No Man's Sky

 PC
User Score
4.0

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 2694 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 819 out of 2694
  2. Mixed: 284 out of 2694
  3. Negative: 1,591 out of 2694

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  1. miniwolfen
    Aug 14, 2016
    7
    No mans Sky looks and sounds impressive but even if it has lots of planets the game play gets boring.Face it this indie game was just as over hyped as mighty no 9 which turned out to be a disaster. At least its better than that game.The visuals and world seem impressive but there isn't much to do game play wise other than mine and craft stuff, rename things and talk to aliens.It has theNo mans Sky looks and sounds impressive but even if it has lots of planets the game play gets boring.Face it this indie game was just as over hyped as mighty no 9 which turned out to be a disaster. At least its better than that game.The visuals and world seem impressive but there isn't much to do game play wise other than mine and craft stuff, rename things and talk to aliens.It has the world it just needs more things to do to make it stand out and have its own charm and personality.The price as well makes it seem more like a triple a game not an indie, my pc runs it fine but on others it doesn't. I expect an indie game to work on every ones pc if they are saying they have the right things installed… Expand
  2. JerryCanFTWBoys
    Aug 12, 2016
    7
    Okay first things first, never trust critics. critics is just an opinion from others, not from you. So if you really want to find out if its a good game, then buy it and play it yourself. You only just need to like the game. Like me i have played the game and i liked it, and i dont bother me on the bad or the the good critics . Just dont bother you on the critics! People are just gonnaOkay first things first, never trust critics. critics is just an opinion from others, not from you. So if you really want to find out if its a good game, then buy it and play it yourself. You only just need to like the game. Like me i have played the game and i liked it, and i dont bother me on the bad or the the good critics . Just dont bother you on the critics! People are just gonna hate and people are just gonna love! Thats the world of critics now of the days, so just play it for yourself. Then you know if its a good or a bad game for you.… Expand
  3. Broruffy
    Aug 12, 2016
    7
    On my Computer Setup (i5 750, GTX 960, 8GB Ram) the Game works okay. I get 30 FPS I can play this fine. Sometime the Game freezes for a moment, but that's fine. I can enjoy exploring. But I noticed, that the rendering doesn't work perfect. Sometimes not everything gets rendered 100%.

    The game needs to work better and some sort of Base building. That could be on Planets or with a giant    On my Computer Setup (i5 750, GTX 960, 8GB Ram) the Game works okay. I get 30 FPS I can play this fine. Sometime the Game freezes for a moment, but that's fine. I can enjoy exploring. But I noticed, that the rendering doesn't work perfect. Sometimes not everything gets rendered 100%.

    The game needs to work better and some sort of Base building. That could be on Planets or with a giant Spaceship.    … Expand
  4. MarthEliwood
    Aug 12, 2016
    7
    So I have put in a few hours so far in the game. It feels to me as a 3D Starbound(Alpha/Beta Phases). There isnt much direction, mostly crafting and exploration, trading with the inhabitants, and learning the language. Once they add in multiplayer, some questing or objectives, bases/pets(Which they said they will be), and maybe make the flight a bit less clunky this game will be muchSo I have put in a few hours so far in the game. It feels to me as a 3D Starbound(Alpha/Beta Phases). There isnt much direction, mostly crafting and exploration, trading with the inhabitants, and learning the language. Once they add in multiplayer, some questing or objectives, bases/pets(Which they said they will be), and maybe make the flight a bit less clunky this game will be much better. Just like Starbound when it was in early stages.… Expand
  5. Apm
    Aug 16, 2016
    7
    Поначалу игра показалась мне скучной, но пересилив себя и поиграв в неё еще пару часиков, я увлекся и теперь играю каждый день. Мне самому кажется это странным. Но я думаю игра должна сразу чем-то цеплять и не отпускать до конца, поэтому я снижаю свою оценку. И да, я оцениваю не объективно. Багов и лагов нет - и на том спасибо.Поначалу игра показалась мне скучной, но пересилив себя и поиграв в неё еще пару часиков, я увлекся и теперь играю каждый день. Мне самому кажется это странным. Но я думаю игра должна сразу чем-то цеплять и не отпускать до конца, поэтому я снижаю свою оценку. И да, я оцениваю не объективно. Багов и лагов нет - и на том спасибо.
  6. wightlight8
    Aug 17, 2016
    7
    Despite its flaws there is something magical about the game. 18 quintillion planets, all unique. You land on one and there's a good possibility you're going to be the only one that ever sees it. It becomes your planet. I love that sense of solitude, and the environments are often very beautiful. Just wandering around exploring is very good stress relief.

