No mans sky review - Two years too late!

No mans sky has been out for a few years now and while many people have ripped on it, rightfully so, the developers have kept at it and kept giving out free updates . Turning the game from a giant nightmare full of lies to something resembling what they stated that it was. However does the next update make the game finally worth playing?

No mans sky was developed and published by Hello Games back in August 2016. The premise of the game is that you are a traveler. You can go anywhere and do anything. However, you need to collect materials and resources in order to craft the things you need to fuel your journey. You also need to repair your ship and keep your life support systems up. It is a game about resource management. There is no definitive end to the game. This makes it very relaxing and for some quite boring having an entire universe to themselves aside from the NPC’s that are sprinkled throughout. Your primary directive is to explore the galaxy. To explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone bef…..wait wrong space adventure. Well it still fits so lets roll with it. Sorry Picard im going on my own space adventure and ill do it my way.

The game is still beautiful. The vistas are large and vibrant, Space seems expansive and deep. The planets, while procedurally generated, are diverse in their makeup, their flora, and their fauna. Not to mention the climates and exotic weather patterns. The universe is quite interesting and engaging. As a new player you will want to explore every nook and cranny. Before the updates for the game worlds would all house the same minerals and materials. Making it boring and pointless to go to every world to see what it did, and didnt have. On top of which many resources would simply float above the ground in giant pillars. Since the updates you now have to use the terrain manipulator, a new tool in your arsenal, in order to get at some resources. A welcome and far more engaging mechanic then simply going up to a floating something or other and mining it. Then going to the next thing and doing the same.

The controls both on the ground and in your ship are tight and responsive. Even more so when you crank up the sensitivity on your controller or mouse depending on which platform you are playing on. While the game doesnt have deep controls more so just run, jump, shoot, and inventory/ resource management. Everything has a fair bit of impact and weight.

Space combat is really fun. The ships feel fast and can perform tight turns. Going around attacking ships for their cargo or to complete missions is a blast. Or if you want to take a more peaceful and quite approach to your interstellar travels you can mine asteroids for things like platinum, gold, and silver. The ship is not only a vehicle but an integral part of the game. If you arent careful with your resources you could find yourself unable to launch off of a planet and have to scour for resources to refuel. Or you coud find yourself out of fuel in space and have to hope that you are near a asteroid field to get tritium. Your primary fuel source for your ship. Resource management is a big part of the game and you will be constantly wishing you had more.

Speaking of inventory management another feature that they added was the ability to purchase or acquire freighters. Freighters not only store more of your resources but can also depart on expeditions to either get you more credits or collect resources for you. Each freighter has a class and the higher the class the more it can hold and the better it is. Aside from frieghters you have 3 different land vehicles that make terestrial travel a breeze. I havent been able to get any as of yet however each one has their own attributes and perks so attaining all 3 not only gives you even more space for resources but allows you to get around planets quickly and not have to deplete your oxygen in order to keep yourself alive.

The resources themselves have grown to be more complex and require you to travel around the universe more. Instead of just having and needing a few resources available you now have an abundant amount and specific planets have specific resources. Or they will have more of one resource than another. This makes it well worth the effort of exploring each planet. Before the game would pretty much lay every resource out evenly. Which doesnt really fit with what they were trying to accomplish and leading to a rather boring experience.

Then there is the addition of actual multiplayer in the game. Which they stated would be in the original release however clearly wasnt. There was even a huge thing about how the universe was so large that its unlikely that you would even run into anyone else. But lo and behold not even a few months later, I think?, two players ended up on the same planet at the same time and could not see hide nor hair of each other. Following that scandal the devs stated that multiplayer was NOT in the game but would be coming. Fast forward two whole years and BAM with the NEXT update players are now able to see and interact with each other. Making the gigantic world of No mans sky a bit less lonely. On top of now having true multiplayer there will allegedly be events so that you have more things to do than mine for resources and stare at weird cow creatures. Which if true is very welcome and will make the community all the more willing to forgive.

The game does still have issues however. There are still a few bugs and glitches in the game. For instance I had traded Freighters and once I got the new freighter I was unable to take off in my starship. It would continuously get stuck in the freighter making it impossible for me to go anywhere. It got so bad that I had to reload a previous save and lose some progress. There are also some collision issues when walking around and over some hills. You will either get stuck in or be hovering above the ground. These issues happen seldomly however it is worth mentioning.

Long story short the devs over at hello games have worked long and hard while they could have thrown in the towel and just cut and run with whatever money they got. However, they chose to stick it out and make the game better and better with each free update. Culminating in the NEXT update which alleviates many of the issues that the game previously had. While there are still many issues with the game. Such as bugs and features that players are still screaming for. The game has come a long way and I am excited to see what is in store for No mans sky.

If you were on the fence about trying the game or if you purchased the game when it released and are thinking about jumping back in then this would be a great time. At the time of writing the game is currently half off on steam and may be discounted on other platforms. Many of your fears and gripes have been heard and resolved. So again are you ready to go where no man has gone before? Just with a few more people by your side this time?