Xbox is getting one of the best Steam games from 2024 — and it's free

One of my favorite games from 2024 is finally making its way over to Xbox. A game so weird that nobody really knew what it was. Just that you could play with your friends and shoot stuff.

That game is Once Human, a game that I eventually put down after around 100 hours, just because I’m one of those gamers with the attention span of a worm. Games that managed to hook me for that long are, to say the least, probably worth it for others to try.

The best part about Once Human is that it’s free, but I know what you’re thinking, “Oh, Mike. Nobody wants to play a F2P MMO-esque game that’s free. It’s probably Pay-2-Win.” That’s where you’d be wrong.

You see, Once Human is actually absent of P2W mechanics. As many on Reddit would say, Once Human is more or less “Pay to Look Cool.” Which I’ll talk about in a little bit.

Once Human drops you into a bizarre, post-apocalyptic world where survival is a team sport. You and your friends take on grotesque monsters, dig into shadowy conspiracies, scavenge for resources, and carve out a base to call your own. Humanity as you knew it is gone, but in its place, you’ve gained something far more powerful.

People, especially you and other players, have gained powers beyond the realm of reality. You’ll use them to fight off the forces that are responsible, while taking out these creatures in style.

There’s a host of boss fights, world events, and other activities that can almost all be tackled as a solo player. Only some of the highest events require any form of coop, so you can have a great time with or without friends.

Gameplay-wise, Once Human plays fantastically for an open-world MMO shooter. I loved going town to town, doing random quests, and exploring the world for items. The shooting mechanics were sublime as well. No matter which gun I was using, I felt like I was having a literal blast.

Even my friends agreed, who can be some of the most fickle gamers when it comes to settling in and trying a game. They’re spooked easily, but Once Human got some of them hooked, and we played our fair share together.

During the final weeks of my playtime, Once Human had launched one of their first globgal crate events, where players could earn free opens, but you had to pay to actually open all available items.

Coming to Xbox with everything

While this initial phase is just for beta testing, the full release will include cross-progression for players who’ve already done a decent amount of content on Steam. Purchases will also transfer, so any battle pass you spent money on, or cosmetics you picked up, will be right there waiting for you on Xbox.

PC and Xbox will both be version compatible and will feature full cross-play support. Once Human is also completely playable on mobile devices. The controls might take some getting used to, but you can always pick up a spare controller while you’re at it for mobile gaming.

Once Human is also coming to PlayStation 5, so make sure you poke your other console buddies to hop on, and you can all try it out together!

Are you excited to jump into the world of Once Human? Let us know below! Maybe we can even party up!

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.