Unlike a standard expansion, Only Human: Isles of Abyss presents an entirely new scenario to dive into (pun intended). Where the base game sees you fighting through a dimensional invasion, stopping to make alliances, build a house, and try on silly outfits along the way, the expansion lets you get the new player experience out of the way and then launches you into a new part of the world with a very different outlook.
While the core survival-crafting loop remains mostly intact, there’s a shift of priorities. For a start, you begin this at max level and so there’s no XP grind here. Instead, the emphasis is on improving your tech and advancing through physical progress. Whether you’re coming in fresh or jumping over from your established save in the vanilla game, the core remains the same.
Split into five areas, Isles of Abyss sees you working on and improving your ship. This becomes your home, base, workshop and sanctuary as you move between the biomes, constantly seeking to improve your gear to take on the tougher challenges. You’ll begin in a Clement enough area but soon start moving through different biomes like you’re in a Mario game, with the frozen Reefshadow Bay and the poisonous Misty Marsh presenting new dangers, new Haywire Zones, and of course, new things to loot.
You’ll need to scavenge or build specific parts for your ship, and you achieve this by sailing between the five main isles and a number of smaller points nestled between. While practicality and survivability are the main priorities, you’ll also modify the appearance of your ship with different materials, eventually developing a mobile water fortress you can be house-proud of.
There are a few elements that make it feel somewhat like a new experience. For a start, you only bring over a certain amount of your existing load out so you won’t feel immediately overpowered. And secondly, there’s no Cradle at work in the Isles, which means if you have a build relying heavily on the Cradle system, you’ll need to rethink that here. It’s a smart way of maintaining the core experience without wiping your character.
Thalassaphobes need not apply, though. While you upgrade your ship cannons and defences, including reinforced hulls and mine launchers, you won’t just be fighting enemy ships. This is Once Human after all, and otherworldly threats manifest in a number of ways, including huge tentacles that want more than just a hug. There’s some fairly rote but functional plot behind your move and the monsters, and the new Heart of the Sea currency you need to gather that makes it all feel a bit like a survival-punk Moana.
Ultimately though, if you’re already fully invested in Once Human, this free update is well worth your time. It feels different enough to make the whole experience seem fresh and exciting again, even if it is such a departure that some will feel the disconnect more keenly than others. As for new players, I’d say hit the base game first for a while to get a feel for the mechanics and the world, because Isles of Abyss is so different that you won’t get the full, intended experience if you only play this. It’s not quite as varied or exciting as the base game world, given that so much of it is spent drifting around and fixing up your ship. Either way, the update is free, so you’ve nothing to lose but time if you decide to give it a whirl.