    That said, there are many    Despite its flaws there is something magical about the game. 18 quintillion planets, all unique. You land on one and there's a good possibility you're going to be the only one that ever sees it. It becomes your planet. I love that sense of solitude, and the environments are often very beautiful. Just wandering around exploring is very good stress relief.

    That said, there are many frustrations and disappointments. Inventory management is not fun, and that's a problem because gaining more inventory slots is pretty much the sole form of character progression. You want to craft upgrades, but every upgrade takes up an inventory slot that you can't spare. You want to craft a one time use bypass chip to unlock something, but first you have to destroy things to make room in your inventory. You find a cool looking crashed ship, but it's useless because the inventory is smaller than yours. You find a new multitool with more slots, but you have to craft all your upgrades again only to repeat the whole process an hour later. There's really no point in trying too hard to tune your upgrades until you max out your inventory slots. Gaining inventory slots one by one is a tedious grind, and yet without that, there's almost nothing to strive for.

    Alien and terminal interactions are fun, but you begin to see the same logic problems cropping up over and over. I've used the same number to answer the exact same problem at least 5 times now. And while the landscapes and creatures are procedurally generated, there is a very small subset of buildings and interactive objects that you begin to see over and over again.

    Other than naming things, there is no way to leave your mark in the world. You can't build anything. You can't change anything. I can't think of a single way to influence the world in any way.

    There are achievements for scanning 100% of the creatures on a planet, yet there are always 1 or 2 species on a planet that are nigh impossible to find because they are so rare. It took me 3 days of flying around on the same planet before I finally completed this objective just once. Thinking about doing it again makes me want to stop playing.

    Lastly, it seems like a pretty poor PC port. You may have to fiddle with the graphics settings before you can even get it to run (I had to enable Borderless Windowed mode), and even then the performance is not the best. I have been experiencing some kind of memory leak, where after several hours of playing the FPS tanks and I have to restart the game. Playable, but not impressive.

