No Man’s Sky Vastly Improved with NEXT Update

When we originally reviewed No Man’s Sky on the PS4, we said the game had tons of potential but was plagued by problems that made coming back day after day a chore, rather than a delight. With the NEXT update, and improved to run perfectly on the Xbox One X, No Man’s Sky has a new lease on life, and I for one couldn’t be more happy!

This review was carried out using a code provided to us by the developer, on an Xbox One X provided to us by Xbox Canada.

Here is what we originally said about the game in our initial review a few years ago:

Ultimately, No Man’s Sky can be better, a lot better. And with constant updates – which the developers are already rolling out – new things can be added to make harvesting resources for hours on end more exciting. Without thinking to hard, I could rattle of numerous new ideas: base building, the ability to see other players, and what they have done on a planet, more alien interactions, space station creation, and so much more.

Not everything about No Man’s Sky is frustratingly bad. Roaming gorgeous planets – and lets face it, the visuals in No Man’s Sky really are top notch – is incredibly calming. Outside of a few roaming sentinels that may or may not attack you, there is not a whole lot to be worried about on the surface of any given planet. This makes No Man’s Sky a very relaxing title. I do enjoy discovering and naming animals, looking for new plants I’ve never seen, and flying through space trying to find a planet that looks interesting from the sky.

When played in this way, No Man’s Sky is incredible, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Unfortunately, most people are not looking for a relaxing, calming video game experience. And that is why No Man’s Sky is failing so badly.

There is potential for upside to this title, but it depends on if the developers really want it. For the record, I think they do.

The NEXT Update

The biggest change I noticed is that the worlds you explore feel bigger and better than before, filled with more items to find, minerals to mine, and so much more. While you will have to hunt for specific items from time-to-time, the basics of the game – carbon, etc. – are easily obtainable because they feel more plentiful. In a game that challenges you to continue to push into new, uncharted territory, making the games most common resources hard to find was a big mistake when No Man’s Sky first launched; with the NEXT update, the improved world really fixes this issue, and makes the first few hours of No Man’s Sky much more enjoyable.

And what better way to enjoy this bigger and better world than with a friend. Multiplayer has been enabled with No Man’s Sky NEXT, and playing with friends has never been easier. With a drop-in, drop-out experience, you can play with a number of friends within the same universe, exploring, building, and crafting together. With a world this big, exploring it with someone else is definitely the way to play!

The best part of multiplayer for myself has been enjoying base building with friends. Having the ability to build bigger and better bases than ever before has added another layer of depth to No Man’s Sky that wasn’t there before. The easy ‘snap on’ system that allows you to quickly manipulate your structure makes building a much easier experience than I assumed it would be. There is still a fairly large learning curve to understand every in and out of the process, but getting started could not be easier.

What’s better than a base on the round? A base in the sky, of course! With the NEXT update, players can now attack large freighters traveling around the solar systems. What is even better, is the ability to purchase on of these freighters for yourself, and creating your own base in the sky. It’s something you won’t do for a number of hours, but it is something to work towards.

Overall, the NEXT update brings welcomed improvements to the No Man’s Sky experience. While we originally scored No Man’s Sky on the PS4 a 6.0/10, we happily give this release with the update a solid 8.0/10! It’s definitely worth jumping into if you enjoy open, procedurally generated ,worlds!