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. mrgeebaby
    Aug 9, 2016
    5
    NMS can be described as a surprisingly SMALL game inside an immensely BIG sandbox. It appears that there is a debilitating void between the two that makes the player feel uneasy and impacts negatively on the overall experience. Whether this can be remedied via future updates and so the introduction of additional mechanics (such as the promised 'base building') remains to be 'Sean. (sic)
    I    NMS can be described as a surprisingly SMALL game inside an immensely BIG sandbox. It appears that there is a debilitating void between the two that makes the player feel uneasy and impacts negatively on the overall experience. Whether this can be remedied via future updates and so the introduction of additional mechanics (such as the promised 'base building') remains to be 'Sean. (sic)
    I think it a shame that this indie title got drowned in so much hype which led to many unrealistic expectations.......i suspect it also led to mistaken belief by Sony/Hello that £40 was an acceptable price tag.
    If the game costs the price of an AAA title, then i am going to judge it as an attempt at such = 4/10    … Expand
  2. FogCityRoller
    Oct 27, 2018
    7
    My original review is 2 years old and based off the disastrous release this game had. I am impressed by how steadfast Hello Games has stuck to a title that was so mercilessly critiqued as No Man's Sky. They have continued to improve the game, add substantial content that players actually wanted, and released it all for free. It's admirable in that respect. I have played it since then andMy original review is 2 years old and based off the disastrous release this game had. I am impressed by how steadfast Hello Games has stuck to a title that was so mercilessly critiqued as No Man's Sky. They have continued to improve the game, add substantial content that players actually wanted, and released it all for free. It's admirable in that respect. I have played it since then and found it vastly more enjoyable than the first iteration. I still think it has some of the same flaws centered around procedural generation, but I consider those realities of technological limitations rather than a failure on Hello Games' part.

    The lesson to be learned here is do not boast about a technology before realizing it's pitfalls. Procedural generation is not an engine for creativity.    … Expand
  3. JamesW9797
    Aug 9, 2016
    5
    The scale and idea of this game is incredible, i cant say the same about the actual gameplay though, i was so hyped and excited, but few hours later i realised how repetitive it is; Search for rescources repeat, repeat, repeat.The creatures are dull and act the same, thw traders do absolutely nothing at all. This game would be fun with friends. I fell for the hype for this game, i wasThe scale and idea of this game is incredible, i cant say the same about the actual gameplay though, i was so hyped and excited, but few hours later i realised how repetitive it is; Search for rescources repeat, repeat, repeat.The creatures are dull and act the same, thw traders do absolutely nothing at all. This game would be fun with friends. I fell for the hype for this game, i was dissapointed after 5/6 hours with it. Its repetitive, gets boring fast :( I wanted it to be worth the wait and hype so much, i wanted hellp games to make a revolutionary game but its not that :( id say its this years 'Destiny': Great idea and promisimg and exciting at first, but VERY boring after a few hours. So dissapointed with it. If you want to try this for yourself, wait for a price drop, it is not worth £45/$60 at all… Expand
  4. allandor
    Aug 9, 2016
    6
    "No Man's Sky" is a really nice game, but only for some players. Don't expect a space opera with a storyline here. It is just a game exploration with survival elements. Well the survival part can be really annoying, because it conflicts with the explorative part of the game.
    Not a bad game, but don't follow the hype for this game, else you will be disapointed if you don't love    "No Man's Sky" is a really nice game, but only for some players. Don't expect a space opera with a storyline here. It is just a game exploration with survival elements. Well the survival part can be really annoying, because it conflicts with the explorative part of the game.
    Not a bad game, but don't follow the hype for this game, else you will be disapointed if you don't love exploration- and survival-elements.    … Expand
  5. DaapDaap
    Aug 10, 2016
    6
    Well 1 hour of the game is fun and i have played alot of the game and it seems to be the same thing over and over again. it is not a bad game at all it is just kinda boring, but if you are into such exploration well this game is a game for you.

    For me it is okay just an okay game it is nice to pick up if you just wanna play a relaxing game and i like that you can travel to every planet    Well 1 hour of the game is fun and i have played alot of the game and it seems to be the same thing over and over again. it is not a bad game at all it is just kinda boring, but if you are into such exploration well this game is a game for you.

