Love the game itself. Every Hero gets a significant amount of lore, their interactions make the game pretty immersive, and NetEase is generally pretty good about listening to community feedback and pushing out Hot Fixes and Bug Patches. New heroes are released really frequently, but with each new hero introduced, balance typically tends to suffer for a while.

They use EOMM for their matchmaking, making their competitive mode infuriating as their algorithm sets you up for failure by intentionally pairing you with players on losing streaks / generally subpar performance. This means their algorithm prioritizes player retention rather than fairness.

Players can be extremely toxic and overly sexual / inappropriate, so I don't recommend using VC or engaging with other players in any capacity. Better to just turn your chat off and get used to pinging and being situationally aware. Rage baiters and incels galore, NetEase seems to cater to the gooners without admitting it. If you're an adult, like me, you'll love the content, lol. But Parents beware, this game isn't nearly as kid friendly as they claim for many many reasons. If I was a parent, I most definitely would not let my child play this game. Usernames are often foul and their filters are nonexistent for the most part, putting the burden of responsibility on the player to go into settings and block specific words. You'll definitely get paired up with names like "Luna's Feet Pics" and "Gargle My Balls" in every match lol. Child predators are ridiculously common and there really doesn't seem to be anything protecting minors from in-game content until after the fact. They put 95% of the burden on the players to do the mod team's job for them. No pre-emptive attempts to filter out certain words and content used in usernames, even in the digital age of AI.

I don't recommend joining or participating in their Discord server. People are generally nasty, aggressive, and confrontational. You'll get banned simply for disagreeing with someone or engaging in a debate after being rage baited. The moderators will draw conclusions and put words in your mouth to justify their decision without telling you anything about why you were banned and they're always without warning and permanent. In order to appeal, you have to be in the server which makes no sense if you were banned and can't access it lol. You have to jump through hoops via someone else who's still in the server in order to get the link to appeal, and even then your appeal will get rejected regardless, showing a clear bias in their mod team even when you tell them to take away your message posting privileges as a last ditch compromise to still be able to access their announcement channels, events, hotfixes and patch notes, community feedback, and community events. If you join, don't engage with anyone. They single out anyone with a differing opinion and punish you for it, it seems. Feels like Trump's America in there, I swear.

All in all, the game is great, but their competetive matchmaking algorithm leaves something to be desired. You'll get paired up with the most brain dead players 50 levels below you and be punished for their stupidity. Ranks are calculated by team, not individual performance. You can earn currency to buy outfits just by playing/participating in events/leveling up heroes, etc. which is awesome.

Wouldn't recommend joining their Discord. Just get your patch notes and announcements via Steam or their website. Not worth the risk of your reputation being ruined because of some kiddie diddler with a grudge.

UPDATE: i'm in 500 hours deep now after a significant hiatus and I came back to a game I can binge again no matter what mood i'm in. This game seriously has it all, and some people might say they're 'going through an identity crisis' but I couldn't disagree more... Once Human is evolving. Certain systems I mentioned below over 400 hours ago have been simplified and make the game much more enjoyable. The devs are also really good at enforcing fair play, punishing cheaters or exploiters, and generally taking play feedback really seriously. I once left a suggestion for ladders to be implemented in territory building for PVP towers and I came back to the game last month to find my suggestion was actively listened to and implemented. I'm so giddy about this game again.

Additionally, they have added more affordable options for cosmetics via their Super Direct Buy Value deals. The Discord store is also fire. Tons of events and ways to win free stuff just by playing the game :)

ORIGINAL:
Game is kinda convoluted in terms of how many layers upon layers upon layers of information / upgrades that are available to you, so expect to need to google a lot of things for help, but all in all this is a very fun Open World PvE/PvP game with several rotating scenarios to choose from, especially if PvP isn't your thing and you'd rather be immersed in a storyline akin to Outer Worlds/Skyrim mechanics.

Your character level and stats reset at the end of every season which typically lasts a month-2 months or so, I believe, but you're able to transfer a certain amount of items from your backpack to take with you into the next scenario, which is helpful especially if you have spent a fair amount of time grinding for the more rare materials. (Honestly a lot of the in-game UI can be very confusing so mostly I just have a fun time completing objectives for the particular scenario and building my base/territory). Whether you prefer the Sims experience of full creative freedom to design your own home or you would rather venture off and fight NPCs, earn cool loot, craft to your heart's content, or merely hack and slash your way through an apocalyptic wasteland, this game is sure to have something that appeals to you.

Lots of in-game opportunities to spend real money, and I feel like their pricing is a bit stiff, even for a free to play game (see: Marvel Rivals and similar FTP games that offer cosmetics and the like. but those games' in game currency is relatively affordable compared to Once Human, I do have to disclaim that. If you want to get a cosmetic pack to upgrade skins and such for weapons and housing, each bundle is about 50$. They also offer loot crates that unfortunately have a godawful drop rate, so I don't reccommend spending too much on those unless you're naturally really REALLY lucky. You'll just keep getting duplicates of the same garbage which converts into a measly amount of pity currency. You have to spend like 20$ to be guaranteed a legendary drop.) However, there are still plenty of opportunities to earn different forms of currency in game and it's definitely possible to have fun playing it without spending money, but beware if you're as easily tempted as I am for all the amazing outfits they have available for purchase / gambling.

I could go more into depth about your journey as a Mayfly or a member of Rosetta, but if you're wondering whether or not this game is for you, I suggest you at least give it a try. You don't have to spend any money to see if you like the actual gameplay. What you do after that point is between you and your wallet.

