Once Human Players Not Happy with Co-op Experience

Players of the survival game Once Human have expressed concerns about the current co-op experience, urging developers to address issues that make playing with friends challenging. Key among these Once Human concerns are progression loss and server issues, which players believe impact the overall quality of cooperative play.

Once Human, developed by Starry Studio, was released for PC on July 9. The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic open world where players can collaborate to gather resources and battle dangerous creatures. As with many new games, it had some bugs at launch, which the developers have been working to fix since its release. The July 18 Once Human update not only added new content but also addressed several issues. Super Armor is now active during Fortress Warfare, players no longer spawn underground during the tutorial, the game’s sensitivity range has been increased, and more.

Despite Once Human facing controversy at launch, the game seems to be doing well, as evidenced by its “Positive” Steam rating. However, a Reddit thread highlighted that players are experiencing difficulties linking up with friends. One user described their experience of having to recreate their character multiple times and join low-population servers to accommodate friends, only to face challenges in convincing them to start anew. For those unaware, server-jumping is particularly challenging because it results in losing all progress each time a player switches servers. The thread also highlighted that providing a positive experience for friends is crucial for a game’s continued relevance and growth.

Other players have shared similar experiences in the comments, such as being unable to join their friends’ servers due to messages indicating server overload, even when the servers appeared to have low populations. While Starry Studio has not yet addressed these concerns directly, it is worth noting that the developers have already implemented several measures to improve the game. For example, just days after launch, Once Human announced that over 400 accounts had been banned for cheating, with penalties of up to 10 years.

Given that the game is still in its early stages, players can hope for resolutions in upcoming updates. Additionally, Once Human developers have revealed that a significant update is planned for September 2024. This update will introduce several changes and new content, including a new PvP gameplay scenario featuring conflicts between major factions, and a fresh PvE scenario set in a northern mountain region.