    For me it is okay just an okay game it is nice to pick up if you just wanna play a relaxing game and i like that you can travel to every planet you see, other that having new stuff on the new planets you find they still look the same with different texture and outlay    … Expand
  6. abba07
    Aug 10, 2016
    7
    I really want to love NMS. I love the concept of an infinite universe to explore, full of unique planets and creatures. And it really is different from anything I have ever played before. But 12 hours in, I am seeing a lot of planets, plants, creatures etc. that aren't all that different from one another. Sure, there are differences in temperature, weather, etc., but the differences in theI really want to love NMS. I love the concept of an infinite universe to explore, full of unique planets and creatures. And it really is different from anything I have ever played before. But 12 hours in, I am seeing a lot of planets, plants, creatures etc. that aren't all that different from one another. Sure, there are differences in temperature, weather, etc., but the differences in the wildlife and plants aren't all that different. And so far, every system seems to have asteroids between the planets, though their composition can vary a little. And while I have encountered three different sentient civilizations, the technology & buildings left behind by them are all identical, from what I can see. Also, I would happily suffer through a few short loading screens to avoid the screen pop-in that occurs on every planet I have visited so far. While I am enjoying my journey so far, it is not living up to my expectations. And they really need to do something about inventory and storage. It is woefully inadequate. I am looking forward to future updates, but for right now, all I can say is that the game is good, but not great.… Expand
  7. JeffReviews
    Aug 9, 2016
    7
    No Man's Sky has quite the universe to explore and the game mechanics are very solid, albeit not very innovative or new. At it's heart No Man's Sky is a survival game, that's really it. I've played for several hours, bought a new ship and done basically the same thing over and over again. I think the biggest issue with the game is the fact that it is so open ended. The game lacksNo Man's Sky has quite the universe to explore and the game mechanics are very solid, albeit not very innovative or new. At it's heart No Man's Sky is a survival game, that's really it. I've played for several hours, bought a new ship and done basically the same thing over and over again. I think the biggest issue with the game is the fact that it is so open ended. The game lacks substance. They're only a few goals to complete that I've gotten to so far. You really don't feel that sense of accomplishment you do in other games. Your mining tool overheats too quickly and at times it's monotonous and feels like babysitting when you have to collect materials to power your various technological assets. The biggest problem with the game is it spreads itself too thin. There aren't really ant familiar or iconic landmarks to latch onto (due to random generation everything just feels lifeless and dull). Often times I'll just jump hopelessly from planet to planet and mine gold. Then I use the gold to purchase items/tech/upgrades I need. There aren't many difficult enemies to fight (maybe there are but I haven't seen them yet). There's no challenge, just hopping from one place to the next hoping to find excitement and adventure. Due to the openhandedness of the game I feel lost, nothing grabs me and encourages me to dig deeper into the world. Which is because I know I'll never see all there is too see. No one can. There's no focus, no quests (objectives but no real characters or missions or story), not even multiplayer. This game would be more fun if you could play with friends and adventure to new worlds with them. I originally thought everyone around me was a player in a ship flying by. Nope. Those are NPCS. It's boring, and there's no change of pace. This game isn't awful, but I'd advise not playing it in prolonged sessions. 7/10… Expand
  8. VermilionPrime
    Aug 9, 2016
    6
    For those who enjoy games like Minecraft, they can find a good amount of entretainment here. It´s basically infinite exploration and looting, also you will spend a lot of time in the inventory. The game lacks depth, it gets repetitive very quickly, story wise is very ambiguous and not straight forward, most of the story is explained with metaphores. I´ve been playing this game for 4 daysFor those who enjoy games like Minecraft, they can find a good amount of entretainment here. It´s basically infinite exploration and looting, also you will spend a lot of time in the inventory. The game lacks depth, it gets repetitive very quickly, story wise is very ambiguous and not straight forward, most of the story is explained with metaphores. I´ve been playing this game for 4 days since i got it very early. Today with the patch some things have changed, but the core of the game remains the same. Expect, bugs and crashes.… Expand
  9. Shuklack
    Aug 11, 2016
    6
    Let me get the negatives out first. A lot of potential that is mitigated by very shallow features. I expect most planets to be boring, I dont mind if life is rare... but I get the feeling that there arent any actual developed planets and the liveliest planets just have more trees. Also, why is outer space so... pink? The odd artistic choice of a pastel colored space really detracts fromLet me get the negatives out first. A lot of potential that is mitigated by very shallow features. I expect most planets to be boring, I dont mind if life is rare... but I get the feeling that there arent any actual developed planets and the liveliest planets just have more trees. Also, why is outer space so... pink? The odd artistic choice of a pastel colored space really detracts from the beauty of the planets/stars and a sense of depth. The map system is lacking, it can be a real hassle to revisit points of interest. Ive also crashed more times in 2 days than any of the other PS4 games I've played - combined.
    That being said, with a few tools and additions, this game could be amazing. The foundation is there. Base building would be a start, but we need better map options, greater customization, more lively advanced lifeforms, and most of all... co-op.    … Expand
  10. SchroederRock
    Aug 9, 2016
    6
    Sadly this is not the game I hoped it would be. No Man's Sky has a big vision and large universe to explore but it doesn't keep me interested as the game's sim approach seems to restrict creativity rather than allow it to flourish. There's also the issue of pacing - several hours in this game tests my patience heavily as there's little combat. In addition to the slow pacing, there's aSadly this is not the game I hoped it would be. No Man's Sky has a big vision and large universe to explore but it doesn't keep me interested as the game's sim approach seems to restrict creativity rather than allow it to flourish. There's also the issue of pacing - several hours in this game tests my patience heavily as there's little combat. In addition to the slow pacing, there's a huge frustration with having to gather loads of resources to advance yourself and the inventory control is abysmal at-best. There's also some major bugs that crash the game about once or even twice per hour and it's seizing many consoles outside of my own. All said and done, Sony will probably be very displeased with how this game turned out after knowing it had a PC/PS4 exclusive day 1 - this won't win anyone over to buy a PS4 that doesn't already have one - that's unfortunate given how much this game was hyped by so many people.… Expand
  11. davidbikkn
    Aug 9, 2016
    5
    Juego de maravilla, puedes elegir varias formas de hacer tu propio camino hacia el centro del universo... La gente que pone negativos es por que no tiene el juego y se basan en gameplays, que todo el rato ven lo mismo... Patética gente que pone negativo y luego acaba comprando el juego.
  12. Wduarter
    Aug 9, 2016
    7
    The game most tasteless I've ever played. Boring and very sleepy. Graphics poor and weak, estranahas colors. Game crashes all the time, many falls frame rate.
  13. Rockadial
    Sep 12, 2018
    7
    The game is really fun, If you ever wondered what it was like to venture though space on your own striving to survive them you'll have fun.