    It's a fun game to wander aimlessly around. In fact I really enjoy doing that. But the moment you start to try to complete any of the games objectives, anything that makes the game an actual game, it starts to become a boring grind.    … Expand
  7. Ric_PC
    Aug 21, 2016
    7
    Well, the game isn't bad at all, however I was expecting more. It can be a little bit disappointing for those who are expecting for great graphics for example. At 1080p the image is a little bit blurry (and I know how to configure my graphic settings for god sake), feels like the game was ported (which is ridiculous.. we are in 2016). The story is interesting, but the space travelWell, the game isn't bad at all, however I was expecting more. It can be a little bit disappointing for those who are expecting for great graphics for example. At 1080p the image is a little bit blurry (and I know how to configure my graphic settings for god sake), feels like the game was ported (which is ridiculous.. we are in 2016). The story is interesting, but the space travel sometimes becomes very annoying and repetitive as well as some planets.
    My vote goes for a 7/7,5.    … Expand
  8. Colbert
    Sep 5, 2016
    7
    Planetscape wallpaper generator. Plenty of ambiance with a 70s sci-fi art style. Buy it if you would like to wander the universe looking at different but similar planets while grinding elements ad infinitum with the occasional ship fight.
  9. F0B0S
    Sep 14, 2016
    7
    Juego entretenido para quien le gusta la exploración, por desgracia, acaba resultando repetitivo cuando se avanza un poco en la partida ya que una vez terminados los objetivos basicos el objetivo único del juego pasa a ser avanzar hacia el centro de la galaxia por los medios de que dispongas, y puedo garantizar que es un proceso muy largo y pesado.
  10. tommy61157
    Jul 31, 2017
    7
    No Man's Sky is clearly a flawed game and had a terrible launch. With that said though, there still is a lot to love here and the developers are adding more and more to the game through updates and the recent 'Waking Titan' ARG. I would recommend buying it whenever it goes on sale at some point after the 1.3 update comes out because I think the game will improve even more than it alreadyNo Man's Sky is clearly a flawed game and had a terrible launch. With that said though, there still is a lot to love here and the developers are adding more and more to the game through updates and the recent 'Waking Titan' ARG. I would recommend buying it whenever it goes on sale at some point after the 1.3 update comes out because I think the game will improve even more than it already has in that update and it might be worth a sub-60$ price point. Personally, I've had a lot of fun with the game actually and if you ignore all the hype BS and take the game for what it is, it can be very relaxing and kind of cool, keep your eye on this one, as it can only get better with the updates Hello Games is continuing to provide.… Expand
  11. Taylord99
    Aug 15, 2018
    7
    This game is a much better game than what it was in 2016. There are many more things to do now and it feels way more dynamic and has way more depth. The game still has a ways to go, but it is getting there.
  12. Rhynlock
    Aug 15, 2018
    7
    First of all, this game is not for everyone, this is a game about exploration, about wandering about in the endless procedural generated galaxy. The Next updated really blew life into a dead game and make me jump into it. is interesting to go find little pieces of a language to help you communicate with new species. the spaceships has a good variety even tough they all play mostly theFirst of all, this game is not for everyone, this is a game about exploration, about wandering about in the endless procedural generated galaxy. The Next updated really blew life into a dead game and make me jump into it. is interesting to go find little pieces of a language to help you communicate with new species. the spaceships has a good variety even tough they all play mostly the same, its nice eye candy. the game does has a huge amount of farming and grinding that slows the exploration quite a bit and this is my main issue with the game. other issue I have is that lots of the flora and fauna you find in different planets look weird or outright creepy, which can be a little unsettling. anyway I love exploration and in space is just better, if you are into that pick it up and have fun. if you don't, then stay away… Expand
  13. SerSpooge
    Jun 24, 2020
    7
    Considering the state it was in when it first released, this game has come an incredibly long way. they have added an endless amount of enjoyable content,I have put 20 hours into it recently and feel as though I have barely scratched the surface. it still has its issues, I have had multiple deaths due to glitches in the world and the multiplayer isn't as synchronised as it could be. butConsidering the state it was in when it first released, this game has come an incredibly long way. they have added an endless amount of enjoyable content,I have put 20 hours into it recently and feel as though I have barely scratched the surface. it still has its issues, I have had multiple deaths due to glitches in the world and the multiplayer isn't as synchronised as it could be. but seeing how far they've come since release I can only see this game getting better.… Expand
  14. BastianTank
    Jul 26, 2019
    7
    I think No Man's Sky is a great game. The graphics are impressive, the gameplay relatively exciting. What I have to criticize in the gameplay, however, is that the missions are mostly structured as follows:
      - Go somewhere
    - pick something up / give / eliminate - fly back. It can also be annoying when small animals attack you for unknown reasons. What I also should mention is that    I think No Man's Sky is a great game. The graphics are impressive, the gameplay relatively exciting. What I have to criticize in the gameplay, however, is that the missions are mostly structured as follows:
      - Go somewhere
    - pick something up / give / eliminate
    - fly back.
    It can also be annoying when small animals attack you for unknown reasons.
    What I also should mention is that mining / picking up / etc. plays an important role.
    Incidentally, I'm grateful that there are encyclopedias about No Man's Sky because not everything is self-explanatory.    … Expand
  15. Lizarino
    May 31, 2020
    7
    Rough launch but the regular updates have made this game definitely worth playing
    If you don't mind grinding and enjoy exploration / building then try it out
    The game does occasionally crash for me though and the occasional bug but nothing major Edit 2020: The game now has major performance issues for me including frequent crashing, low fps and textures not loading in properly. I    Rough launch but the regular updates have made this game definitely worth playing
    If you don't mind grinding and enjoy exploration / building then try it out

    The game does occasionally crash for me though and the occasional bug but nothing major

