No Man's Sky

 PlayStation 4
User Score
4.8

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 5473 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,123 out of 5473
  2. Mixed: 648 out of 5473
  3. Negative: 2,702 out of 5473
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  1. Kris_d
    Oct 22, 2016
    4
    I think this would have made a great early acces title at for the price of 20 euro's. While i'm used to companies exaggerating and showing trailers that make games look better than they actually are, in the case of No Man's Sky it's a lot worse. I suggest watching the angry Joe review where he sums up everything that's been stated by Sean Murray and what is actually in the game. at first iI think this would have made a great early acces title at for the price of 20 euro's. While i'm used to companies exaggerating and showing trailers that make games look better than they actually are, in the case of No Man's Sky it's a lot worse. I suggest watching the angry Joe review where he sums up everything that's been stated by Sean Murray and what is actually in the game. at first i felt bad for the guy, but honestly he really lied bad about many things. There's some fun and cool moment to be had the first ten hours of the game, but it lacks in a lot of ways. It's very shallow, the universe is empty, the flying is bad, the combat is bad. If you're lucky to land on a beautiful interesting planet, there's some relaxing moments to enjoy the vista's and take screenshots. But that's pretty much the only positives about this game. I was hoping the game would get some nice features the coming year(s), but i think i kinda gave up on it and accepted i wasted 60 euro's.… Expand
  2. Willybach
    Aug 15, 2016
    4
    I was a fanboy, now I'm a sadboy.

    So much potential, so admirable for trying something new. So likeable devs. So poor a PC implementation, so poor a litany of ill-conceived game mechanics. So little to do once you crawl and stutter your way past the first planet. It's an Alpha. If they fix it, add to it, restructure it, redesign it...I will gladly come back and amend my score. Please    I was a fanboy, now I'm a sadboy.

    So much potential, so admirable for trying something new. So likeable devs. So poor a PC implementation, so poor a litany of ill-conceived game mechanics. So little to do once you crawl and stutter your way past the first planet.

    It's an Alpha. If they fix it, add to it, restructure it, redesign it...I will gladly come back and amend my score. Please make me do this. My bank balance took a hit, and I feel like I've just used 40 pounds to wipe my backside.    … Expand
  3. GrumpyReviewer
    Aug 15, 2016
    4
    I played for more than 15 hours, trying to convince myself this game was everything I expected it to be. I kept pushing forward, making me believe I was playing what was promised to me. The hype was real and so was my disappointment.

    No Man's Sky is an INCREDIBLE game and a true achievement in gaming. It's a hallmark, it's history, it's gigantic, ambitious, glorious, miraculous in its    I played for more than 15 hours, trying to convince myself this game was everything I expected it to be. I kept pushing forward, making me believe I was playing what was promised to me. The hype was real and so was my disappointment.

    No Man's Sky is an INCREDIBLE game and a true achievement in gaming. It's a hallmark, it's history, it's gigantic, ambitious, glorious, miraculous in its scope. It's just NOT the game we were promised. And it pains me to admit that.

    My initial reaction was... WOW, this game is incredible. But after hours and hours playing, it was clear that this game is ocean wide and puddle deep. There is just not much to do. No quest, no sidequests, not much of a lore. Just endlessly wandering around, gathering materials, trying to upgrade stuff while you juggle your inventory slots. It gets so, so incredibly boring it's a shame. Basically this is a game about mining materials, managing inventory and walking/flying around from planet to planet until you reach the ultimate goal: "the center of the galaxy".

    The game just has no purpose, no point and it saddens me to say that it got old really fast. It's a shame. If they had thrown in a decent story and some sidequests to keep us moving forward, this could've been one of the greatest games ever made. As of now, it's a space-mining simulator.    … Expand
  4. Neiio
    Aug 9, 2016
    4
    A thoroughly mediocre game with lackluster objectives. No Man's Sky is the epitome of shallow, with all the beauty and lack of content that you'd expect from a AAA game. Too bad this isn't a AAA game considering they're asking $60 for this... I would not recommend to anyone.
  5. Runfocovah
    Aug 14, 2016
    4
    Solid 6.. Game its fun and original, great sense of being on a universe and make you feel small, its cool to wonder around lush planets BUT after 15-20 hrs in, everything gets repetitive. Theres no real incentive for this grind fest. Fight controls on foot and spaceship are clunky and need to be fixed. Poor inventory design swell as menu interface ala destiny (but worst). Planets can feelSolid 6.. Game its fun and original, great sense of being on a universe and make you feel small, its cool to wonder around lush planets BUT after 15-20 hrs in, everything gets repetitive. Theres no real incentive for this grind fest. Fight controls on foot and spaceship are clunky and need to be fixed. Poor inventory design swell as menu interface ala destiny (but worst). Planets can feel new only the first couple of times... seen one? seen them all. AI its missing, just bland unless characters (aliens and planet creators alike).