    Lots of hate for no real reason at all.
  14. wardevil28
    Nov 14, 2016
    6
    the exploration aspects of this game are decent but the universe is so boring and uninteresting that you may not care enough to finish the game. This game has dropped the ball as far as I can tell, were are the ooooooohh and ahhhh moments, the fact you dont hold our hands maybe your greatest down fall, a few quest to show us something amazing, a epic battle a giant monster a lostthe exploration aspects of this game are decent but the universe is so boring and uninteresting that you may not care enough to finish the game. This game has dropped the ball as far as I can tell, were are the ooooooohh and ahhhh moments, the fact you dont hold our hands maybe your greatest down fall, a few quest to show us something amazing, a epic battle a giant monster a lost civilization would have gone a long way to keeping this game interesting. If you a looking to feel like a space cowboy, rouge mercenary or legendary captain of a fleet you will be greatly disappointed , your discoveries are barely significant, your experiences dont leave a mark and all of your explorations leads to mostly unimpressive and lackluster moments.… Expand
  15. GamerJosh0137
    Oct 3, 2016
    5
    I was a bit late getting to this game only because I decided not to buy it day one. I just didn't know enough about it to commit to a pre-order. I was finally able to borrow the game from a friend after he found out he could not return it. I don't know why he thought he could return the game at gamestop lol. I was only able to play the game AFTER hearing all the complaints. I wasI was a bit late getting to this game only because I decided not to buy it day one. I just didn't know enough about it to commit to a pre-order. I was finally able to borrow the game from a friend after he found out he could not return it. I don't know why he thought he could return the game at gamestop lol. I was only able to play the game AFTER hearing all the complaints. I was lucky. I got to go into it knowing it wasn't the revolutionary game most of us thought it would be before launch. But I digress. The truth of the matter is that it is a beautiful game to explore planets, space stations, and wild life. The problem I have with that is after a couple hours with the game there just wasn't much to see. Everything looks like everything else, just with minor differences. Besides collecting materials to upgrade your ship, suit and mining gun there just isn't much to do. It might be different if each item required a different process to upgrade but it doesn't. For everything you own you MUST upgrade or fix it by pointing your "mining laser" at a certain element and holding the trigger down. Its an endless loop, and unfortunately for me the endless loop is not even slightly entertaining after the first couple hours. What was I expecting though? After all, Hello Games is an indie developer with very limited money, and man power. To be honest I feel quite stupid. I believed Sean Murray. I believed in what he was trying to sell. After not hearing ANYTHING since a couple days after release I know now Sean is just another "used car salesman" trying to make a living by scamming hard working people who are passionate about video games. I don't know why I actually thought he was one of us. A person who doesn't look at video games as a silly toy for children but an art form. A canvas of artistic expression. I give this game a 5 out of 10 because the first few hours gave me a feeling I don't have the words for. The problem is, that feeling was far from everlasting. Wait until you can borrow or get for 10 or 15 bucks. With what is coming this fall, I don't think people will ever look back at No Man's Sky.… Expand
  16. ExShadowstriker
    Jul 11, 2018
    6
    No man's sky has had a rough journey, originally my review would have been negative, but with the tweaks and the patches, and more importantly a knowledge of what can be reasonably expected from it. NMS is a solid game, yes it can be grindy, and samey in areas of the galaxy but that's a part of procedurally generated worlds. Minecraft repeats biomes, but nobody complains that it is samey.No man's sky has had a rough journey, originally my review would have been negative, but with the tweaks and the patches, and more importantly a knowledge of what can be reasonably expected from it. NMS is a solid game, yes it can be grindy, and samey in areas of the galaxy but that's a part of procedurally generated worlds. Minecraft repeats biomes, but nobody complains that it is samey. You have to be realistic.