    Edit 2020: The game now has major performance issues for me including frequent crashing, low fps and textures not loading in properly. I have also been experiencing a lot more bugs like the discovery system not working, other players being invisible, bases dissapearing. All of these things were pretty much non-existant in the past.
    Losing almost houts of progress multiple times is infuriating so score is lowered    … Expand
  16. Mister_Jey
    Jan 12, 2021
    7
    → Une épopée dans les étoiles.
    Décrié à sa sortie pour ne pas avoir tenu toutes ses promesses, No Man's Sky est aujourd'hui à la hauteur de ce qu'il devait être, grâce à un bon nombre de DLC gratuits qui sont venus ajouter beaucoup de contenu. Ainsi, on se retrouve à bord de notre vaisseau à explorer un nombre infini de planètes colorées, au climat parfois rude, et peuplé généralement de    → Une épopée dans les étoiles.
    Décrié à sa sortie pour ne pas avoir tenu toutes ses promesses, No Man's Sky est aujourd'hui à la hauteur de ce qu'il devait être, grâce à un bon nombre de DLC gratuits qui sont venus ajouter beaucoup de contenu. Ainsi, on se retrouve à bord de notre vaisseau à explorer un nombre infini de planètes colorées, au climat parfois rude, et peuplé généralement de drôles de créatures. J'aurais tout de même souhaité une histoire tout autre, d'ailleurs peut-on vraiment parler ici de scénario ? Il y a quand même une espèce de sentiment de solitude intersidéral qui s'installe, malgré l'arrivé du Nexus (sorte d'anomalie spatiale proposant une expérience multijoueur). NMS propose tout de même une belle aventure, j'étais déjà conquis à sa sortie, et c'est évidemment encore plus le cas aujourd'hui, même s'il pourrait être encore bien meilleur sur certains points.

    Sortie en août 2016 / Développé par Hello Games.    … Expand
  17. BuckThundermeat
    Nov 19, 2019
    7
    TL;DR - Worth a look. The developer is working overtime releasing good content for the game, and for a survival-lite Minecraft spin-off it's fun, engaging, and has a pretty good amount of non-linear content.

    +PROS+ · Mechanically, the game is pretty good. Controls are solid and everything feels 'right'. Swapping between tools, and the adjacency system (though the latter is hardly    TL;DR - Worth a look. The developer is working overtime releasing good content for the game, and for a survival-lite Minecraft spin-off it's fun, engaging, and has a pretty good amount of non-linear content.

    +PROS+

    · Mechanically, the game is pretty good. Controls are solid and everything feels 'right'. Swapping between tools, and the adjacency system (though the latter is hardly explained) are pretty intuitive once you get the hang of it. Vehicles are fun to use and work very well in the game. Some people complain about the in-space combat but frankly I haven't had that many problems with it and it seems more like a personal problem.

    · It's really cool to look at. The visuals are just out of control.

    · The developer is actively releasing high quality content for the game, and seems to actually care about the sustainability of the title.

    -CONS-

    · The game struggles with its story - it's pretty cool but it drags on for an eternity and the rewards are pretty garbage.

    · Both PvE and PvP in this title are for the most part non-existent and otherwise complete and utter garbage. While the title seems to be purposefully centered around exploration, the lack of content encouraging players to interact with one another results in a game that's pretty boring to play with a group.

    · While new stuff is coming out, it still does suffer some of the same repetitive complaints that have plagued it in the past about lack of meaningful content, though it's getting much, much better.    … Expand
  18. xoca
    Nov 29, 2019
    7
    Had a pretty rocky launch but it improved steadly (and for free) and it's now a pretty decent game.
    A brief caracterization would be: It's like a Galaxy wide version of Minecraft.

    Random facts:
    - Beautiful scenaries
    - Boring creatures and NPCs
    - Endless exploration
    - Grindy
    - Spaceships
    - Repetitive
    - Addictive
  19. nightstroller
    Apr 29, 2020
    7
    This is my review as a new player (with only about 100 ish hours in so far). I held back on getting the game when it first dropped, although I was most certainly interested. I also did not see/read all of the initial negative reviews. I held off because I was instead putting my attention on Star Citizen at the time (still am keeping tabs on it). But seeing as how we all have to wait a yearThis is my review as a new player (with only about 100 ish hours in so far). I held back on getting the game when it first dropped, although I was most certainly interested. I also did not see/read all of the initial negative reviews. I held off because I was instead putting my attention on Star Citizen at the time (still am keeping tabs on it). But seeing as how we all have to wait a year or more for SC campaign/PU, I thought I would bite the bullet and finally check out NMS after all these years.