    NMS needs to be patched ASAP; Crashing every time I warp, creatures half trapped on the ground, need bigger stacking on every slot on inventory, better spaceship handling, better space fights, and the most important of all KEEP MY SAVED FILES ALIVE!!! i have restarted this damn game twice because my save file its "corrupted".

    Its a must buy don't get me wrong, but like in 5-6 months once its cheaper and everything gets fixed.    … Expand
  6. Gampy
    Aug 13, 2016
    4
    Alien cities? Nope.
    Traces of the devastating wars and cataclysms? Nope.
    Planets with various climate zones? Nope.
    Remnants of the extinct civilizations? Nope
    Maybe basic physics? Nope.

    Land -> Collect resouces -> Learn alien words -> Trade and upgrade equipment -> Repeat.
    That's it, the game has nothing else to offer.
  7. Danceswithsheep
    Aug 10, 2016
    4
    From the hype I really didn't expect this to be a survival slog, exploration is very much secondary to managing a tiny inventory.

    I play Elite Dangerous on my PC so I don't mind the general pointlessness of the exploration for its own sake, I enjoy it. But having to spend more time balancing resources that are used up at an alarming rate just suck that enjoyment out of it. The    From the hype I really didn't expect this to be a survival slog, exploration is very much secondary to managing a tiny inventory.

    I play Elite Dangerous on my PC so I don't mind the general pointlessness of the exploration for its own sake, I enjoy it. But having to spend more time balancing resources that are used up at an alarming rate just suck that enjoyment out of it.

    The gathering element is particularly frustrating when you get involved in an entertaining dog fight and have to run away because you used up all your ammunition and need to go wander around looking for isotopes elements. Yeah, that sounds kinda simmy and so you can say it makes sense but it replaces fun with chores too much of the time, maybe more inventory slots will alleviate it but I get the feeling the resources are meant to hamstring you and won't be surprised if bigger ships with bigger inventory space will just need more of the resources to operate so your not better off.

    Meeting aliens and learning a language is 'neat' and is a form of resource gathering that I do find enjoyable.

