Its a great hospital, by the way.
Spotlight-headed phantasma shamble about corridors reminiscent ofThe Division 2orThe Last Of Ussnaturalia.
Striking, but also within easy reach of comparisons.
I jump off my motorbike and interact with it.
My character pats the robots head, after which it disappears.
The boss itself is a giant idiot, a lumpen mass of tissue and metal.
Travelling around after the boss, I encounter a giant six-legged bus that shimmers with phantasmagorical light.
I… god, Im so sorry.
I… think you should play this game?
I need to make that clear.
Dont play it if youve got literally anything else on, either.
The first few hours are a certifiable shite saga.
kick off the function wheel, then select Cradle to enter the Memetic screen.
bring up the Memetic screens and unlock the Disassembly Bench under the Gathering throw in.
Open my skull with a large can opener.
Getting my first gun involves a crafting pipeline obnoxious enough to inspire eco-saboteurs.
Im given a map marker then sprint for three solid minutes to get there.
Shoot one (1) zombie.
Teleport back to my territory.
I start working my way up the crafting tree to build a shotgun.
At one point, I need to craft 30 or so charcoal from wood.
It takes 30 seconds.
Itll take two minutes.
Suppose I better tap on some rocks, then.
But you like clicking on rocks, says Once Human, or you wouldnt be here.
Ive been known to enjoy a pickaxe in my time, sure.
But theres something distinctly bolted-on about the survival and crafting here.
And yet…
Players can leave little buds with messages on for each other.
I find one early that reads Welcome to the unknown.
We love it here.
But I keep playing and exploring the world, dotted with level-suggestions and mini-dungeons and friendly outposts.
Eventually, I start noticing things.
Painted murals of cartoon bears in the ruins of bedrooms.
Scuttling purple oddities wearing hazard containment tarpaulin like kids dressed as halloween ghosts.
Corpses stuck in place by a sort of amber-hued bile.
I start to learn what my favourite activities are.
Poaching deer on my neighbours lands with an SMG.
Shoulder barging zombies with one of a handful of really quite gratifying melee animations that elevate otherwise weightless combat.
Driving around on my bike scouting out new weird creatures.
One is a scarecrow.
Theres some real artistry locked behind this cage.
Sometimes, games are all about finding our own personal happy place within their many systems.
I often did this while I was waiting for items to craft.
The little robot was for mining ore, by the way, so it might help.