    I understand it was released to nearly universal letdown -- not delivering on hardly anything it was advertised to be, however, in it's current state as of writing this, the game is not half as bad as initial/outdated reviews would lead you to believe. It's a very decent game, and the only reason I can't give it a higher score is because I'm not a hardcore exploration fan. What the game currently does have to offer is pretty nice though. It's not perfect, but given from where it started, you can tell the developers care about making it better.

    I wish it had more ship diversity, both in terms of exterior design and interior layout (especially space station interiors -- they're all identical), and I understand this game is built around procedural generation, but if they added in more hand-crafted buildings/structures and populated those with interesting/unique characters with motivation/purpose, then this game would really shine imo. For all I know, Hello Games might be planning or have stuff in the works to address all this. Even if they don't the game is currently really decent.

    No Man's Sky
    Gameplay Enjoyability (0 - Worst, 10 - Best)

    Visuals: 7
    Ground Combat: 4
    Space Combat: 5
    Exploration (enjoyability potential): 9
    Base building: 7
    Lore: 6
    Music ambience: 6
    Cataloguing all-the-things (enjoyability potential): 8
    Resource gathering: 7
    Inventory management: 4

    The (enjoyability potential) is there for those who are into those kinds of things. Take off two points if you aren't.    … Expand
  20. Lex_x
    Sep 30, 2020
    7
    Хорошая, довольно увлекательная игра. Борозди космос, исследуй другие планеты, знакомься с пришельцами, строй свою базу, выполняй квесты, торгуй и т. д. В игре немало всего, иногда встречаются баги... Но они не так часты, чтобы разрушать всё впечатление. Если конкретно, то у меня были баги с поведением камеры (которые были связаны с взаимодействием с текстурами, и очень быстро прошли самиХорошая, довольно увлекательная игра. Борозди космос, исследуй другие планеты, знакомься с пришельцами, строй свою базу, выполняй квесты, торгуй и т. д. В игре немало всего, иногда встречаются баги... Но они не так часты, чтобы разрушать всё впечатление. Если конкретно, то у меня были баги с поведением камеры (которые были связаны с взаимодействием с текстурами, и очень быстро прошли сами собой) и баги с генерацией (в основном левитирующие контейнеры и камни). Как бы то ни было, не думаю, что подобные баги сильно помешают вашей игре.… Expand
  21. F3T1W
    Aug 27, 2021
    7
    High-quality varied GRIND simulator in space, with a variety of flora and fauna
  22. Mastereed
    Jul 1, 2023
    7
    JOURNEY TO THE CORE

    BEFORE WE START: No Man's Sky was developed and published by Hello Games and released in 2016. This title was released under completely adverse conditions compared to those presented at various conventions and fairs, and therefore, it was heavily criticized. After dozens of updates, the game became very similar to what was originally announced. The title has been    JOURNEY TO THE CORE

    BEFORE WE START:
    No Man's Sky was developed and published by Hello Games and released in 2016. This title was released under completely adverse conditions compared to those presented at various conventions and fairs, and therefore, it was heavily criticized. After dozens of updates, the game became very similar to what was originally announced. The title has been fully released on Game Pass PC.

    THE TAKE OFF:
    No Man's Sky, as a pure survival game, instantly throws the player into the clutches of a planet immersed in the infinite universe. This planet can randomly be peaceful or malevolent, making the first steps more or less challenging depending on the type. The initial stages mainly involve learning the basics of survival, as well as constructing a small personal base. After these steps, the player will be unleashed into the universe of the Atlas, a mysterious deity or legend that requires the player to reach the center of the universe. As an interlude, the player can literally explore endless planets, take on dozens of side missions, and build bases on planets or immense frigates.

    STALENESS UNIVERSE:
    The gameplay of No Man's Sky is as varied as it is repetitive. In addition to the mere survival aspect of collecting resources, surviving in hostile planets, and fighting sentinels, players can venture into cooperative missions and raids on frigates and outposts. Furthermore, a small part of the game certainly involves space battles, albeit very simple ones. The true heart of the gameplay in this immense title lies in the exploration of thousands of planets, which often differ greatly, and the various space wrecks. A small mechanic that encourages exploration is the bestiary and encyclopedia of creatures and objects on the planets, offering small rewards in currency.

    WHAT COLOR IS THE SPACE?:
    Graphically, it is rather average, with a wide variety of designs and coloration of the different worlds. Certainly, the imagination behind some plants and creatures is exceptional.