    In the end this isn't really a game about exploring but about gathering resources and in that respect I get way more fun out of subnautica but if titles like 'Don't Starve' rock your boat then maybe you will probably get more than I did from this.    … Expand
  8. psycros
    Aug 26, 2016
    4
    About five minutes at a stretch was all I could take of the clunky, zero-context UI and non-optimized console port performance. The PC version of NMS is every bit the over-hyped mess you've heard about. As for content and gameplay, you'd get more satisfaction from Garry's Mod. Not even close to ready for release. This is pretty typical of small developers, unfortunately..particularlyAbout five minutes at a stretch was all I could take of the clunky, zero-context UI and non-optimized console port performance. The PC version of NMS is every bit the over-hyped mess you've heard about. As for content and gameplay, you'd get more satisfaction from Garry's Mod. Not even close to ready for release. This is pretty typical of small developers, unfortunately..particularly Scandinavian ones. Hard to believe it took four years considering it offers less than any other first-person, high-res sandbox - even those in early access. Not even worth pirating IMO.… Expand
  9. OwtDaft
    Aug 19, 2018
    4
    + Impressive on a technical level.
    + Nice graphics on some planets.
    - Geez it's soooo BORING. - Quests are boring, mining is boring, everything is boring. - The world feels dead. NPCs are dull they don't move they are dull. - There are less than 10 different types of small buildings that just repeat on all planets. - How is this game so buggy still. It's the most buggy game on PS4.    + Impressive on a technical level.
    + Nice graphics on some planets.
    - Geez it's soooo BORING.
    - Quests are boring, mining is boring, everything is boring.
    - The world feels dead. NPCs are dull they don't move they are dull.
    - There are less than 10 different types of small buildings that just repeat on all planets.
    - How is this game so buggy still. It's the most buggy game on PS4.
    - Did I mention how boring this game is?    … Expand
  10. Snuggle_Fox
    Aug 9, 2016
    4
    Oversold and under delivered. There is 0 multiplayer, 0 sense of community as we cannot share or publish our discoveries. The game is very accessible at least which is a positive and there is some joy and wonder to be had.
    Sadly the 'gameplay' is more tedious than minecraft mining - but without the joy of creation and building. You're forever upgrading your gear just so you can gather    Oversold and under delivered. There is 0 multiplayer, 0 sense of community as we cannot share or publish our discoveries. The game is very accessible at least which is a positive and there is some joy and wonder to be had.
    Sadly the 'gameplay' is more tedious than minecraft mining - but without the joy of creation and building. You're forever upgrading your gear just so you can gather faster to make gear to gather faster to make more gear to gather even faster just to see the centre of the universe...
    Those amazingly diverse planets we were promised, after a few hours in, all feel quite samey.
    Had this game been released at half the price with half the hype I'd say it was a decent little experiment.
    As it carries a AAA game price (in fact higher) and offers such limited gameplay and is missing promised features, I'd wait for a bargain bin or rent this title.    … Expand
  11. JakeSteel
    Nov 16, 2017
    4
    Almost zen like. You can spend hours ignoring your wife and children, this is like Civ V without the excitement or strategy. 10/10 would strip mine planets again.
  12. Nobilis1984
    Apr 13, 2020
    4
    Man hatte zu Release viel Versprochen aber das kommt alles jetzt erst. Nach über 3 Jahren ist das Spiel so wie es sein sollte. Recht spät.
  13. YellowKoala
    Aug 30, 2017
    4
    I bought the game after hearing the patches have made it much better, but find the game very tedious. Everything costs a fortune in the game, but there aren't any fun ways to make the all units (the game's currency) you'll need. It's fun at first, but quickly becomes repetitive. There's a creative mode, but then it cuts out the work. It needs a mode in between regular and creative whereI bought the game after hearing the patches have made it much better, but find the game very tedious. Everything costs a fortune in the game, but there aren't any fun ways to make the all units (the game's currency) you'll need. It's fun at first, but quickly becomes repetitive. There's a creative mode, but then it cuts out the work. It needs a mode in between regular and creative where costs are not so outrageous that the game becomes tedious. It would also be better if resources required to refuel were lower (I find myself spending 10min of every hour restocking the basic items before I can resume collecting more useful items needed to progress).… Expand
  14. MerodeTalks
    Aug 22, 2016
    4
    I am really disappointed with this game. I understood perfectly well what it is (or what rather it was advertised as) before picking it up for full price.

    What I was expecting: 1. The game that is concentrated on exploration of amazing and exotic alien planets and star systems. 2. Cataloguing various strange species of animals and plants. Some I would not have thought about if I    I am really disappointed with this game. I understood perfectly well what it is (or what rather it was advertised as) before picking it up for full price.

    What I was expecting:
    1. The game that is concentrated on exploration of amazing and exotic alien planets and star systems.
    2. Cataloguing various strange species of animals and plants. Some I would not have thought about if I haven't seen them before
    3. I was expecting unique planets, species and plants. I was expecting incredible generation engine for everything I have mentioned.
    4. Cool flying mechanic as I have always dreamed of my own spaceship

    What did I get:

    1. NMS is a really buggy game (first crash after 40 minutes of gameplay). I have played the game for about 15-20 hours on versions 1.03 and 1.04. I have encountered the total of about 7-10 crashes.

    Scanning flying creatures is extremely difficult (you have to point crosshair exactly on little red dot below flying creature and it doesn't always register). You can waste up to 5-10 minutes scanning flying animal if you're unlucky.

    2. Animals and especially plants are VERY REPETITIVE. This is the worst thing you can say about a game which is sold on the premise of infinite procedurally generated universe with each planet unique. Some plants can be found on every planet. Some plants differ very, very slightly from planet to planet.

    Animals are generated by attaching body parts of different animals together. For example - I have found eagle with bunny's head. These body parts are varied by size/colour/length. There are people on internet who have found exact same animals as me. I have found the same animals on several planets (or almost exactly the same animals).

