How to Play the Once Human Beta

Once Human is an online multiplayer open-world survival game set in a strange post-apocalypse. It’s not what fans of the end-of-the-world aesthetic will know and love because everything has been turned upside down. While not complicated, it feels like playing the beta is just as strange.

Open-world survival games can be incredibly exciting, especially when, like DayZ, they combine MMO elements with something altogether stranger and unique. Once Human manages to do this incredibly well, with crazy horrors popping through anomalies around the world, leaving people with screens for faces or school buses that walk on six arms for players to deal with. The game’s beta is free to play for anyone who gains access, but getting into the beta can be tricky.

Related: How to Fix the Once Human Network Anomaly Error

How Do You Get Into the Once Human Beta?

To play the Once Human Beta, fans need to visit the game’s official website and complete the questionnaire there by clicking the button to “Sign up for the Beta”. This will open the questionnaire, in which users provide their email addresses.

However, access to the Once Human Beta isn’t guaranteed. Developer Starry Studio initially allowed all users to download the game’s launcher and have access. However, after the expected 20,000 players all entered the beta, the capacity was increased to 50,000 people.

Everyone who has not already been given access to the Once Human Beta must wait for a code to be sent to them. This code will give them access to download the launcher and get into the beta. Codes are sent out every Friday, 3,000 at a time. There’s no way to get one without using the application form and this fair distribution method. We reached out as press and were told even the press are subject to the same rules.

Once Human vs. The Day Before

Once Human’s popularity saw a massive increase after the release and subsequent failure of The Day Before. Both are MMOs set in open worlds and Once Human has many of the mechanics that Fntastic said The Day Before would include.

However, since The Day Before launched on December 7, 2023, players have been requesting refunds and moving to Once Human for the experience they desire. We haven’t played The Day Before at the time of writing, and given that the game is no longer for sale, it’s unlikely we’ll ever be able to make a fair comparison.

Based on the conversations we’ve had on the Once Human Discord server, we believe that Once Human is a better game than The Day Before. It seems to offer more crafting and survival elements, and the strange anomalies keep players on their toes at all times. The game has plenty of PvP potential mixed in with the PvE elements, but it’s a lot fairer than The Day Before’s choke points with players camping out to kill those attempting to extract.