Never before has hype inflated expectations as much as it did in the build-up to the release of No Man’s Sky. The game had everything. There was just one small problem though. When it finally released, many of these things were not actually in the game.
In Hello Games’ defense, Sony did little to quench the fires of expectation. Regardless of who was to blame though, the game’s launch was catastrophic. As well as the missing features, there were also some pretty troubling technical issues leading many players to request refunds. It was a disappointing disaster by every definition.
To its credit, Hello Games has since worked tirelessly to deliver on all of the promises that were originally made. More than four years later, not only have all of the missing features been implemented but so too have many additional ones that make for a truly out of this world experience. In its current form, No Man’s Sky is like a completely different game to the one that launched back in 2016.
10 Multiplayer
Being able to explore an endless universe with friends was perhaps one of the biggest appeals of No Man’s Sky. For this reason, the inability to do so at launch led to many gamers feeling betrayed. It may have taken two years for it to finally make it into the game, but as of the NEXT update, the game finally offered a multiplayer experience, albeit a fairly unconventional one.
Players are able to join a party with up to three other players, enabling them to explore the galaxy together. Although not quite up to MMO standards, the PC version of the game allows for up to 32 players to be in the same star system at any given time. On console, this number currently stands at 8, although there’s a good chance this will increase on next-gen platforms.
9 VR Support
VR Support is one of the few things that Hello Games didn’t promise, but that didn’t stop the studio from adding it anyway. It arrived in last year’s Beyond update and works on both PC and PlayStation. Thanks to the game’s impressive visuals and endlessly expansive universe, it makes for a VR experience like no other.
Despite the game being incredibly complicated, playing it in VR is surprisingly straightforward. There’s no need to set up or calibrate anything, so it’s as simple as putting on the headset and booting up No Man’s Sky. That’s not to say that there are no settings available though. There are plenty of options to tweak when it comes to movement and visuals to ensure a comfortable gaming experience.
8 Additional Quests & Side Missions
No Man’s Sky was always intended to be about survival and exploration, but its lack of meaningful quests really held it back in its early days. Reaching the center of the Universe was about as close as the original release came to providing an objective, which left many players feeling as though they had no real sense of purpose.
Thankfully, additional quests and storylines have since been added and they continue to be expanded. Not only do these offer a lot more variety, but they also integrate perfectly with the game’s explorative themes. The pick of the bunch is probably the Atlas path, which although fairly simplistic at its core, feels like an intergalactic treasure hunt.
7 Base Building
Base Building was one of the first things added to No Man’s Sky, arriving in the Foundation update. It allows players to build their own bases from scratch or to find and claim abandoned bases in the wild. As time has passed, the complexity of bases has continued to expand, which allows for some truly unique creations.
Building a base can be as simple or as complicated as the player wants it to be. If all the player requires is shelter, it can take just a few seconds to knock together a basic base. Those hoping to build something a bit more complex though will find plenty of options. Some of the more complicated structures can require a lot of components though.
6 Customization
The NEXT update allowed players to switch between first and third-person views. This may have offered a new way to play, but it also created a potential problem. Prior to the update, what a ship or character looked like didn’t really matter. With the third-person view though, their generic appearances might not have been to everybody’s tastes. Thankfully, Hello Games was prepared for this.
The update also offered some fairly comprehensive customization options. Not only could players change the appearance of their character, but also their ships and bases. These options have received several more updates since then, allowing the game to rival some of the very best when it comes to customization.
5 Expanded Crafting
Crafting mechanics were all the rage during the period when No Man’s Sky was being developed. The craze may have died down a bit since then, but it’s still incredibly popular and features in many modern games. Although basic crafting did make it into the original release of the game, it left rather a lot to be desired.
Thankfully, that’s all changed over the last four years. Players can now craft a wide range of items, including ship upgrades, base parts, and ammo. There are countless crafting components that can be grown, scavenged, or even refined. For all those budding chefs out there, there’s also a fairly extensive cooking system now as well.
4 Visual Improvements
Although No Man’s Sky was never a bad looking game, there was a very noticeable difference between the footage shown in the trailer and the actual game. As time has passed though, the game’s graphics have been completely overhauled with features like HDR and motion blur making a huge difference.
One of the biggest complaints about the original game was the appearance of the procedurally generated planets. Many of them looked incredibly strange and just didn’t feel like real planets. Thankfully, this too has been addressed, with changes made to the game’s algorithm meaning that the procedurally generated landscapes are far more balanced.
3 Additional Starships
Although there has always been plenty of variety when it comes to No Man’s Sky‘s planets, the same could not be said of the original game’s starships. As reliable as the old Rasamama S36 was, after a few lightyears piloting it, it began to feel incredibly generic. Thanks to the addition of exotic starships though, that’s no longer the case.
Exotic starships are some of the best in the game and offer some unique and unusual features and bonuses. Due to them always being S class, they can be incredibly pricey, but they’re generally worth the investment. Thanks to the huge variety available, space travel will never be boring again.
2 Freighters
Freighters are part of the intergalactic trading system and can be owned by either players or NPCs. Their primary purpose is to store cargo, but it’s also possible to use them to travel between star systems. Players can also attack other freighters, leading to a space battle.
Freighter battles are one of the most exciting events in the game and can be incredibly challenging depending on the sizes of the two opposing forces. In order to end the battle, players must kill all of the enemy ships, which will then allow them to enter the freighter and raid its cargo. If friendly Alien species are nearby, they may also help out during the battle.
1 Farming
Farming might not be the most glamorous addition to No Man’s Sky, but it serves as a great way to make some extra units. Players can grow a variety of different crops which can then be sold for profit or used as crafting ingredients. The time that it takes each crop to grow is different, as is the amount of resources per harvest.
Crops can be grown either at bases or on freighters, but players will first need to acquire the correct crop blueprints. This is achieved by hiring farmers to work at the player’s farms. Alternatively, it’s possible to purchase the blueprints from the Construction Research Station in the Nexus, although doing so is not cheap.
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