FutureFive NZ – Practice Review: No Man's Sky Next Adds New Features

No Man's Sky was released in 2016 and was criticized for failing to keep its promises. Well now, it's back and better than ever that the developer Hello Games has released a huge free update for the PS4 and PC versions of the game. Not to mention that the game has now debuted on the Xbox One console.

The reason why the original release of No Man's Sky was ridiculed is mainly because Hello Games did not add the many features that he promised he would have . There was no proper multiplayer mode, the diversity of plants and animals did not exist and most of all, the game was downright boring and not fun to play.

Two years later, Hello Games has now listened to all the fan comments and has released No Man's Next Sky which is a free update for existing owners and adds tons of new content that n & # 39; Were not in the game before. I've managed to review the game on Xbox One X and I'm happy to say that this newer version of the game is way better than before, although it's still a game that will not please everyone. world.

Let's start by talking about the positives first and it's the fact that the update makes the game much better to watch. Honestly, you need a 4K TV to see how magical planets can be. The third person view added for both the player and the spaceships makes exploration much better. It is also important to mention that Hello Games has added more variety as there is more water, color and different animals to watch this time.

Before this new update, the exploration was a joke because the planets and the animals would all be the same color and would all look the same. Fortunately, I've never seen any recycled content playing No Man's Sky Next because everything I've seen up to here has been vast and varied.

In addition to adding more spaceships, there are also land vehicles that you can drive, which makes exploration much more enjoyable than two years ago. Driving around different planets while taking a lot of pictures can easily get many addicted players. The only thing I still miss on the planets is that there are no cities or civilizations to meet. If Hello Games were to do a good sequel, I would like to see the cities and different types of aliens like those seen in a Star Wars movie!

Another thing that has been changed for this new update is that the game finally adds several missions and goals to complete. When the game was released for the first time in 2016, there was nothing more to do than go to the center of the galaxy and be welcomed without any rewards for your efforts.

Now you can register for missions inside the space stations and you will discover different planets that will allow you to dive deep into the traditions of the game. I am currently on a mission where I must locate a character named Artemis who is hiding somewhere in the galaxy, but its location is currently hidden from view.

Other missions allow you to build your own house and base and you can even command your own fleet. The fact that you have goals to achieve allows you to have a goal and encourages players to continue playing. It's much better than the no-direction patterns that the game had before this huge update.

No Man's Next Sky also includes three different difficulty settings to suit players of all levels. First of all, there is the "Normal" mode where you have to exploit resources to keep your spacesuit and your spaceship filled with good provisions. If you do not hold your suit and your ship, you will die from a horrible and cold death in a dark and deep space.

If you really want to challenge yourself, you can also play "Survival Mode" which is essentially Normal but ten times harder. It goes without saying that only veterans of the game should play in this mode because you will die quickly if you do not know what you are doing. My favorite mode in the game is "Creative" because you have endless resources and you can explore the whole game without having to worry about death or lack of material. Of course, this eliminates the game's survival aspect, but it's less boring and repetitive.

While No Man's Sky Next adds a lot of new features, I still do not believe it will bring back those who hated the game two years ago. Of course, the new features are beautiful, but No Man's Sky is still a survival game in the soul and collecting resources all the time can be a repetitive chore. The game is also always slow and lacks any kind of action, so it can always be boring to fly in space all the time too.

The user interface is still clumsy and navigating through the various menus is still a big problem. There are also times when the game does not tell you what to do and where to go, which makes the game super boring. That said, No Man's Sky is fun to play, but only if you are the type of player who is very patient.

Overall, No Man's Next Sky is a huge improvement over the original game as there are new visual features to watch. It's worth playing the game if you still have a copy and want to download the free update. However, the game can still be boring at times and I do not think it's enough to entice new players to try.

Verdict: 7.5 / 10