    Having said all that, the game does suffer with an inability to drive the player, to explore. This is because the bulk of the game revolves around collecting resources to explore to collect resources. NMS is a fantastic exploration game and for many, demonstrates what is might be like to live a life in the stars. My problems with this game are that once you have a base set up, what is there to do? There seems like so much could still be added and improved upon, for example you cannot roleplay as a pirate (which are in the game as they can attack you) and you cannot hate one of the factions as it isn't an option.

    No Man's sky is a fantastic simulation of galactic exploration, there is no denying that, but I don't think it is a hugely successful game.    … Expand
  17. claytastic
    Oct 13, 2016
    5
    So much promise. Such little delivery. The day before No Man's Sky came out, I realized that the game would never be able to live up to the hype that it created. How did this revelation come about? Well, that was the day Sean Murray, the game's lead developer, tweeted that the game wouldn't feature multiplayer. This is a problem because in previous interviews, Sean promised that you wouldSo much promise. Such little delivery. The day before No Man's Sky came out, I realized that the game would never be able to live up to the hype that it created. How did this revelation come about? Well, that was the day Sean Murray, the game's lead developer, tweeted that the game wouldn't feature multiplayer. This is a problem because in previous interviews, Sean promised that you would be able to play with your friends. Trust me, this isn't the only thing Sean lied about, but there's way more videos and articles out there that go way more in-depth about this topic, so go find those if you want to learn more. Anyways, I was perfectly fine if the game didn't live up to all of the hype, as long as it was still a great game. Well, let me say it's not. It's not a good game, not even an okay one. It's just mediocre. For those who don't know what this game is, it's one of the most ambitious games ever made. The game is meant to give you a glimpse of the size of the universe. So then how big is it? Try 18 quintillion planets to explore big. It delivers on this promise because the open world is huge, so it's safe to say that this is officially the largest game ever created. But as we've seen with past open world games, a larger world could mean that there's less to do. This is definitely a complaint for this game. It's a survival game, but unlike another survival game like Minecraft, you're very limited in what you're able to do. After a strong introduction where you repair your crashed ship, you then have to build a warp drive so you can travel to different galaxies. This is still cool. But after your first time travelling to a different galaxy, the game drops in entertainment value sooooooooooooooo much. From this point on, all you are doing is collecting resources to fuel your warp drive so you can reach the center of the universe. Not only does this get tedious as quickly as the second time you do it, it also progressively gets more frustrating to complete this task. Maybe it's just from personal experience, but almost none of the planets I found had the resources I needed. This meant I had to jump from planet to planet before I finally found what I required. On top of that, you have to deal with the smallest inventory in the world, even with the addition of being able to move items to your ship. When you run out of space, you'll have to find an outpost that may or may not have a store, or go all the way back to the ONE SINGULAR SPACE STATION IN AN ENTIRE SOLAR SYSTEM! It's flat-out annoying, and borderline intolerable. Going back to planets, I'm gonna close off with the game's biggest issue: planetary design. Sean Murray promised that almost every planet was going to be unique, with some desert planets having dunes and little vegetation, or a tropical planet being mostly water and having underwater outposts and bases. None of this is in the game. After my first planet, every single one after that felt barren and empty. I know it sounds like a lot of work trying to make all 18 quintillion planets different, but if they knew they weren't going to be able to deliver that, they shouldn't have promised it. In the end, it comes down to the fact that Hello Games promised way more than they could give with No Man's Sky, and rather gave us a mediocre game that is nowhere near to earning it's $60 asking price. 5/10.… Expand
  18. megawavez
    Sep 28, 2016
    6
    This game is really a mess. I was 30 hours in when a bug wrecked my save file and forced me to restart. I restarted the game again, started to play and realized how bored I was. Just for fun, I finished the Atlas path which I found pretty silly, I then started towards the center of the universe - I'm about 150k light years up and am basically going to give up - it's far too long of aThis game is really a mess. I was 30 hours in when a bug wrecked my save file and forced me to restart. I restarted the game again, started to play and realized how bored I was. Just for fun, I finished the Atlas path which I found pretty silly, I then started towards the center of the universe - I'm about 150k light years up and am basically going to give up - it's far too long of a jaunt and there's really nothing exciting to see.

