No Man’s Sky: Does it live up to the hype?
No Man’s Sky was one of the most anticipated games in years. It showed a lot of promise and people everywhere were extremely excited. Now that it’s out, does it deliver?
This past Tuesday, the highly anticipated No Man’s Sky was officially released and the game had a huge amount of hype behind it. Now, before we get more into detail about the game and whether it delivered, we have to say that the hype is definitely justified.
As this game was announced and development was ongoing, there has never been a game quite like this. Have there been similar games? Absolutely. But, nothing has really compared to what the guys at Hello Games want to accomplish with this game. No Man’s Sky has limitless potential and it’s only been out for a couple of days.
Does No Man’s Sky deliver everything they promised? The answer is no. Does it mean it’s a bad game? Not at all. To be honest, there’s a lot of games that were said to have this and that and so on, but many of those games never truly became what they were said to become. Let’s talk about the game.
The first thing that is completely clear about No Man’s Sky is the vast world. For the first two hours of the game, you get lost in the huge planet that you’re randomly placed in. At first, there’s a lot to do. From repairing your ship to mining minerals, to even encountering different kinds of species, the world is full of all of this and it seems never-ending, which is a great feeling. The game also progresses nicely since at first, you can’t ride your ship until it’s repaired. So, walking around the entire planet is your only option until you find the necessary items to fix your ship.
Once you fix your ship, that’s when the adventure truly begins. As soon as your ship is ready to go, you have the option of exploring the entire planet to try to find everything that’s available to you, or you can head straight for the sky and head into the galaxy to venture to a whole new planet. Let’s not forget to mention that everything is beautiful to look at. The aesthetics truly compliment the game in a great way.
As you can see, this all sounds like a great experience and you’ll probably feel the same way for the first day. But, as you invest more time into this game, you notice certain things that seem, well, lackluster. As you travel to new planets across the galaxy, it all starts to become very old and familiar. Other than buying new weapons that basically have the same function, upgrading your armor so that you can store more items, and buying a new ship that’s more stable and contains more inventory space, everything else becomes very repetitive.
You would think that traveling to a new planet would mean that there’s something completely new to encounter and experience. But, the sad reality is that all of them feel the same other than looking slightly different. You’ll notice that once you arrive at a new planet, you’ll be performing the exact same tasks that you were performing in the planet you were previously on.
The tasks consist of finding new locations where you can get certain supplies, meeting a variety of aliens that seem lifeless and unoriginal, and learning the dialect of the aliens. The aspect of learning the language is actually a very cool concept, but it seems like it will take years before you can hold a conversation with one of the natives. It doesn’t help that your standing with the alien race gradually decreases because of your inability to communicate with them. All of it can become very tedious and as time goes on, you notice that it’s just more of the same. It’s hard to see how No Man’s Sky, at its current state, can be played in the long run.
The biggest gripe, by far, is the lack of multiplayer features. The developers did say that it would be almost impossible to find another player in the game, but we didn’t think it would be this hard. It’s almost nonexistent, to be honest. This is definitely a missed opportunity. How can a game that is so focused on the exploration of a vast galaxy not include an option to explore it with friends? This would only enhance the experience and make it a lot more enjoyable.
Reading all these problems with the games and our various gripes, you may think that No Man’s Sky isn’t worth the $60. To be honest, at its current state, it definitely isn’t, but, as stated earlier, it’s definitely not a bad game by any means. There’s a lot to admire and enjoy about this game.
All these problems mentioned aren’t necessarily bringing the game down or persuading you to not give it a try because it’s definitely worth playing. There’s a lot of good in this game and it may actually be good enough for you to enjoy it long-term. The best part is that all the problems mentioned can be fixed. Those who have criticized the developers and saying that No Man’s Sky is all hype and that it didn’t live up to everyone’s expectations have the right to their own opinions, but saying that the game didn’t live up to the hype and saying that it’s a terrible game are two completely different things. Just because it didn’t live up to the hype, it doesn’t mean that it’s a bad game. At its current state, there’s a lot that needs to be improved, but a couple of tweaks and updates will improve this game by a mile.
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No Man’s Sky does have its flaws with the empty feeling when traveling the galaxy since everything becomes somewhat repetitive and familiar. The lack of multiplayer features is also very frustrating, but this game has all the potential to be great. A few updates to the game can add all of this, including more things to do on these planets and the ability to play with friends. Again, No Man’s Sky can definitely be an enjoyable experience and it’s worth a play-through. Give this game some time and in the future, it will definitely live up to the hype.