    SCATTERED ECHOES:
    The audio component, like the graphics, is average. However, its great merit lies in creating extremely relaxing and mesmerizing situations, with fitting soundtracks for deep space.

    BUT WHY 7?

    PROS:
    No Man's Sky is currently an extremely enjoyable and relaxing title to play and explore. The vastness and creativity of the game world rarely become tiresome, and the game's writing is unique and detailed, keeping the player engaged. Additionally, the main story, being very philosophical, will certainly stimulate the minds of the most imaginative players.

    CONS:
    The major problem with No Man's Sky lies in the immense repetitiveness that it reaches within a few days of gameplay. Every space station, NPC, planetary base, frigate, and most dialogues will always and uniformly be the same. Moreover, the game's strong survival aspect often leads to tedious farming sequences for normal gameplay actions. All these factors make it a highly enjoyable game even today, but it certainly doesn't lack some issues dating back to its release.

    RATINGS:
    Gameplay: 6.5
    Music: 7.5
    Story: 7
    Survival: 6
    _    … Expand
  23. TheGvH
    Aug 21, 2023
    7
    No Man's Sky presents a captivating experience for those with a penchant for exploration and adventure. With 50 hours invested, I find myself inclined to recommend it. The game's allure lies in its vast universe to traverse and discover, offering a plethora of activities to engage in. However, to maintain lasting enjoyment, creativity is key. While there's no shortage of things to do, theNo Man's Sky presents a captivating experience for those with a penchant for exploration and adventure. With 50 hours invested, I find myself inclined to recommend it. The game's allure lies in its vast universe to traverse and discover, offering a plethora of activities to engage in. However, to maintain lasting enjoyment, creativity is key. While there's no shortage of things to do, the onus is on players to craft their own entertainment. If you possess the imaginative spark to keep yourself engaged, No Man's Sky provides a fulfilling and expansive journey worth embarking upon.… Expand
  24. Ansatsu83
    May 2, 2017
    6
    The developers had stated, several months before release, that the game would be centered around exploration, not combat. So I expected a more relaxed game, rather than an open world game. This is, of course, going to be boring to the majority of players that want an action oriented game. Much of the issues are centered around the trailer and what was "promised". What they showed in theThe developers had stated, several months before release, that the game would be centered around exploration, not combat. So I expected a more relaxed game, rather than an open world game. This is, of course, going to be boring to the majority of players that want an action oriented game. Much of the issues are centered around the trailer and what was "promised". What they showed in the trailer was not possible at the time of release. Only one GPU, at that time, could technically run what they were wanting to put in... so yeah they were going to dumb it down to appeal to the mass market. I see people complaining that its boring... what do you expect about a game that is centered around single player exploration, and not combat? Its not as bad as people say, but its also not as good as people say by any long mile. Its average. If you want a single player space exploration game, with minimal combat, then this is not a bad option. The worlds are big and there is some form of mindless, and minor, satisfaction from exploring ruins and learning an alien language. I oddly never had crashes or fps issues, since day 1 of launch... I was running a dying r9 290, with 16 gigs of ddr3 and an amd fx-8350 black. Stable 49 fps.… Expand
  25. DukeJon
    Jun 9, 2023
    6
    Picked this up on steam recently and thought I'd give it a go plugged into my oculus rift 2 VR headset. Initial impressions were good, flying between planets, going into hyperspace, etc. Problem is that it's all boring. Planets are procedurally generated but they all look generic. There are animals pottering around but they don't do much. There's no flocking, predation, etc, going on. YouPicked this up on steam recently and thought I'd give it a go plugged into my oculus rift 2 VR headset. Initial impressions were good, flying between planets, going into hyperspace, etc. Problem is that it's all boring. Planets are procedurally generated but they all look generic. There are animals pottering around but they don't do much. There's no flocking, predation, etc, going on. You get patches of minerals dotted around but it's all very random, not how it would be found on a real planet (ie. a big mound of gold right next to a mound of copper). There's basically zero story and no voice acting. You spend all your time with your mining laser grinding plants and rocks then crafting them into more materials. You might also go into space to grind asteroids with your lasers. There's an occasional dogfight which can be quite frustrating. The gameplay loop is as boring as hell, it's all going towards a better spaceship, better mining laser, etc. I found myself desperately looking for fun things to do. It would be better if they added a proper story. I'd much rather have a single hand-crafted world with different biomes, cities, competing factions, interesting characters, quests, etc, than a zillion boring random planets with nothing going on. The game also runs like s**t; performance is terrible. Very disappointed.… Expand
  26. akarnokd
    Sep 1, 2016
    6
    This is an odd game, full of potential yet hollow and lacking of content. All those generated animals, plants and planet surfaces are nothing but a modulo on a pseudo-random generator someone chose a seed.

