No Man’s Sky Next has much to explore
No Man’s Sky Next Rated T for Teen (PS4,Xbox One,PC) “No Man’s Sky” is finally on the PC and the Xbox and it has been worth the wait. The game originally came out a few years ago on the PS4 system with mixed reactions.
The developer touted an almostendless amount of planets and multiplayer. They did come through in the almost limitless planet parts, but the multiplayer part was missing.
Fast forward a few years and a bunch of patches and you get to “No Man’s Sky Next.”
Let’s touch on the fact that I absolutely love the game on the PS4. I couldn’t get enough of the exploration of planets and galaxies. Now, with the addition of some new elements, I’m thrown back into this massive universe. The visuals look just as good as they did originally.
The different planets all look distinctive and players can now see planets with rings around them for the first time. The game has a bright and colourful art style. The cool thing about each planet is the fact that the game randomizes all aspects of the planet from the animals to the terrain — even the atmosphere.
Some of the creatures you run across can have strange heads, eyes, etc. I even encountered what looked like a giant walking dog on one planet. All the different things on the planets — from the flora, minerals and even the animals — can be catalogued and uploaded to other players’ playing the game. You can even name the different animals, that way the next player coming across that same creature will see your name for that animal.
Cataloguing also has the benefit of earning the player special currency used for upgrading spaceships or your character.
The same downside that carries over is the tutorial, so people will be turned off the game by the introduction of how to mine and repair your spaceship. But, once you have it repaired and set off to space, the fun begins.
The game added a ton of new content for the Next update. Players can now own more than one spaceship and even own freighters. These freighters can be used as storage for extra items, ships, etc.
Players can customize the inside of these spacecrafts and even upgrade different elements. These ships can be sent on missions around the universe to find rare items while you’re busy doing something else. Players can now build bases, complete with scientists and other items. You can even have friends join you in your base building and space exploration and space pirate sessions.
As you proceed, you run into secondary missions from aliens you meet along the way. These missions can be a huge reward of not only cash, but also blueprints and rare minerals that are worth a ton of currency.
This game won’t be for everyone as there is almost too much to explore for some and not much in the way of story structure. If you spend the time just exploring the different systems in the game and the planets within, you can easily spend months — if not a year or more. There is just so much to offer that players who never played the game on the PS4 need to pick it up for the first time and give the exploration of the galaxy a try.
If you want to take try at the helm of your own spacecraft, “No Man’s Sky Next” is a buy, if you don’t have it on PS4.
Sascha Heist is a Penticton gamer. Feel free to contact Sascha at sggall@telus.net with gaming questions and more. On XBox One : acehardy13 On PSN: acehardy13