REVIEW – No Man’s Sky. Another game that got a ton of hype, and it’s one of those that splits the community. Still, it can be (or is it already going by fresh sales figures) a trump card for Sony. Discovering is exciting, but what kind of presentation did Hello Games’ game get?

The moment we start to wander around, abandoning our wrecked spaceship, the power of feeling something new hits us and it won’t let us go for multiple hours. Get that small weapon, get rid of those sentry drones, and get all the important resources you need to get, and there’s way more to the game than what I just said.

Start

The beginning is simply outstanding. Sure, you don’t get a lot of help, but this is the reason why it thrashes competition. (You might find something very, VERY early in the game to get a plot going, but I’d rather shut up before I spoil things.)

Radioactivity, power, inventory, gathering resources – the player is easily caught. Yep… the way how No Man’s Sky starts out is outstanding.

Lap two

If you intentionally or unintentionally miss out on something right at the beginning, then the gameplay will get tiresome, and very quickly. This is why I call No Man’s Sky a skeleton that lacks meat on it: the game is good, but it’s INCOMPLETE. You might spend a good amount of fifteen hours wandering around. That was my experience.

I collected resources, went back to the ship. Collected, went back. F*** my inventory is full, sending it to the ship. My ship is full, I fly, I sell, I keep going. This middle part of the game doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal, and this is where I have to say that if you are patient, you should keep going because you will end up finding something… or someone… to progress.

Atlas

You can choose multiple paths, and one of them is somewhat obvious. If you pick this path, then you will almost continuously get tasks to do to proceed further and further towards the center of the galaxy, while you unlock technology, space stations, or even look at some of those black holes.

Don’t stay alone for long, because even if you always start out your adventure on a new planet each time you start from scratch (this thing raises replayability) because the procedurally generated planets and solar systems are up to you!

Technology

The game runs at thirty frames per second. Alright, that makes sense for a game like No Man’s Sky. However, the game can’t keep a consistent 30fps: while you fly above the planet’s surface, you might dip into the twenties easily.

Also, the game’s visuals feel plastic to me. This point is balanced out by the soundtrack, though (I’m listening to it right now!): that is outstanding. The audiovisuals are a mixed bag.

Problems

A few subjective nitpicks about No Man’s Sky follow. Our inventory is quite small at the beginning, and if you’re full, you can’t just drop items, and if you have no free space, you cannot even trade! If you have 1 of item A and 230 of item B, both take one slot each. The space stations feel empty, abandoned, and lifeless. You might see some recolors of previously seen plants and animals, too.

If you make an alien friendly towards you on a planet, you cannot pick them up and bring along your trip. Also, why cannot you get an alien on a space station to come along with you to become your co-pilot? So many missed opportunities…

60 dollars

In my opinion (and this is strictly my PERSONAL opinion), No Man’s Sky is not worth 60 dollars/euros. Not even on the PC. It would have had the chance to become revolutionary, but Sean Murray and co. missed the train. The game feels like Captain Blood on C64, in a modern format.

No Man’s Sky feels incomplete, while has some good ideas. Tuning your space suit, replacing your ship, moving along solar systems… and yet, something is missing. 10/10, it ain’t. Tetris, Half-Life – they shook the earth in the past, worthy of being some of the greatest of all time, making them the Mecca of video games.
No Man’s Sky is a 7. It’s good, but it could have been much better. (And on PC, it’s pathetic how it launched.) Let’s get to the center of the galaxy…

-V-

Publisher: Hello Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment as distributor

Developer: Hello Games

Genre: First person exploration, space flight

Release date: 8 August, 2016 (PS4) / 12 August, 2016 (PC)