    Everything looks quite similar after a while and if it weren't for the milestones or achivements, I wouldn't have bothered with looking at animals at all. Plus, the game is full of    This is an odd game, full of potential yet hollow and lacking of content. All those generated animals, plants and planet surfaces are nothing but a modulo on a pseudo-random generator someone chose a seed.

    Everything looks quite similar after a while and if it weren't for the milestones or achivements, I wouldn't have bothered with looking at animals at all. Plus, the game is full of transition animations: letterboxing on encountering an NPC, zooming out on the first save - all interesting in the first few hours but then the whole game feels like work I wanted to get over with.

    Travelling between stars is also time wasting; I don't think the game loads but has a fixed delay no matter what. Also, there is no straight travel but from star-to-star so even with max hyperdrive, for each 1600 lightyears I got closer to the center by 600 lightyears (~300 jumps x 90 seconds? Gave up and modded it).

    Traversing a planet is also tedious, slow walking speed and such, but just like with the Mako from Mass Effect, there is two side of it: the terrain. The fractal like structure generated really looks realistic, except I havent found any planet with miles of flat surface (that is not water).

    Flying around is fun, not crashing at all, but often I really wanted to look down to see where I land. Given that, I wonder why there is no such thing as auto-landing near a point of interest or trade post?

    The game lacks a ton of video-advertised features, some of them forgiveable while others are not. I believe many features didn't make the release because of stability or balance issues. However, the poorly designed UI has no excuse.

    There is nothing really to own, no reason to hoard, there is nothing to go back for and once all languages, milestones and achievements have been reached in the current game, there is nothing to play for.

    The inventory space is small but expandable relatively easily but I felt the stacking of resources is too low, plus there are items that don't stack for no apparent reason. In addition, the mouse handling is worst of both PC and console worlds: PC players have to hold a button like the console ones instead of clicking and console people have to move a mouse-like cursor?!

    The graphics looked okay to me and the game was stable on my machine with GTX 660, but a GTX 1060+ really helps with smoothness and framerate. The sound is okay but some contextual ones are quite repeating after a while.

    The technology seems to be there and hope they can expand it with more content, but note that they can't change the seed or the generation algorithm because that would break existing content (i.e., your current location generated a planet beneath you and with an update, the same coordinate is now within a space whale...).

    Is it worth a full price? I don't feel so.

    (Bought it 4 days after the launch, played the vanilla game for 6 hours, played another 50 hours with all sorts of convenience mods; reached the center and gave up for now.)    … Expand
  27. Nataraja
    Aug 16, 2016
    6
    No Man's Sky (NMS) is a divisive game. What is in the game at launch is only a morsel of what it hoped to be. Justifiable or not is a personal perspective and I am disappointed with the launch product and the over hype of the game. Regardless I can lose hours to the game as a form or relaxation and exploration. On that level it delivers. But its also very repetitive in a ungratifyingNo Man's Sky (NMS) is a divisive game. What is in the game at launch is only a morsel of what it hoped to be. Justifiable or not is a personal perspective and I am disappointed with the launch product and the over hype of the game. Regardless I can lose hours to the game as a form or relaxation and exploration. On that level it delivers. But its also very repetitive in a ungratifying way. There is no drive to do much of anything unless you create your own purpose and goals.

    The controversy continues when people weigh its value proposition and many feel its not a $60 game. I am fine with its price point but for anyone on the fence I would urge you to rent it for PS4 or watch a lot of streams so you know what you are purchasing.

    The technical flaws on PC are large and unavoidable. Graphically its serviceable. The sound and soundtrack are the strongest part of the game. The rest is simply mediocre, from mining to spacecraft to shooting, etc.