    The procedural generation of planets is pretty cool and at times I've been wowed by what I've come across, but the real problem is the gameplay just kind of sucks. It relies heavily on crafting, but the crafting is pretty meh. There is some fighting, but it's basically the same stuff over and over and the fighting itself is also very meh. The universe, lore, and NPCs are also very meh, so the only really good thing is the procedural generation. I honestly don't think the title is really salvagable (there's talk of base building, but who wants to stay on one planet), and I'm not sure Hello Games will have much cred after this title, so it's probably going to be a interesting one off.    … Expand
  19. Khaar
    Sep 3, 2016
    7
    To summarize the game play in NMS it's farm to jump closer to center, repeat. Of course it's fun to explore etc. but it gets very repetitive and not very engaging. You should play this game but I can't justify a 60$ price tag.
  20. olly1115
    Sep 7, 2016
    5
    I've played around 40 hours at present, I won't be playing any more unless some major changes are implemented - and the 40 hours I've played have gotten progressively harder and less rewarding hence me stopping altogether.
    Points to note:
    The pointlessness of your continue playing dawns on you once you reach a certain point - either it's finding new planets for the sake of it or    I've played around 40 hours at present, I won't be playing any more unless some major changes are implemented - and the 40 hours I've played have gotten progressively harder and less rewarding hence me stopping altogether.
    Points to note:
    The pointlessness of your continue playing dawns on you once you reach a certain point - either it's finding new planets for the sake of it or upgrading ship / suit inventory...for the sake of it, heading to the centre is no longer a desirable goal after reading what awaits you.
    Gameplay is shallow and cumbersome, character movement is too slow, shooting is unrewarding and the FOV is too narrow.
    Ship flying is fun until you get into space, space combat is well below average and consists of constantly turning 180 degrees to try to track the impossibly nimble enemies.
    Exploration is rewarding fir the first few hours, new creatures and planetscapes are genuinely cool and awe - inspiring for the first dozen or so planets, it soon becomes obvious there isn't the variety you were hoping for.
    The pop-in with the terrain is quite sever on some planets on PS4 destroying any sense of atmosphere.
    The music is either quite good when it pumps up or not really noticeable, happy with the game sounds apart from the constant reminders about suit monitors.    … Expand
  21. SensualSanta
    Nov 3, 2016
    5
    Now that the dust is finally starting to settle I'm ready to chip in.

    First 20 or so hours of my playtime were full of child like amazement: The procedurally generated planets were fresh and captivating (yes, even the barren ones) and farming rocks felt almost relaxing. Even the constant whining of the on-board computer was just a minor irritation. After following the path for 20hrs I    Now that the dust is finally starting to settle I'm ready to chip in.

    First 20 or so hours of my playtime were full of child like amazement: The procedurally generated planets were fresh and captivating (yes, even the barren ones) and farming rocks felt almost relaxing. Even the constant whining of the on-board computer was just a minor irritation. After following the path for 20hrs I found myself grass-hopping through the cosmos just trying to minimize my actual time spent on planets. That is when the realization sank in that the sandbox was devoid of any meaningful toys. Unfortunately the game mechanics that could have given it depth are really shallow - mechanics like interaction with the alien species or space combat. All the advertised features only scratch the surface - you can be what ever you like if you have a really good imagination and you are willing to settle for less.

