In a year of big survival games, Once Human managed to stand out as one of the major winners of 2024, alongside stalwarts such as Rust and Valheim, and fellow newcomer Palworld. With a striking sci-fi setup helping it shine from among the crowd, the free Steam game found itself with hundreds of thousands of players. That number was recently reinvigorated, with a big jump up the Valve charts following the introduction of permanent servers, the 1.5 update, and the launch of the game's mobile version. Now, with Once Human patch notes 1.6.1., developer Starry Studio has unleashed its next scenario and two new ways to play, including a "brutally competitive" PvP spin-off.
Starry describes battle royale games into the mix with much stricter restrictions. Everyone begins on equal footing, with no supplies, blueprints, or mods carried over, meaning you'll need to find all your weapons and equipment on site. Dedicated gear, skill trees, abilities, and mechanics have been introduced specific to this mode to encourage competitive, skill-based play.
"Nowhere is safe" in Raidzone, Starry explains. Territory structures can be destroyed by other players, and you're still vulnerable to attacks when offline. Team up with other players and you can fortify your base with defenses and traps, or coordinate to raid rival settlements. Alongside you is Ursula, your Deviation companion, who grows in power as you gather Realm Fragments. At full strength, you can order her to summon the Manibus, delivering immense damage to an area and tearing open a dimensional Hollow – but doing so will destabilize the realm, so consider its use with care.
The Visional Wheel has rotated, bringing in the free Steam game's new Starfall Inversion season. This is set to run until late September, and can be played on the Manibus, Evolution's Call, Prismverse's Clash, and Way of Winter scenarios. For half of each day (9am to 9pm server time), gravitational tides will create an effect called Stellar Levity that enables higher jumps, longer airtime, no fall damage, and a dramatic increase to your load capacity. These changes also apply to vehicles, and you'll be able to deliver deadly plunge attacks while floating by pressing your melee key.
Of course, you'll also be able to find new gear and equipment. The Gravity Tide set allows you to further improve your jump height and applies additional bonuses while airborne such as damage boosts and a reduction to your damage taken as you equip more pieces. Complementing that is the Downstar mod that boosts your stats while attacking enemies below you. Finally, an Anti-Gravity Foundation construction component allows you to build structures that float in midair.
Last but certainly not least is the new scenario. In Endless Dream, Nalcott Island is swarmed by nightmares, turning large areas of the map into 'Dream Zones' – corrupted regions that you'll have a limited time to explore, clear out, and restore to normality. If enough are cleansed, Starry teases that we may uncover the origin of the calamity, although notes that doing so will take a collective effort from the entire playerbase to achieve. Endless Dream also grants access to the entire map right from the start.
Once Human update 1.6.1 is being launched today, Wednesday May 21, introducing Raidzone early access, the Endless Dream scenario, and the new Starfall Inversion Visional Wheel. You can play for free on Steam. Check through the full patch notes courtesy of Starry Studio for all the details, balance adjustments, and bug fixes, including handy adjustments to improve the visibilty of buildable areas in construction mode.
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