    This kills this game. I don't expect to be amazed by yet another planet. I see everywhere almost the same vegetation and same animals. I was expecting body parts not to be predetermined by human developers but rather be generated by math functions.

    3. Gameplay mechanics are not only boring, but also tiresome. Inventory size is the only driver in this game. Inventory management is tiresome. If construction if item A requires 4 pieces of item B, you cannot create instantly item A, but have to first create 4 pieces of item B (which never stacks).

    Consider this. You start with about 10 free inventory slots. You collect some precious stuff and are left with 2 inventory slots. You find better ship which is crashed. To fix it you need to craft 4 pieces of item B and therefore 5 free inventory slots. Well, you have to throw out everything you've collected. You want to tag this place and come back later after you sell stuff? No, there's no place tagging in this game.

    Surviving in this game is what takes up most of your time but it's boring and actually takes away your attention from what is important. Life support tells you that it's low on power every 25% (even at 75%, which is just stupid). You also have to recharge your mining laser and ship. It takes about half your playtime. Mining is boring. Point at rocks, pull the trigger and stop thinking.

    What should be cool is finding animals. You get the biggest money rewards for cataloguing all animals on the planet and game lets you know how many more are left. And that's about it - if there's one left and you spent 3 hours on planet, there's absolutely no mechanic to help you. You're tired of this place and would like to travel to other planet but on the other hand you're one species away from big reward. It is not pleasant.

    4. Alien interactions are limited to small puzzles and knowing as many of their language's words as possible. For example, alien wants something from you and you can pick from 3 options: give him A, B or C. If you pick right, they teach you some new tech. If you pick wrong it reduces your reputation with these species. Reputation is not worth much. With high enough rep, aliens can heal you, fix your ship etc.

    Most interactions with alien ruins and various stations/buildings are limited. There are 2-3 mini puzzles that are recurring. It's actually ridiculous:
    a. You see 3-4 numbers and have to guess fourth. Numbers are ALWAYS moved to the left (1234, 2341, 3412, ????) and you have to guess fourth.
    b. You see 3-4 numbers. Every next number is multiplication of previous and in each step multiplier is increased by 1 (12, 24, 72, ???)
    c. You see 3-4 numbers. Every next number is the previous one with some value subtracted. The amount subtracted is increased by 1 in each step (72, 66, 61, ???)
    The funny part is - THESE PUZZLES ARE STATIC AND THERE ARE ONLY 3 TYPES. VALUES ARE REPEATED. Even such simple puzzle is not randomized and generated. After a few you memorize correct answer and don't even read them.

    5. I'm running out of character limit. I'll put it shortly - developers lied. A lot of stuff from trailers was cut. I don't even care about multiplayer, but where is that cool big ship wreckage from icy planet?

    I feel cheated. YOU MESSED WITH MY CHILDHOOD DREAMS.    … Expand
  15. Sweetew
    Aug 17, 2016
    4
    Wow. This game is truly unique, in the sense that it made consider to stop playing videogames. Because developers can say whatever they want, without any consequence. What are you talking about, you might ask, well let me tell you:

    FORTY Features were cut from the game. Features that was talked about FOUR months ago, in interviews, in gameplay videos etc are all gone. Gone. Here comes    Wow. This game is truly unique, in the sense that it made consider to stop playing videogames. Because developers can say whatever they want, without any consequence. What are you talking about, you might ask, well let me tell you:

    FORTY Features were cut from the game. Features that was talked about FOUR months ago, in interviews, in gameplay videos etc are all gone. Gone. Here comes the insulting part:

    You know those four trailers that they made between June and August to hype us all more, and show us the four aspects of the game? Yea, a lot of stuff that is in those trailers, aren't in the actual game. yea that's right, surprise surprise, we were lied to by Hello games and Sony. That's called false advertising.

    My recommendation? Stay the hell away from this game, because right now, it's not worth its asking price. It may be worth it in one year, but until then, stay away.

    I will personally try to get a refund.    … Expand
  16. Plain_Sight_Doc
    Aug 30, 2016
    4
    A universe of infinite size that is as deep as a puddle.