    Space piracy? Go for it, doesn't impact anything.
    Explorer diplomat? Go for it, no impact on anything really.
    Trader? Go for it, market mechanics are really stale and money is abundant. Oh and you practically need money only for cargo space (new ships and suit).
    Mercenary? Well if you read this far you know the drill..

    The game simulates the futility of it all pretty well though. Nothing matters. You are insignificant. Crawl into a corner and feel the weight of the endless and empty universe. 60$ is a steep prize for a reality check - I play games to escape reality, not to get reality smeared to my face violently.    … Expand
  22. Lowzone
    Nov 24, 2016
    5
    Ce jeux ressemble vraiment à une demo technique de l'engin qu'ils ont utilisé.
    Si seulement ils avaient pris la peine de construire une histoire derrière le personnage et de mettre tout ce qu'ils avaient promis!
    J'ai adorer les 5 premières heures de jeux... ensuite l'on tombe dans une longue infini de cherche et trouve .... ce qui m'a déplu le plus c'est la quantité de grindings qu'il    Ce jeux ressemble vraiment à une demo technique de l'engin qu'ils ont utilisé.
    Si seulement ils avaient pris la peine de construire une histoire derrière le personnage et de mettre tout ce qu'ils avaient promis!

    J'ai adorer les 5 premières heures de jeux... ensuite l'on tombe dans une longue infini de cherche et trouve ....
    ce qui m'a déplu le plus c'est la quantité de grindings qu'il faut faire pour avancer d'un centimètre dans ce jeu.
    Mais pour certaines personnes ce n'est pas un problème. De toute façons la quantité infini de chose à grinder dans ce jeu était la principal cause du "hype" entourant la sortie.

    Franchement ce jeux a tellement de potentiel ! Je promet de venir updater cette review s'ils font une patch qui fait en sorte que le jeu ne soit pas aussi ennuiyant à long terme.

    Pour finir, les grinders professionnels sont mieux de courir acheter ce jeu mais pour ceux qui cherche une aventure pleine d'action de revirement et d'une histoire à couper le souffle vous êtes mieux avec n'importe quel autre jeu.... réellement .... n'importe quel.    … Expand
  23. ZeroBorne
    Jan 12, 2017
    5
    Gonna piss a lot of people now aren't I? I actually liked this awful, dull, drab game a bit.

    Well let's do this in true fashion everyone: Story: It sucks. Shoot it in the face with a Super Shotgun. Gameplay: It's admittedly kinda nice... if you can mine for hours and roleplay a bit, otherwise it's drab and kinda meh. It's an okay game but it's not worthy of a 60$ price tag, I    Gonna piss a lot of people now aren't I? I actually liked this awful, dull, drab game a bit.

    Well let's do this in true fashion everyone:

    Story:
    It sucks. Shoot it in the face with a Super Shotgun.

    Gameplay:
    It's admittedly kinda nice... if you can mine for hours and roleplay a bit, otherwise it's drab and kinda meh. It's an okay game but it's not worthy of a 60$ price tag, I got it for 20$ and I still feel like Star Wars Battlefront EA gave more content than this at launch.

    Graphics:
    Kinda cool but the monsters are stupid looking, like something Nickelodeon would make. But hey some of the ships are kinda cool... I guess.

    Music:
    The music has some effort, some tracks are good and others are things you'll turn the volume down because of. This game tries to have a heavy soundtrack but it just falls flat when a musical flourish hits in the middle of space, like "Whoa those are some heavy metal... rocks... ****

    Characters:
    This is where a space game has to get it right, the alien species and surprise! They suck!
    The aliens are generic and uninteresting or just plain ugly, nothing noteworthy here.