A cute little single frame b&w seek-and-find that challenges your focus and has some cute effects for the grand total of 10-30 minutes you will spend playing it. Adorable and a good break from sweaty killers on DBD.

After almost 3k hours, I have to say that the state of the game is worse than it's ever been. I play 50/50 killer and survivor and here's what you can expect:

Survivor:
- 5 - 10 minute lobby queue times only to experience the following:
- Getting slugged and bled out 50% - 75% of the time. Meaning you rarely get to actually play the match in any serious capacity. The game will get taken hostage and you'll spend minutes bleeding out while the killer stands over you and waits for the rest of your team to bleed out so they can mori. This is considered by BHVR to be a 'gameplay choice' and is not reportable, despite there literally being an option to report someone for taking the game hostage.
- Getting unhooked only to be immediately downed again while the killer completely ignores everyone else on your team trying to help/distract/take chase off of you.
- Being left to go into phase two by incompetent teammates in solo queue.
- Being Tbagged while you're bleeding out by arrogant killers who get some kind of crazy ego boost from this game (voted most likely to be an actual serial killer outside of the game)
- Seeing killers run the same perks repeatedly and having your aura revealed consistently so the killer knows where you are a majority of the game while at the same time nerfing the only perk that helped you combat that in any serious capacity. (see: distortion and how it used to be versus how it is now.)
- Being targeted by the killer because of your username or character chosen.
- Being hit on hook repeatedly if you're able to loop the killer or pallet them/stun/save a teammate even a single time.
- Taking 0 - 1 hooks and doing the objectives/helping teammates just to remain the last survivor left and get instantly mori'd while the killer makes sure you're aware that the hatch escape was merely inches away.


Killer:
- Prepare to be matched with people way out of your skill range / league. the MMR is a joke. They hide survivor's levels/prestiges from you now until the end of the match so you won't dodge the match by realizing you're outranked. They set you up for failure here if you aren't as experienced.
- Prepare to be teabagged and trolled with flashlights (not necessarily blinded, but trolled with flashes by cocky survivors who think/know they're better than you.)
- Above survivor experience has caused many groups of 4 friends to behave like 'bully squads', anticipating a sweaty, skill lacking killer (and who can blame them for expecting that? it's the state of the game.) They will all run flashbang, blastmine, a flashlight, toolbox, and boon that allows them to pick themselves up endlessly until you find it, forcing you to slug because they refuse to let you get a single hook, knowing they can just get back up.
- Being teabagged by cocky survivors who will then DC the moment you outsmart them. (Note: they programmed bots to teabag as well, proving that BHVR encourages the behavior and considers it non-toxic.)
- Resorting to being a 'friendly killer' just for the sake of getting a challenge done.
- Survivors killing themselves on the first hook because they've completely lost any semblance of hope for a balanced game, even if you aren't playing sweaty by slugging or tunneling, their own egos/experience tell them the match isn't worth it. When survs kill themselves, you ultimately get less bloodpoints due to lack of chase/gen hits etc. (Again, because of the current state of the game, the above is to be expected way more frequently than BHVR wants to admit. It's become a serious problem over the last year but again, I can't really blame those who 'go next' with the current state of things.)
- Three generators being completed at the same time within the first 2-3 minutes of the match while chasing a survivor. You will get zoned and unable to apply sufficient gen pressure without the right perks, again leading most killers to run the same perks over and over again which gets boring on both sides very fast.

Both:
- The toxicity of the community is abhorent on both sides. Killers and survivors alike are generally mean spirited and can/will hide on anon to say hateful things in end game chat. There still has yet to be an option to disable end game chat altogether for PC players. Console players are not given the option to chat.
- An incompetent moderation team who will respond to any serious reports of poor sportsmanship by saying "we don't consider this a reportable offense worth taking action) when there's literally a category to report someone for called "Unsportsmanlike" described as: "Refusing to participate in normal gameplay" yet BHVR refuses to define this for us because they know it would justify a majority of reports and they don't want to lose $$$$ for punishing those responsible for playing to the detriment of the game and its elements.
- Rubberbanding and poor ping even with a stable ethernet connection and VPN.
- Servers to unexpectedly crash in the middle of your game, so even if you completed your challenge? Too bad. Do it again.
- Being penalized with a "Matchmaking ban" if you decide to DC for any of the aforementioned reasons instead of addressing the issue that caused you to DC, even though survs who DC are replaced with bots and it doesn't affect the status of the match, unlike if a killer DCs; the match just ends abruptly.
- No in-game stats, but you're more than welcome to sell them more of your information if you want to see how poorly you did this year! 8)

The pros:
- in game currency can be earned from playing/leveling up your devotion which means you can buy CERTAIN cosmetics and characters (non-licensed) for iri shards versus auric cells, though it does take a while for these to accrue. So, it's possible to customize your character/unlock new characters without spending actual money.
- limited game modes rotate cyclically, though they aren't permanent despite high demand.
- new content fairly frequently including maps, cosmetics, and killer/survivor duos.
- That's about it sadly.

Ultimately: don't waste your money or time on this game until serious changes are made. It didn't always used to be this way. At whichever point I decide to waste more of my life giving this game another chance, I will update this review to reflect those QOL changes. That remains to be seen with the incompetence and willing ignorance of the dev team. Hopefully dwindling online player numbers will open their eyes, as they've been on a somewhat steady decline since July 2024, but who knows whether they even care so long as people will pay for new content only to be disappointed by the actual gameplay itself.

(Again, I am posting this review as someone who is consistently both Iri 1 (highest season rank) killer AND survivor.)