    The best criticism that I heard of the game is its "an ocean of content that is only about an inch deep." For those who love sandboxes though, this will be a stellar title. For me this sandbox is just too lose and offers too little engagement to keep me interested for an extended time, but has provided 40 hours of entertainment and will be there whenever I decide I want to mindlessly grind away at NMS.    … Expand
  28. Thylbanus
    Aug 12, 2016
    6
    Don't know what others are complaining about. If you are complaining about poor performance on a top of the line PC, it's because you have a top of the line PC. Games are focused on hitting the 90% of the computers on launch (so, the most common). IF you fall under the top, or bottom 5%, well there is your problem. Sorry your special snowflake computer is so rare, try being more commonDon't know what others are complaining about. If you are complaining about poor performance on a top of the line PC, it's because you have a top of the line PC. Games are focused on hitting the 90% of the computers on launch (so, the most common). IF you fall under the top, or bottom 5%, well there is your problem. Sorry your special snowflake computer is so rare, try being more common in the future.

    Anywho, on to the game. It's a bit of a self starting kind of game. You have to have your own agenda with this game. There is currently too little to keep you occupied unless you set and meet your own goals. If you are looking for an EVE with a cockpit, this game is NOT it. This is a young adult version of Elite: Dangerous. It's really light on the narrative. If you are on OC completionist, you will never leave this game. There is ALWAYS something new to find on the next planet.    … Expand
  29. telefoonboek
    Aug 29, 2016
    6
    I am giving this game 6/10. The game is overpriced for what it currently offers. I think 30 euros or 30 dollars would be a more correct price for this product.

    For a small development team of 20 people, the graphics of this game are actualy quiet good. I also quiet liked my first 10 hours into this game. Everything felt new, it was fun to discover new stuff, also figuring things out on    I am giving this game 6/10. The game is overpriced for what it currently offers. I think 30 euros or 30 dollars would be a more correct price for this product.

    For a small development team of 20 people, the graphics of this game are actualy quiet good. I also quiet liked my first 10 hours into this game. Everything felt new, it was fun to discover new stuff, also figuring things out on the go. Without trying to read guides on the internet. I think the limited inventory space in this game is intentional, and makes you use your braines to think out whats important and what not. Perhaps u indeed have to trade more often at the start to empty your inventory.

    The problem with this game, in my eyes, it becomes more of the same. There are only so much anomaly's availble in the game. Also upgrades don't come fast enough. After 15 hours I am still in my second ship and second multi tool( without using guides...). Their should be a bit more variation in the game to keep things interesting. I also dont feel a real connections with the backstory when I am running around on a planet.    … Expand
  30. artnat
    Aug 26, 2016
    6
    Apart from the technical problems this game desperately needs new content and new gameplay.

    The art direction is great, procedural generation is great. Everything looks cool but it lacks substance. Yes, it was overhyped, but I spent over 20 relaxing hours in it mining and travelling. It has potential to be something greater. Giving it 0's just because it didn't meet expectations is    Apart from the technical problems this game desperately needs new content and new gameplay.

    The art direction is great, procedural generation is great. Everything looks cool but it lacks substance.

    Yes, it was overhyped, but I spent over 20 relaxing hours in it mining and travelling. It has potential to be something greater. Giving it 0's just because it didn't meet expectations is not fair.

    Buy it on sale after they put some content in and you will be satisfied.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Most Discussed PC Game of 2016
25
#25 Most Shared PC Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
61

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 17
  3. Negative: 2 out of 17
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Oct 11, 2016
    67
    No Man's Sky breaks the record in falling short of the hype – which is an incredible achievement in the category of super ambitious space games. The huge universe is a repetitive, lifeless and meaningless place, no amount of random generated creatures can change that. The most unforgivable fail is making the spaceship such a pain to fly, which makes exploring the vast universe simply a chore. However, at its best the game is epic and many of the issues should be easy to fix, so this might not be the end of the journey after all. [Sept 2016]
  2. PC PowerPlay
    Oct 2, 2016
    60
    It's partially broken, shallow, repetitive and aimless, but hang me, I still kind of love it. [Issue#255, p.56]
  3. Edge Magazine
    Sep 27, 2016
    60
    While some poorly designed systems and mechanics chip away at your patience, the feeling of flying seamlessly from space down to a peninsula you spotted from orbit never fails to enthrall. [Nov 2016, p.106]
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