    No Mans Sky is a great, big, colorful and fantastic canvas for a game that hasn't been painted yet. Unfortunately the reviewers who state this game is nothing more than a tech demo are sadly correct. This is a game where the limited imaginations or poor planning or ineptitude are apparent at every turn. The fact that it is ALMOST    A universe of infinite size that is as deep as a puddle.

    No Mans Sky is a great, big, colorful and fantastic canvas for a game that hasn't been painted yet. Unfortunately the reviewers who state this game is nothing more than a tech demo are sadly correct. This is a game where the limited imaginations or poor planning or ineptitude are apparent at every turn. The fact that it is ALMOST a game is disapointing and it is more akin to the recent wave of indie developed walking simulators and resource gathering snoozefests that have plagued the "indie" genre for some time now. As of writing this review there is just not all that much or that interesting do or to have taken part. The premise of No Mans Sky is brilliant and it works for moments so brief and fleeting, in between an ocean of inventory management, repetition and cosmetic palette swaps.

    By far the best and most interesting parts of the game are really hidden, non existent or barely a part of No Mans Sky. Upgrades and different multi tools and ships were supposed to be meaningful and unique. Ships boil down to just a random mush of interchangeable ugly parts. Upgrades can all easily be earned without much effort or searching early in game. Landing on a gold mine planet is all too common and really hurts the early game progression system.

    Some of the most awe inspiring moments were some of the most dissapointing. I had landed on a planet and realized its sun would create an eclipse in a few minutes. Standing there holding my binoculars and staring into the sky, I watched and waited. Taking screenshots of the first moments of the eclipse were amazing and awe inspiring. A double eclipse seen perhaps for the first time. Where two planets block out one star in the same place at the same time. As I waited and watched the final minutes of sunset and eclipse I watch the darkened crescented planets hover in the twilight sky realizing most everything the developers said about this game was a lie. These planets would always and forever create an eclipse here in this very spot. The planets, stationary and inanimate. These were not living breathing planets or solar systems or galaxies.. They did not truly rotate, or orbit, or have true ecologys or biomes. These stars could never truly be reached. And the house of cards and all of the walls and illusion that was No Mans Sky collapsed. All in one eclipse. For me it was a look into the heart of how a game is created and perhaps perception itself. For all the things that should be learned from this game is that the reality is only real to the unaware perciever of the illusion. And perhaps reality itself just an illusion, like the word "game" in space game.

    No Mans Sky truly has a few unreplicable moments and grand moments. These moments unfortunately allow you to see the infinite walls for what they truly are, barriers.

    + Truly unique and almost perfect spacecraft flight.
    + True Open world.
    + Moments of awe

    -Very limited crafting and upgrading systems
    -Almost nothing to do but sightsee.
    -No real cutscenes other than the endgame cutscene or real story mode.
    -No variety in planet types (No ringed planets, no biomes, no gas planets, no planetary or cosmic phenomena other than black holes which are almost useless most of the time.)    … Expand
  17. christhewiz
    Aug 23, 2016
    4
    What happened to the game we were expecting? Well, nothing... It was just all about the money! Mr. Murray has misled gamers and created expectations of a game that never matched the product in the making. The end product is a mere husk of his very "vivid" descriptions. Wake up, wipe that grin from your face and stop talking bullsh... Fix this mess of a game and deliver the product you promised.
  18. Andi17
    Aug 14, 2016
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I feel like this game has lied to me in all those trailers and info that they gave me. They said you can travel to 18 billion planets or something but what they didn't tell us is that its 18 billion copies. When i enter a new system i feel like i just went around in a circle and ended up in the same area, every system contains the same old same, just a few planets a space station and some other things. Its just very boring, i don't mind grinding in a game but when i feel like there is no reward or purpose to grind for its just a waste of time. I feel like this is absolutely not worth 60 bucks. I think people with a lot of imagination might find some fun in it but for me its just not at all what i hoped for. The game also does not explain anything in the beginning so you basically don't have any idea what it is u gotta do. After 20 hours you're doing exactly the same as in the first hour and probably at the end of the game u pretty much have been doing the same all the time. The planets don't feel different at all, some planets might be a bit different but the only thing that is different is the colours and some animals. I probably won't be playing this game anymore because it just feels like a waste of time. Overall i think people that expect a huge game with all kinds of different worlds are going to be disappointed.… Expand
  19. SuperMe
    Aug 15, 2016
    4
    I've been awaiting this game with anticipation for some time I really wanted to like it but unfortunately the two words I'd use to describe it are boring and repetitive. The purpose of the game is to gather resources; unfortunately that's it. You start with little storage capacity which means a lot of what you gather you have to discard. You strive to accumulate enough money to buy aI've been awaiting this game with anticipation for some time I really wanted to like it but unfortunately the two words I'd use to describe it are boring and repetitive. The purpose of the game is to gather resources; unfortunately that's it. You start with little storage capacity which means a lot of what you gather you have to discard. You strive to accumulate enough money to buy a bigger ship so you don't have to throw as much stuff away. The game boasts are huge number of planets but the difference between them is just the colour and what's available to pick up. After a couple of days play I feel I've got all the enjoyment I can from this game.… Expand
  20. AfterShave
    Oct 4, 2016
    4
    This game is more like a 6/10 if you just go by the product itself, it's cool for 1-2 hours but then it gets really boring. Also the ending is literally non-existent, you fly to the center and it just restarts the game, there's nothing worth seeing.

