As far as bumpy rides go, No Man's Sky has experienced a hurdle or two, set to reach astronomic heights and mark a new age in the space-faring sandbox genre and go where none had gone before.
The idea of being in total control of the choices and paths one would walk had the community on the edge of its seat. Players would have the freedom to be humble traders, growing and selling resources. Or, for those who wanted to live on the wild side, unleashing hell as a warmongering space-pirate was an equally viable option. As you can probably tell, I chose the latter - although I do have a very cute farm.
Whilst the launch was certainly a success, it didn't take long before cracks started to show. After delaying several previous release dates, Hello Games had been under immense pressure to deliver the fruits of their labour, and whilst catering to your community is a surefire way to be remembered, releasing an unfinished product will mean it is for all of the wrong reasons. The beauty of a sandbox is that it can be a playground for developers and players alike. Unfortunately, this also proved to be its’ downfall, such a broad genre requires a great deal of content and, as such, demands a considerable amount of time. In trying to control their considerable demand, Hello Games had taken their eye off the ball. The months that followed saw the game receive far from positive reviews, customers were demanding refunds and Hello Games had seemingly vanished, players’ expectations had been left in tatters.
Three months later, the developers broke their silence. Since the initial release, it had been all hands on deck as the team worked tirelessly to produce a patch. The Foundation Update did exactly what its’ name implied and was Hello Games’ first move towards giving the community what they were promised. Bases, farming, freighters and portable tech had all been implemented. After a personal hiatus from the game it was this update that pulled me back in, myself and many others had finally been given content that was worth investing in and despite things being a little rough around the edges, it was a step in the right direction. However, this wasn’t enough for everyone, thankfully the Pathfinder Update followed suit with the aim to bring the party back to the community. Exocrafts were implemented and could now be used to explore planets and participate in races, players could upload their bases for others to discover and classes had been assigned to ships and multi-tools. On top of this the graphics, audio and gameplay had been totally overhauled to optimise players’ experiences and iron out any creases.
Slowly but surely, Steam community reviews were creeping up and the number of concurrent players began increasing. Despite having their work cut out, the developers had steered their ship away from the rocks and back towards calmer waters.
At this point I was well and truly back on the bandwagon but despite the heap of improvements, I couldn’t help but feel as though something was still missing. Lo and behold, in came the Atlas Rises Update and my word did it deliver. The storyline that followed covered one of the last major pitfalls and served as a testament to Hello Games’ efforts towards redemption. New worlds, locations and tweaks to in-game exploration had made the game more immersive than ever. On top of this, there was multiplayer, finally we had been given a basic co-op framework to play alongside our friends, paired with the new update to space battles, the prospect of raiding and unleashing havoc as part of a squad was in sight.
Then came NEXT, arguably Hello Games’ finest hour so far, the most recent update has made No Man’s Sky into the game that we were promised so long ago. Unrestricted multiplayer has made co-op space battles a reality, everything that we could do alone can now be done together including unlimited base building and community events. Players can now customise their appearance which has made the introduction of third-person oh so suitable. Speaking of space battles (you can tell I’m a bit obsessed with these), freighters now have a whole new set of capabilities. Players can now recruit and command a fleet to venture on expeditions and help during said instances. Additionally, on-board base customisation means that you also have total reign over how your freighter looks. Other tweaks include updates to the UI, crafting system, wildlife and space station marketplace.
Two years since the initial launch, few would have believed that we would be left with the end result Hello Games have given us. Little remains of what was revealed in 2016 and cliché though it may be, the image of a phoenix rising from the ashes is nothing short of suitable in this case. No Man’s Sky has proved to be a true labour of love to both its’ developers and the community who stuck by through thick and thin to watch it land amongst the stars.
Whilst the launch was certainly a success, it didn't take long before cracks started to show. After delaying several previous release dates, Hello Games had been under immense pressure to deliver the fruits of their labour, and whilst catering to your community is a surefire way to be remembered, releasing an unfinished product will mean it is for all of the wrong reasons. The beauty of a sandbox is that it can be a playground for developers and players alike. Unfortunately, this also proved to be its’ downfall, such a broad genre requires a great deal of content and, as such, demands a considerable amount of time. In trying to control their considerable demand, Hello Games had taken their eye off the ball. The months that followed saw the game receive far from positive reviews, customers were demanding refunds and Hello Games had seemingly vanished, players’ expectations had been left in tatters.
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| Original photo |
Three months later, the developers broke their silence. Since the initial release, it had been all hands on deck as the team worked tirelessly to produce a patch. The Foundation Update did exactly what its’ name implied and was Hello Games’ first move towards giving the community what they were promised. Bases, farming, freighters and portable tech had all been implemented. After a personal hiatus from the game it was this update that pulled me back in, myself and many others had finally been given content that was worth investing in and despite things being a little rough around the edges, it was a step in the right direction. However, this wasn’t enough for everyone, thankfully the Pathfinder Update followed suit with the aim to bring the party back to the community. Exocrafts were implemented and could now be used to explore planets and participate in races, players could upload their bases for others to discover and classes had been assigned to ships and multi-tools. On top of this the graphics, audio and gameplay had been totally overhauled to optimise players’ experiences and iron out any creases.
Slowly but surely, Steam community reviews were creeping up and the number of concurrent players began increasing. Despite having their work cut out, the developers had steered their ship away from the rocks and back towards calmer waters.
At this point I was well and truly back on the bandwagon but despite the heap of improvements, I couldn’t help but feel as though something was still missing. Lo and behold, in came the Atlas Rises Update and my word did it deliver. The storyline that followed covered one of the last major pitfalls and served as a testament to Hello Games’ efforts towards redemption. New worlds, locations and tweaks to in-game exploration had made the game more immersive than ever. On top of this, there was multiplayer, finally we had been given a basic co-op framework to play alongside our friends, paired with the new update to space battles, the prospect of raiding and unleashing havoc as part of a squad was in sight.
 |
| Original photo |
Then came NEXT, arguably Hello Games’ finest hour so far, the most recent update has made No Man’s Sky into the game that we were promised so long ago. Unrestricted multiplayer has made co-op space battles a reality, everything that we could do alone can now be done together including unlimited base building and community events. Players can now customise their appearance which has made the introduction of third-person oh so suitable. Speaking of space battles (you can tell I’m a bit obsessed with these), freighters now have a whole new set of capabilities. Players can now recruit and command a fleet to venture on expeditions and help during said instances. Additionally, on-board base customisation means that you also have total reign over how your freighter looks. Other tweaks include updates to the UI, crafting system, wildlife and space station marketplace.
Two years since the initial launch, few would have believed that we would be left with the end result Hello Games have given us. Little remains of what was revealed in 2016 and cliché though it may be, the image of a phoenix rising from the ashes is nothing short of suitable in this case. No Man’s Sky has proved to be a true labour of love to both its’ developers and the community who stuck by through thick and thin to watch it land amongst the stars.
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