After Years of waiting and hype building around this game . . . It’s Finally here! No Man’s Sky has had more hype around it then most Marvel or Dc movies. For having such a small development team, Hello Games Created a universe with no boundaries or end in sight. The sheer Size of this game for only being 5.4 GB in size is astounding. However, Hello Games shot to reach for the stars but came up short in a couple of areas.
After spending about 30 hours with this game I have some pretty good insight on the good and the bad, But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. No Man’s Sky is at its core a survival exploration game with wonder and delight. You start off marooned on a planet which could be hostile or very gentle In nature….For me it was a nightmare. A acidic atmosphere was constantly eating through my Exo-suit, And with no instructions or tutorials on how to survive, this made things very difficult.
The first hour was frantic, Mining for resources to rebuild my damaged ship. Constantly being attacked by the local wildlife and Sentry drones , Not knowing what I need to refill my mining laser or life support. I can honestly say I was on the edge of my seat. I know now that not everyone has had this experience. That is the beauty and Genius behind this game.
There is no story line to follow, your not trying to save the universe from impending doom. You get the chance(if your up to it) to explore more then 18 quintillion planets. Fighting off bounty hunters and space pirates while discovering countless animals, plants and of course worlds that you can kindly name Dic!Chees*. Meeting the aliens of each galaxy and learning their languages added some depth and perspective, especially when trading with them on the space stations.
Jetting around the galaxy was probably one of the biggest highlights of this game. The rush you get from hitting the warp drive and seeing the stars turn into streaming lights as you fly by while ( Screaming ) I made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs! I have Jumped from galaxy to galaxy, Discovering new worlds and a black hole that I dared not enter. But for all the Gorgeous scenery , I also saw and dealt with a lot of problems.
As I traveled on these breath taking worlds I had a lot of issues with the frame rate constantly dropping and pixelating my screen. I ran into a few game breaking bugs that made me have to restart my console on more then one occasion. You do start to get a sense of Déjà vu as you explore countless planets and start noticing way to many similarities. Of course, with such a phenomenal scale, it’s impossible to have every planet be truly unique, but I just wish the spell didn’t break quite so soon.
Final Thoughts
No Man’s Sky is a very interesting and entertaining game. Hello Games created something that has never been done before. The vast universe on a scale unseen in any other video game has without a doubt been achieved, and will provide a unique experience for all that play it. Unfortunately the sheer size of the game makes it difficult to stay motivated. With fundamental gameplay and basic combat, it starts to drag after a few galaxies. Would I say it lived up to the hype? For the nerds like me that have been following this game for years, it doesn’t. But if you step back and look at this game for what it is, you can appreciate what was accomplished.
Thankfully I did enjoy the game but wish that over time it would have felt more rewarding. Is No Man’s Sky worth the 60 dollar price tag, Yes. Due to the amount of content and endless hours of gameplay. But this game is for those who love to explore, it is not a FPS or RPG. Understanding this fact will keep you pushing further and further into the heavens on a journey that only ends when you decide to reach the center of the universe.
Good
- Unlimited exploration from procedurally generated planets
- Wonderful scenery
- Fresh take on a survival game
BAD
- You’re responsible for motivating yourself
- Gameplay gets very repetitive
Score 7.5 out of 10