    I've decided to take 2 points off because of the false advertising by Hello Games, Sean Murray promised all kinds of **** and hardly any of    This game is more like a 6/10 if you just go by the product itself, it's cool for 1-2 hours but then it gets really boring. Also the ending is literally non-existent, you fly to the center and it just restarts the game, there's nothing worth seeing.

    I've decided to take 2 points off because of the false advertising by Hello Games, Sean Murray promised all kinds of **** and hardly any of it made it into the final game. For god's sake they lied about the game having multiplayer, that's downright stupid.

    Don't buy this game, go torrent it. These developers don't deserve a cent of your money, much less sixty dollars.    … Expand
  21. T-Razor
    Aug 14, 2016
    4
    I've played No Man's Sky for about 20+ hours and I will say this: This game is beyond any doubt the worst PS4 exclusive I've ever played. It's boring, repetitive, and has crashed on me at least 10 times. And the worst part is it's priced at a full AAA release of $60. DO NOT waste your money on this game.
  22. pypes
    Aug 14, 2016
    4
    As a technical feat it's amazing, as a game it's boring. It's occasionally stunningly beautiful but it's also frequently ugly, and for all the myriad possible procedural generated landscapes and locations you feel like you've seen everything there is to see after 2 or 3 hours.

    I've heard people say it's a "make your own fun" sort of game, a la Minecraft before Notch decided to tack on    As a technical feat it's amazing, as a game it's boring. It's occasionally stunningly beautiful but it's also frequently ugly, and for all the myriad possible procedural generated landscapes and locations you feel like you've seen everything there is to see after 2 or 3 hours.

    I've heard people say it's a "make your own fun" sort of game, a la Minecraft before Notch decided to tack on an endgame. However for there to be emergent gameplay one must first have a broad pallet of game mechanics to play with. This is exactly where No mans Sky falls down, there is very little to do and very little variety in how you do it. If you could clip along at mach 3 blasting space dinosaurs, or carve your name into the side of a mountain I can guarantee this game would not be getting bad reviews.

    What is there plods along at a snails pace, walking feels like crawling, sprinting feels like walking and even the bad-ass stiletto hulled space-ripper ships amble through the atmosphere as if they were pleasure craft. There are a host of other things that one would thing should never have made it out of beta, ruins are less useful than knowledge stones. One of the atlas path goals requires that you spend hours documenting every living thing on whatever planet you happen to be on, the puzzles are kindergarten grade easy, and every single alien encounter plays out in exactly the same way. The sound design (which I have seen others laud) consists of generic muzak, overlaid with random animal cries and mechanical nonsense that has no bearing on whats going on around you.