    The one redeeming factor?
    These guys are hellbent on polishing this game and making it better, I hope in a year it'll be what we all were promised, a game worthy of praise and love, but as it stands, this game is Meh at best and Godzilla PS4 at worst.    … Expand
  24. SgtSocks
    May 12, 2023
    7
    No Man's Sky is a Comeback story, once was a lagging, broken, letdown of a game, is now a fun space odyssey unique to you. I find my self coming back to this game and I'm looking forward for future updates. My one complaint is that it crashes, and lags more often then you would like to see, though it is not a experience killing problem.
  25. Jaunty
    Aug 15, 2016
    5
    Not worth $60. Wait for a sale, and for Hello Games to fix issues and patch in some more interesting content. This game just doesn't have enough to keep your attention, certainly not enough for you to want to explore even 100 of the advertised 18 quintillion planets. After 10 of them you've already seen all there is to offer.
  26. Code2ILL
    Aug 16, 2016
    6
    Hello Games have set out to do something other developers have not attempted to do in terms of scale, but failed to create the infinite possibilities it once promised. First off I will say that I have enjoyed No Man's Sky immensely but once the honeymoon ended and the thrill of blasting off into space faded, I was left to ponder why I had played this game happily for as long as I had.Hello Games have set out to do something other developers have not attempted to do in terms of scale, but failed to create the infinite possibilities it once promised. First off I will say that I have enjoyed No Man's Sky immensely but once the honeymoon ended and the thrill of blasting off into space faded, I was left to ponder why I had played this game happily for as long as I had. After spending 30+ hours in the procedurally generated universe, I have been left with a bittersweet taste in my mouth. Do I love this game? Do I hate it? Or am I somewhere between both?
    I have to say I am torn between wanting to put the disc in my PS4 and launch it into oncoming traffic like some sort of suicidal Frisbee. The inventory management is slow and clunky and the amount of materials you can store verses how much you need to have to fuel your ship and suit is extremely unbalanced, making you participate in a constant and repetitive loop that becomes very tiresome. Upgrades are in need of a tweak as well. I couldn't tell you how many times I have solved some puzzle or helped an alien to only find that I have been rewarded with technology I already have. I am starting to think that I have come across all the technology the game has to offer and that is a worry considering how much variety we were promised. It's a serious pain in the ass when you haven't been able to improve your gear and are locked in a snails pace while trying to reach the games end. Recent data-mining on the PC version have revealed that the demos we were shown leading up to the release were all scripted and far from random and the dinosaurs and planets we saw will not be in the final version, as they were made to look more earth like to be more aesthetically pleasing to the casual viewer, which really bothers me for some reason. The one thing that has kept me playing is the mystery that is waiting to be discovered in the center of this massive galaxy, but I still cant help but wonder if NMS would have benefited from being smaller in size and maybe if it were, then the limited variety of planets, animals and plants may not have been so noticeable. No Man's Sky has clearly fallen victim to corporate marketing and deadlines. It seems as though it was rushed towards the end of development and sadly we have seen many gameplay aspects cut from the final version. I have never seen a game crash my PS4 more than NMS has, it really hurts. It was clearly a rushed release. Planets do not rotate on their axis around their sun, moons do not orbit around their respected planet and they don't use real world physics to generate the climates and resources on planets. There is no such thing as running water, waterfalls, streams, nothing, just stagnant water. It just doesn't live up to what Sean Murray once said and I cant help but think this had something to do with Sony pushing Hello Games to a release before the game was finished, which resulted in certain aspects of the game having to be cut and maybe added to the game later through DLC. With all that being said, it is still very interesting and satisfying to play and I cant wait to see what Hello Games add to it through future patches and updates. NMS has the potential to be something that will last for years to come but right now it is something that will last a few months before being silently swept under the rug. With a few tweaks here and there and some added content, NMS will be what everyone wanted. I take my hat off to the developers for creating something fresh and for being as ambitious as they were, its a true testiment to how talented these guys are. Maybe next time Sony can help with the actual development and funding of the game, rather then market and push something they have no part in helping create. Its Great, Its Good, It's Bad, It's Ugly    … Expand
  27. rtkiii
    Aug 11, 2016
    7
    I want to LOVE this game but in the end it is just OK. The planets, to me, look fantastic. There is something to say about flying into a planets atmosphere and not knowing what you are going to see. Some truly cool moments.

    But the creatures lack that same randomness. Sure they are procedural generated and they are different...but only so slightly. I have seen the same dog/deer    I want to LOVE this game but in the end it is just OK. The planets, to me, look fantastic. There is something to say about flying into a planets atmosphere and not knowing what you are going to see. Some truly cool moments.

    But the creatures lack that same randomness. Sure they are procedural generated and they are different...but only so slightly. I have seen the same dog/deer type creature a ton of times and the only difference maybe the width of the creatures legs, or a fin on the back but 95% of it is the same. No lizards? No insects? I understand the creatures on the same planet could be similar...but I have been to 12 different planets in 4 different systems and this creature is on 75% of the planets. But I have seen like 4 or 5 truly unique creatures and when they come along it is a neat site.

