In August 2016 gamers looked to the stars to a procedurally generated, infinite galaxy that was both full of wonder and discovery and unfortunately, broken promises.
No Man’s Sky managed to launch with a mostly positive reception from players and reviewers alike, but many things were missing from the final release, some were even featured in the much-hyped trailers like multiplayer and exotic locales. Many space travelers were instead greeted with bland, empty worlds and treated to a gameplay loop of gather this, launch your ship, rinse, and repeat.
Regardless, many intrepid galaxy explorers played through the game to make it to the centre of the universe, only to reveal there wasn’t anything there. A few players hung on, but many astronauts, myself included, ended up landing back on planet Earth to pursue other video game adventures, instead of keeping our heads in the clouds.
At this point, developer Hello Games could have chalked No Mans Sky up as a lesson in hype and marketing gone wrong and no one would have batted an eyelid. That wasn’t to be the case, however…
Enter the Nintendo Switch Edition, 6 years after launch… a seemingly impossible port.
(Please note, this article covers changes since the 2016 launch only, for a full review, check out our thoughts here!)
Starting a fresh save, I was amazed at the overhaul of how the story and tutorials present themselves. The worlds feel different, and more diverse, the camera is now in 3rd person, and everything just seems to play better. Crafting has been added to the game which gave a fresh approach to repairing your spaceship, and as soon as my thrusters were repaired, I found myself presented with the one thing I felt missing from the original release… choice.
Originally, the sole objective of No Man’s Sky was simply to make it to the centre of the universe. The core gameplay loop was to explore, craft warp fuel, warp to a new planet, rinse, and repeat. Now I have a choice. Do I want to build a research base on my starting planet? Should I own a fleet of starships and trade all over the galaxy? Should I build an Outpost or do I turn my back on Atlas and become a fearsome space pirate? Choice is everywhere in the infinite Galaxy of No Man’s Sky, and if I ever tire of something, I just change my focus to something else.
As a matter of fact, the game has seen 19 major content updates which has seen No Man’s Sky not only patched to the game it was originally touted to be, but also evolve into something games like myself couldn’t have imagined it to become. It also seems that there is more to come. These mini-expansions have been released frequently and for free, greatly expanding on the base game and adding things like fleet management, base construction, multiplayer, and production of materials to export to other galaxies!
30 hours into my new save file I have an “A Class” Capitol Ship with a fleet of 30 frigates that spread my empire far and wide, I have a research facility that grows exotic flora from uninhabitable planets to create products that are in high demand on the galactic trade network, and a formidable armada of fighter ships and pilots to combat the threat of the pirate scourge of the galaxy. You can produce fuel, trade goods, mine ores, extract gases, build spaceports, and even build the interior of your Capitol Ship.
To me, No Man’s Sky could have been completely written off as a competent and enjoyable, albeit short lived trip across the galaxy. Instead, much to the credit of Sean Murray and his team at Hello Games, they decided to weather the storm, continue to support the game well after the hype and initial sales period had well and truly died off, and continue to support No Man’s Sky.
Not only did the development team persevere to deliver the game they promised, but they also journey forth to create the game they wanted to make, and if more developers followed their lead, I feel the gaming landscape would be much better for it. The best part? These hefty updates work much like classic expansion packs, adding amazing new features that enrich gameplay and continue to draw Travellers into their expansive galaxy.
No Mans Sky and it’s continued developer support is a rare example of developers delivering not only a product that the consumer wants, but also sticking to a vision that didn’t immediately work to deliver an expansive universe for players to be lost in. While the game may be titled No Mans Sky, the amazing stream of updates means there’s something here for everyone, and Sean Murray and Hello Games have done something really special here.
What a Game Changer…
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