    I can forgive Hello Games, they are an indie studio with indie budgets and indie mindsets. What I'm less inclined to forgive (and we as gamers are as much to blame for this) is having them dragged out twice at E3, hyping this thing into the AAA it isn't, and me traveling round 3 different retail outlets to find a boxed copy for £40. This thing ought to have been £15 digital only, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this gets pushed out onto PS plus as a freebie in the next 12 months.    … Expand
  23. Euknowia
    Aug 13, 2016
    4
    I’m not entirely sure what the foresight was with regards to steadily incentivizing exploration- or even if there was one. With no real story, borderline nonexistent multiplayer, and a baffling lack of player implemented creativity (i.e. structures/bases, ship designs, and character designs) I found myself struggling to maintain the willpower to discover. Even though a bit of my journeyI’m not entirely sure what the foresight was with regards to steadily incentivizing exploration- or even if there was one. With no real story, borderline nonexistent multiplayer, and a baffling lack of player implemented creativity (i.e. structures/bases, ship designs, and character designs) I found myself struggling to maintain the willpower to discover. Even though a bit of my journey was exciting and immersive in and of itself, my entertainment was exceptionally temporary as the looming realization of stagnant progress encroached evermore on my fleeting happiness.

    Further still:
    -There are several mechanical bugs/glitches, render distance/pop-in issues, texture and clipping bugs, screen tearing, frame drops, UI and AI problems, and audio glitches
    -Frequent game crashes
    -Game saves can occasionally fail to load/do not load properly
    -Unstable 30fps
    -Simple RNG, even at the beginning, weighs too heavily on game difficulty (balancing issues)
    -Cannot change (a remarkably zoomed) FOV, and options in general are fairly limited
    -Text “puzzles” are excessively easy
    - Inventory space is bizarrely small (and ease of management could be improved)
    -Combat (in space and on the ground) is exceedingly awkward- as are the controls in general
    -Planet, alien race/monster, structure, and ship designs too quickly exhibit their “copy and paste” similarities (perhaps inspect/change how planets in proximity are generated or add further biomes/textures/structures/races, etc.)
    -Proper trading (with price forecasting per location) is contradicted by procedural generation (which further conflicts with inventory management)
    -Interactions with aliens is simple, repetitive, and often completely trivial
    -Indications of player taking any damage too closely resembles typical indications of player taking fatal damage
    -Weather phenomenon is sometimes an underwhelming spectacle
    - And many, many more issues

    I personally would not value the game at $60, even with the proposal of future updates (most notably base building). I would recommend waiting until the price drops (by at least 50%), and several patches iron out the more detrimental bugs. To really determine whether or not my criticisms would be sufficiently reflected in others, however, I’d encourage one to watch streams or pure gameplay footage (as opposed to tailored marketing videos/trailers). Surely, I would expect some to find this experience much more enjoyable and valuable than I have.

    (Written after 18-19 hours of gameplay)    … Expand
  24. Steviefive
    Aug 14, 2016
    4
    When considering the score for this game I asked myself a set of questions.

    1. Is it worth the $60US price tag that would normally come with a AAA game? 2. 6 hours into the game, do I feel like I have experienced diversity, a repeated sense of wonder and a drive to do more to achieve goals? 3. Is the feeling of immersion unbroken? In answer to all three of these questions I would    When considering the score for this game I asked myself a set of questions.

    1. Is it worth the $60US price tag that would normally come with a AAA game?
    2. 6 hours into the game, do I feel like I have experienced diversity, a repeated sense of wonder and a drive to do more to achieve goals?
    3. Is the feeling of immersion unbroken?

    In answer to all three of these questions I would have to say no. $60 is FAR too much for a game in such a state. If I pay AAA prices the I expect a finish to the overall product that doesn't leave me wondering what could've been nor what the time frames for fixing it look like. Not only does it have an overwhelming feeling of rinse/repeat but since I discovered the simple process of harvesting Vortex Cubes I have now achieved the goal of a large ship so now what? The 'story' is so thin that there is no sense of achievement in following it beyond it being some direction. Interaction with aliens is so superficial that learning their language is a waste of time. In fact the only reason why I enjoyed monoliths was for the break in the tedium of flying around trying to find extra nodes to learn words. Finally the buggyness and sloppy feeling of flying has left me feeling like immersion is almost non-existent. You just start getting into it and then it starts chopping up. You approach a base and engage landing and it lands you next to a platform not on it!!!

    Frankly I'm not interesting in what it could be, I expect that paying AAA prices means that I'm buying what it is, and what it is, is a $15 game at best and that's what I'd pay. However I would consider paying more for expansions and not feel ripped off. Right now though it's not a great experience and far too repetitive    … Expand
  25. redmandana
    Aug 12, 2016
    4
    This game is terrible..being very repetitive and pointless.. every planet... Is the same dam planet just a different random skin... The game is kind of fun.. being you actually have missions sometimes...this game is just totally pointless... Got bored the first few minutes.. cant even play with friends.. everything is just anouther random planet...
  26. Conran
    Aug 9, 2016
    4
    In one word; shallow. Fun for an hour or two, then it's the same tedious mechanics over and over and over again.

