NO MAN’S SKY: ORIGINS

Go beyond the final frontier in PS4’s overlooked explorer

INFO

PUB HELLO GAMES, SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT DEV HELLO GAMES PLAYERS 1-8 ONLINE REVIEW #127, 8/10 MODES NORMAL, SURVIVAL, PERMADEATH, CREATIVE, CO-OP, PLAYER VERSUS PLAYER

There have been 13 major updates since No Man’s Sky launched in 2016, including the introduction of crossplay, PS VR support, and PvP multiplayer. The game has also had a visual overhaul and bug fixes.

Evolving slowly, just like some of the many moons and alien lifeforms of its own universe, No Man’s Sky is unrecognisable to anyone who plotted a course through its galaxies back when PS4 was the new kid on the block. This was a space exploration adventure that promised so much – thousands of unique worlds to explore – but often fell flat.

Now, however, No Man’s Sky is coming into its own. Developer Hello Games has spent four years updating, adding to, and tweaking everything; we’ve had multiplayer, PS VR support, and a new refined narrative to glue it all together. We’ve been able to build bases on these infant worlds, co-op with friends across alien horizons, and explore the dim corridors of barren relics floating in space.

The latest update, Origins, released last month, adds many quality-of-life improvements to the UI and crafting system, but importantly we get gameplay enhancements that bring this universe to life. A deeper planetary variety, more creatures, real-time weather systems, and gigantic alien structures to explore are just some of the features that makes Origins essential.

This all comes to No Man’s Sky for free, and after four years of upgrades and expansions, there really is no better time to engage. Happy trails.