About Once Human
I downloaded Once Human on a whim, expecting just another post-apocalyptic shooter to kill time. What I got instead was a game that completely sucked me in. From the moment my character woke up in that overgrown, eerie landscape, I was hooked. It’s a survival game, sure, but it’s wrapped in this weird, almost supernatural mystery that makes gathering resources and building a base feel like part of a bigger, personal story. I’ve spent more late nights than I’d like to admit just poking around abandoned buildings, always wondering what I’ll find next.
Features & Highlights
The world-building here is the real star. I remember the first time I stumbled into a “Deviant” zone—the music shifted, the lighting got weird, and these twisted creatures started crawling out of the woodwork. It was terrifying in the best way. The building system is also a standout for me. It’s not just about slapping down four walls; I built a multi-story treehouse fortress in a polluted forest, which felt incredibly rewarding. The weapon crafting is deep too—I spent an afternoon farming specific monster parts just to build a custom shotgun that fires electrified rounds, and it was totally worth the grind.
User Experience
Let’s talk about the good and the janky. On my iPhone 13, the game runs beautifully on medium settings. The touch controls are customizable and, after some tweaking, felt intuitive for combat and building. However, the UI can be overwhelming. The first time I opened my inventory and saw all the crafting menus, I had to watch a YouTube tutorial to make sense of it. Playing solo is tense and atmospheric, but teaming up with two friends to take down a world boss was an absolute blast—chaotic, scream-laughing fun. My biggest gripe is the stamina drain when running; in such a huge map, it sometimes feels like I’m spending more time walking than fighting or exploring.
Pricing
The game is free to download and play, which is impressive for this level of polish. You can absolutely experience the entire core story and survival loop without spending a dime. The cash shop sells mostly cosmetics for your character and your base, along with some convenience items like extra storage or XP boosters. I bought a cool-looking jacket for my character because I wanted to support the devs, but I never felt strong-armed into it. It’s a very fair free-to-play model.
Updates & Support
Since its global launch, the developers at Exptional Global have been rolling out patches every couple of weeks. They’ve fixed some annoying bugs I encountered early on, like a quest item not spawning. They also just added a new region with a swamp biome, which my friends and I are currently getting lost in. I had one issue with a login error and used the in-app support ticket system. I got a generic auto-reply first, but a real person followed up with a fix within 48 hours, which is decent.
Security & Privacy
I downloaded the app directly from the official Google Play Store. The game requires a fair number of permissions, including network access for multiplayer and storage for saving game data. Their privacy policy states they collect gameplay data for analytics and to prevent cheating, which is standard. I do get served some video ads for other games, but only when I choose to watch one for a small reward (like a crafting speed-up). It’s not intrusive. I haven’t noticed any shady data usage spikes on my phone since installing it.