Developer : Hello Games

Publisher : Hello Games

Platforms : PlayStation 4 and 5, Steam, Switch, Xbox Series S and X

A New Iteration

It has been almost ten years since the release of No Man’s Sky, and I cannot think of any other game that has improved so much over the course of its life. From releasing in a barebones state to the disappointment to many, to the rich and feature dense game that it is now, No Man’s Sky has continued to improve in leaps and bounds. The universe has grown and evolved quite a bit in that time, and with the release of the latest patches, Worlds Part 2, I felt that itch to jump back into the seat of my starship and see what the galaxy has to show me!

I am not going to go into the history of the game’s controversy and eventual redemption, because I feel that topic has been done to death. Instead, this is going to be more of a travel log of my current adventures though the Euclid galaxy, and the new sights and sounds that await me in the stars. I’m going to chat about the things I have done so far, and while some of them are not new to the game, they’re new to me.

New Worlds

With the release of the Worlds updates, the planet generation has been overhauled to an amazing degree. The terrain of the planets are a lot more varied, with mountains giving way to wide open plains, forests sprawling for miles beyond the horizon, oceans dotted with islands, and the return of floating islands high in the air. Jumping in your ship and travelling in any direction on a world really highlights this variety of biomes on each world, which I feel gives the game a huge injection of much need variety.

The water in the game has also been given a massive face lift. It now reacts realistically to the world around it, with storms churning up the surface, and ships leaving wakes as they fly by. The world beneath the waves has also been improved, with oceans now plunging to new and crushing depths, hiding new creatures and horrors in the dark. Hello Games has also introduced water worlds to the universe, and I am looking forward to finding one of my own. I have yet to construct the sub and really explore the depths of these oceans and worlds, but it is one of the things I am looking forward to doing during this iteration.

Introduced in Worlds Part 2 are gas giants which are found in the newly added purple star systems. I have only briefly seen a giant, having tried out the latest expedition, but they seem like a great addition to the game. Before I comment on them more, I need to reach them in my current save, but from what I have seen so far, they’re pretty neat. More variety is always a good thing in my book.

I’m an Overseer

While not new to the game, running a settlement is new to me. I think it’s cool that I was able to build a couple of new buildings, but I wish I was able to build a settlement from the ground up. Helping the residents with their problems is okay, but it’s little more than picking from a couple of options at your terminal. I will maybe try a couple of other settlements to see how different they can be, but from what I have seen, it’s a pretty barebones system. Hopefully it will be expanded upon in the future, and with Hello Games track record, I would not be surprised if the settlements do get an update at some point. If nothing else, they help to breath more life into the galaxy and make the game feel more alive.

Derelict Freighters

Another gameplay loop that is not new to the game but is new to me are the derelict freighters that can found in space. To say they’re channeling Alien in the abandoned freighters is an understatement and is something I am all for! Exploring the space bound ruins is a great way to make some credits and learning about what befell the crew of the ship is an intriguing little side quest; hunting through the derelict ships for the crew logs and learning about their fate is a lot of fun. I enjoy the cosmic horror of the whole situation, and learning about what happened to the poor souls on these ships is a delicious source of dread.

So far, I have only delved into one freighter, but I am looking forward to checking out others to see how different each ruin can be. I really hope there is a good variety of adventures to be had in the freighters, but if not, at least they’re going to make me some good money.

My Journey so Far

Currently I am progressing through the Artemis questline, since it has been a hot minute since I have done it. I find it is a great way to get reintroduced to the mechanics of the game, and to get into a good groove of flying from system to system, exploring what the game has to offer. This time I let Artemis go and opted out of uploading him to the simulation; I let him finally get some rest.

I also finished up the quests from the base computer, and I’m slowing expanding the base and doing the tasks for the aliens I have hired on. Right now, I am learning how to plant and harvest crops from across the worlds, as well as recipes for crafting complex materials from my base scientist. I will probably make a new base once I find a world I really like, because the one I have now is very dull and used only to progress the story. Plus, with the release of patch 5.6, Relics, and the addition of paleontology to the game, I am totally going to make myself a fancy museum somewhere.

The Atlas path is still ahead of me, and soon I am going to make the pilgrimage to the Atlas stations and commune with the divine machine. I enjoy the existential dread that you experience when in the presence of the Atlas, because what else would you feel when faced with a literal god?

This is just the Beginning (Again)

I am looking forward to my continued travels amongst the stars, and to all the wonders and cool things I am bound to see. Here are a few of the things I want to do during this play through:

1. Explore the depths of a water world and do the quest line associated with that.

2. Explore the new purple star systems.

3. Find myself a wicked solar ship.

4. Reach the centre of Euclid, and travel to the next galaxy.

I’ll document my coming adventures through space here, because I love this game, and I love sharing my thoughts and feelings about the games I love!

No Man’s Sky – World’s Part 2