No Man’s Sky launched into a galaxy of controversy back in August 2016. Broken promises and a generally underwhelming game disappointed most and angered many. However, developer Hello Games has been steadily patching it over the last two years, adding and changing it into something more akin to the video game people wanted. In order to sell these changes for the big upcoming patch and Xbox One version coming on July 24, Microsoft has released a video detailing 11 changes the game has seen since its launch.
Thanks to some of the game’s updates, it now has four different modes: Survival, Permadeath, Creative, and Normal. Survival has limited resources and stronger enemies. Permadeath is the same as survival, but death is permanent. Creative has no limits on resources or health. And Normal is the regular, default mode.
The game was also mainly criticized for being repetitive so most changes pertain to the gameplay loop. No Man’s Sky also now has deeper trading in star system. They each have their own wealth, economy, and conflict level. Space combat is also deeper now, with new bounties and weapons.
That gameplay loop now has some longer term goals too. Players can build bases to cultivate crops and hire recruits. They can tackle missions from aliens and take on freighter raids to get more supplies. It’s also possible to buy and customize your own freighters and use them as a mobile base.
If you don’t fancy traveling via spaceship, new portals allow for fast travel to any planet. These planets have also been regenerated, meaning the terrain algorithm has been tweaked to “create more aesthetically pleasing planets.” Although, if you don’t like the new planets, the terrain editing will allow you to mess with it as you please. But beware of twisting the surface too much, given the three new vehicles.
While its launch did not go quite as planned, Hello Games has drastically changed the game, which has helped them realize some of their lofty, unfulfilled goals. These updates may not have looked like much when spread over two years, but, when listed like this, make the game seem like a completely new experience.
