosetrying to get intoOnce Human, demonstrating a capacity that can’t keep pace with demand. In a recent Steam post, Starry Studios announced a roadmap that starts with a short-term increase in server capacity and will lead to an invitation code feature, helping players stay together when joining a server.
Once Human
WHERE TO PLAY
The apocalypse changed everything. Human, animal, plant… all are infested by an alien creature – Stardust. As a Meta-Human, you can survive the contamination and use the power of Stardust. Play alone or join others to fight, build and explore. When the world is in chaos, you are our last hope.You wake up in the middle of nowhere. You’ll have to brace yourself for the cruelty of nature (from monsters to lack of food); however, Stardust’s influence does not restrict to living things, it also affects the soil and water. Eating polluted food and drinking dirty water will reduce your Sanity. When your Sanity drops, your max HP would drop accordingly. To eat or not to eat, it’s a question.Battle numerous enemies that are once human, and challenge bosses from another dimension to gain powerful items and ease Stardust pollution. You are not only fighting for yourself, but also fighting for the survivors.
