Sights & Sounds
- While the graphics aren't mind-bendingly good, they do look quite nice. Whether you're zooming around the galaxy, scanning alien life forms on a new planet, or resupplying on a space station, everything looks pretty great
- I have regularly witnessed some weird graphical artifacting when zoomed in on NPCs during conversations. I've seen other people online complaining about this too, at least, so good to know my graphics card isn't dying
- Alien designs are varied and interesting, even within members of the same species. I just wish there were more than 3 races
- The sound design is outstanding and one of the best parts of the game. Spaceship and freighter sounds are the best of the bunch, but all of the sound work is very impressive and really improves immersion
- The music is pretty good too, but not terribly memorable
Story & Vibes
- Let me first say that the "main" story line isn't the focus of the game. Sure, it's nice that it's there, but it's such a tiny piece of the overall package that I wouldn't worry about it too much until you've seen all the other cool stuff the game has to offer
- That said, the story is decent. You'll learn a bunch of the lore about 3 species that reside in the galaxy you inhabit, gain information on entities like your player character (a "Traveller"), and pry into the mystery of the strange godlike power known as Atlas that appears to have answers to many of the plot's questions
- Really, though, the point of the game is exploring and making your own story. Wanna build a sprawling underwater research base? You can do that; it's more fun than the story. How about being a freighter captain with an army of space whale frigates? You can do that too. Space piracy? Also an option
- Just follow the thread of whatever path seems interesting, and you'll (probably) have a good time with this game
Playability & Replayability
- Control-wise, everything feels good. I actually wound up playing with a controller, keyboard, and mouse. Moving around on planets or in space is just way easier to do with a controller, but construction and inventory management is far better with kb/mouse
- Movement feels quite good, especially flight when you've either bought a better spaceship or leveled your starter up
- Base management is fairly deep; I just wish there were options to automate things like processing minerals, harvesting gases, farming flora, and crafting. Hiring additional NPCs to manage resources would be a great addition to the game
- This isn't a combat-focused game, and the combat mechanics bear that out. Sure, there's some nice upgrades for your multitool and spaceship weapons, but combat never really evolves past "shoot robots until they explode, then run away before more robots show up"
- Multiplayer content is, at this point, fairly rudimentary. You can't participate on missions together. Your interaction with other players is to join multiplayer missions with randos on The Nexus (the multiplayer spacestation you'll be visiting a lot) or to join up with friends to ♥♥♥♥ around and talk. You can build a base together or something, but there's not much beyond that
Overall Impressions & Performance
- I did a lot of crossplay multiplayer with a friend on PS4. Connectivity left a lot to be desired. My friend was often able to join my game, but I was rarely able to join hers. Your mileage may vary. I'd imagine MP is more stable if both players are on the same platform
- Despite many shortcomings, it's clear that this game has come a long way from its disastrous beginnings and has evolved into a deep and immersive sci-fi sandbox
Final Verdict
- 8/10. Although there's a huge number of ways this game could be improved, it is a lot of fun to play casually. It's convinced me to keep playing it. I still want to do things like finish my underwater base and find an S-class freighter. As long as you're fine with setting your own objectives and enjoy the sandbox-style gameplay, there's a lot of high-quality content in No Man's Sky
- While the graphics aren't mind-bendingly good, they do look quite nice. Whether you're zooming around the galaxy, scanning alien life forms on a new planet, or resupplying on a space station, everything looks pretty great
- I have regularly witnessed some weird graphical artifacting when zoomed in on NPCs during conversations. I've seen other people online complaining about this too, at least, so good to know my graphics card isn't dying
- Alien designs are varied and interesting, even within members of the same species. I just wish there were more than 3 races
- The sound design is outstanding and one of the best parts of the game. Spaceship and freighter sounds are the best of the bunch, but all of the sound work is very impressive and really improves immersion
- The music is pretty good too, but not terribly memorable
Story & Vibes
- Let me first say that the "main" story line isn't the focus of the game. Sure, it's nice that it's there, but it's such a tiny piece of the overall package that I wouldn't worry about it too much until you've seen all the other cool stuff the game has to offer
- That said, the story is decent. You'll learn a bunch of the lore about 3 species that reside in the galaxy you inhabit, gain information on entities like your player character (a "Traveller"), and pry into the mystery of the strange godlike power known as Atlas that appears to have answers to many of the plot's questions
- Really, though, the point of the game is exploring and making your own story. Wanna build a sprawling underwater research base? You can do that; it's more fun than the story. How about being a freighter captain with an army of space whale frigates? You can do that too. Space piracy? Also an option
- Just follow the thread of whatever path seems interesting, and you'll (probably) have a good time with this game
Playability & Replayability
- Control-wise, everything feels good. I actually wound up playing with a controller, keyboard, and mouse. Moving around on planets or in space is just way easier to do with a controller, but construction and inventory management is far better with kb/mouse
- Movement feels quite good, especially flight when you've either bought a better spaceship or leveled your starter up
- Base management is fairly deep; I just wish there were options to automate things like processing minerals, harvesting gases, farming flora, and crafting. Hiring additional NPCs to manage resources would be a great addition to the game
- This isn't a combat-focused game, and the combat mechanics bear that out. Sure, there's some nice upgrades for your multitool and spaceship weapons, but combat never really evolves past "shoot robots until they explode, then run away before more robots show up"
- Multiplayer content is, at this point, fairly rudimentary. You can't participate on missions together. Your interaction with other players is to join multiplayer missions with randos on The Nexus (the multiplayer spacestation you'll be visiting a lot) or to join up with friends to ♥♥♥♥ around and talk. You can build a base together or something, but there's not much beyond that
Overall Impressions & Performance
- I did a lot of crossplay multiplayer with a friend on PS4. Connectivity left a lot to be desired. My friend was often able to join my game, but I was rarely able to join hers. Your mileage may vary. I'd imagine MP is more stable if both players are on the same platform
- Despite many shortcomings, it's clear that this game has come a long way from its disastrous beginnings and has evolved into a deep and immersive sci-fi sandbox
Final Verdict
- 8/10. Although there's a huge number of ways this game could be improved, it is a lot of fun to play casually. It's convinced me to keep playing it. I still want to do things like finish my underwater base and find an S-class freighter. As long as you're fine with setting your own objectives and enjoy the sandbox-style gameplay, there's a lot of high-quality content in No Man's Sky