On July 24, Hello Games will launch a major update for No Man's Sky for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The update, titled "Next," introduces a number of new features including expanded building options and multiplayer. This update promises to significantly change the way No Man's Sky can be played, but before that happens, Rob, Peter, and Mike decided to delve back into existing version of the game and discuss their experiences with it up until this point.
The trio bring different experience levels to the table, with Peter having reviewed the game, Rob having spent some time with it, and Mike being relatively new. They talk about how it is to play No Man's Sky with these varying levels of experience, the challenges of understanding the game in its opening hours, whether it feels meaningful to explore after you've already done it once through, and whether the updates leading up to Next have had a major impact on the game.
Of course, this discussion is all in the context of Next, and the potential it holds, so the gang also look to the future, and consider whether the imminent changes will be enough to win over those that either left the game or haven't given it a shot yet. This part of the discussion will be further explored in a future episode, after the team have had some time to play No Man's Sky's Next update.
In GameSpot's No Man's Sky review, Peter awarded it a 7/10, praising its "massive, seamless world, impressive tech, and unfetter freedom to explore." However, he also highlighted frustrating item management and UI, shallow variety, and the lack of NPCs with meaningful personalities.
Since its initial release, Hello Games launched the Atlas Rises update, which added a story mode. On this aspect of the game, reviewer Justin Clark said that Atlas Rises made the game more robust, welcoming, and accessible. Take a look at all the ways the game has evolved in our video on the 11 things that have changed in No Man's Sky since launch.