    Then the gameplay loop of the planets. Land, scan, find "?", then create override key, scan for the four things everything. Goto sites...learn some words, create warpdrive...and go on to the next planet. The only variable in that process is if you will get attacked by 4 pirates at once or 5 :)

    I do enjoy this game...but I do not LOVE it like I was hoping.    … Expand
  28. masseffectabc
    Aug 10, 2016
    5
    "Greatness Awaits" with this one. Alhought the concept of the game is highly ambicious, the execution is poorly, and if this game is an "exploration game", then it fails miserably, cos it uses the basic mechanics of exploration and nothing more. Kudos to Sony for at least trying to put something different in the market. For people who like to do the same 4 things for hours and hours, this"Greatness Awaits" with this one. Alhought the concept of the game is highly ambicious, the execution is poorly, and if this game is an "exploration game", then it fails miserably, cos it uses the basic mechanics of exploration and nothing more. Kudos to Sony for at least trying to put something different in the market. For people who like to do the same 4 things for hours and hours, this game is for you, for the people who don`t like that, then buy something else of focus your energy in something else.… Expand
  29. MFK863
    Aug 10, 2016
    7
    The following is my first impression of the game after day one and playing about 8 hours. First off the lack of inventory space in the early going was a huge pain. I was constantly being alerted about no inventory space and it was extremely annoying. I realised very quickly that this is not a game meant for hoarders and even if you think its a good idea to hold onto that rare materialThe following is my first impression of the game after day one and playing about 8 hours. First off the lack of inventory space in the early going was a huge pain. I was constantly being alerted about no inventory space and it was extremely annoying. I realised very quickly that this is not a game meant for hoarders and even if you think its a good idea to hold onto that rare material at the start of the game, don't, as you'll be able to find plenty more when you actually need it. One of the first things I did was start working towards upgrading my inventory space. I explored some planets, found some suit upgrades, and gradually sold all the things I could find along the way which allowed me to buy a new ship with more inventory slots as well. After eight hours my inventory space had almost doubled and it made the game much more enjoyable when I did as you spend less time trying to organise your stuff. Otherwise the pros and cons so far for me are:

    PROS
    Vast open world with plenty to explore
    Ability to upgrade to a wide variety of different ships and multi-tools
    Transitioning from planet exploration to space exploration is always fun
    Landscape looks amazing on some planets from afar
    Different puzzles to solve to earn rewards is nice
    Wide variety of different alien species is pretty cool

    CONS
    Sprint is mapped to R3 while moving is mapped to L3. Seriously who the hell thought this was a good idea? This was a major issue for me and is totally different from any gaming standard out there and was a terrible design decision. Hopefully it gets patched in a future version as I fail to see why it was done this way.
    While the planets have lots of variety they lack any real depth
    No clear objectives or goals
    No ability to connect with friends to play even as a duo
    Textures are god awful up close (PS2 level textures)
    Draw distance runs into issues when flying low on planets
    No fast travel to previously discovered map markers
    No dialogue or good audio effects make you want to play your own music
    Various outposts and space stations feel small and limited thus far (some doors are locked though so maybe they will expand at higher levels)

    As you can tell I've listed a lot of cons however even with these cons I've been enjoying the game. It is going to be a game that is what you make it to be. The first hump to get over at the start was pretty tough but once you learn to adjust I found it got better. For example I've started to set my own goals, stopped hoarding materials and sell everything, and never stay long on barren desolate planets. I think that is something important to keep in mind as well. If the planet looks like a dump then it is probably going to be as fun exploring as an actual dump would be. Remember there are 18 quintillion planets so if the planet doesn't look like it would be fun to explore then move onto the next one. In the eight hours I explored six planets and I always had the most fun on planets that had everything to offer whereas the barren planets were extremely dull and boring.

    In the end my recommendation would be buy if you really enjoy exploration/survival games, wait for a price drop if you only mildly enjoy exploration or survival, and pass if you don't like those style of games or if graphics and a great soundtrack are really important to you. This game will not be for everyone.    … Expand
  30. Upijuss14
    Aug 10, 2016
    5
    Nms is an mostly average game with a small amount of things to do, the problem in this game is that wayyy to much time and resources have been spend in developing these wast galaxies resulting in a balancing deficiency in the game, although i have to admit that the planets are freaking fantastic theres so much to explore and find on these planets, so im not really suprised that the gameNms is an mostly average game with a small amount of things to do, the problem in this game is that wayyy to much time and resources have been spend in developing these wast galaxies resulting in a balancing deficiency in the game, although i have to admit that the planets are freaking fantastic theres so much to explore and find on these planets, so im not really suprised that the game has a lack of things to do, but another huge problem is that after 2-3 hours the game gets repetitive, and it just sucks that other devs are just trying to rip people OFF , id recommend you to wait till the price drops its not a terrible game but its definetly not good :)… 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.
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