    I mean sure, exploring at first is great but the procedural generation just grows boring. I get it's meant to be unique but this seems closer to a barebones tech demo than a finished product.
  27. badgerryan19
    Jun 19, 2017
    4
    Like many people I was excited for this one and for good reason. I mean unlimited worlds, unlimited loot and gear, fly across the galaxy exploring new creatures and locations. Whats not to love there? And then we got the game. What a massive colossal failure and the team just lied to our face. I can't say what hasn't been said already.
  28. andreasng
    Aug 22, 2016
    4
    When I play a game I divide the hype with the attitude of the developers, which I then divide with the price, which I then again divide with the actual game.

    No Man's Sky (NMS) and the developers promised a hell of a game - I was expecting a cross between physically sound "Space Engine", FFE and Dwarf Fortress. Instead what is given to us is a shallow, non-physically sound, random(at    When I play a game I divide the hype with the attitude of the developers, which I then divide with the price, which I then again divide with the actual game.

    No Man's Sky (NMS) and the developers promised a hell of a game - I was expecting a cross between physically sound "Space Engine", FFE and Dwarf Fortress. Instead what is given to us is a shallow, non-physically sound, random(at its worst) experience with no real sense of life and wonder.

    In NMS everything is "awesome" - which makes nothing awesome.

    There is life everywhere. Cargo crates everywhere. "Rad" things to see everywhere. Space stations everywhere. And if there is stuff everywhere, stuff is not going to matter. Your experience of finding stuff will bomb within 20 minutes time.

    The thing is - NMS has all the modules, all the code and all the design there to create a wonderful and deep planetary exploration experience. But it is not put together in any fantastic and thoughtful fashion - rather it is put together in the most "meh" of ways.

    Sad.

    My most anticipated game of 2016 apart from The Last Guardian. Dropped on the floor.    … Expand
  29. njja02
    May 15, 2018
    4
    I had a great time for the first few hours of the game. I enjoyed the style, music, and variety in planets. That's until the facade disappeared and it became a repetitive grind fest.
  30. Brandondwn
    Mar 22, 2018
    4
    Came back to re review after patches and I gotta say. It was never gonna be good. It was over promised and too ambitious for a small company and yeah, Sony pushed them hard and we all kinda go caught up in it. I feel bad for the team and i feel for the people like myself who bought and tried to defend it because it came from a small team. One day I hope to get a truly great experienceCame back to re review after patches and I gotta say. It was never gonna be good. It was over promised and too ambitious for a small company and yeah, Sony pushed them hard and we all kinda go caught up in it. I feel bad for the team and i feel for the people like myself who bought and tried to defend it because it came from a small team. One day I hope to get a truly great experience like what was promised prior to this games release.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2016
2
#2 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 96 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 41 out of 96
  2. Mixed: 54 out of 96
  3. Negative: 1 out of 96
  1. GameCritics
    May 8, 2020
    80
    While I’m sure developer Hello Games is still tweaking things and perhaps even creating more content for No Man’s Sky, the current state of affairs is a strong one. This galactic opus still offers an infinite amount of content for those who want to lose themselves among the stars, but now also contains a concrete throughline that will satisfy a wider array of players. It can be irritating at times, but it’s also full of stunning moments and the satisfaction of building a virtual life among the stars. Four years after launch, it’s finally a journey worth taking.
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  2. BaziCenter
    Feb 10, 2017
    60
    The world of No Man's Sky is insanely vast and beautiful, but there’s nothing to do in it! There’s no goal, no destination, no ending, nothing!
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  3. Easy Allies
    Dec 1, 2016
    60
    While No Man's Sky is engrossing for the first few hours, repetition starts to set in and the proceedings grow dull. The developers stated that they plan to add significant features such as base building which could dramatically change the game for the better. There's a promising foundation present, so it's possible to envision a more substantial game down the line. As it currently stands, though, our excitement to cross the universe faded sooner than we expected.
    Read full review
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