No Man's Sky: First Days


I got the PS4 version of No Man's Sky on Wednesday and have been playing it off and on since. I didn't wait for the PC version because I don't own a PC. Like many people it seems like I've been waiting an eternity to get my hands on this game. Unlike many people, judging by some of the early reactions, my own expectations seem to have been based more in reality than fantasy. I'm not sure why people got themselves worked up into a frenzy, I thought the trailers and promotional propaganda made the game seem exactly like what was delivered.

Either way, its here now and we can all judge for ourselves. My thoughts after three days and about ten or twelve hours is about 75% WOW!! and 25% "Why won't that thing stop beeping at me!?!"  No Man's Sky is incredible and the procedurally generated star systems, planets and life forms are awe inspiring works of math within a naturally confined set of invisible walls. There are limits. And some of those limits can be a tad repetitive from time to time. But who cares? There are a quintillion worlds to explore!

Hello Games has promised to keep developing NMS and releasing updates along the way. I hope they do. Some of the game-play is a tad annoying at times. You are under constant warnings about something or other, even when you are not in any immediate danger. Things beep, whistle, and warn a LOT in this game. There should be some way to set your own limits on when you want to be warned of danger. It also annoys me that the Space Station office is on the second floor of the Space Station! This is a minor annoyance at first, but dock in twenty different stations and see how you feel about having to run up there every time.

I saved someone from Pirates once. Which is funny. I also died to Pirates once, which was also funny. I got almost all my stuff back. Which was nice. So far combat in NMS is mostly of the RUN AWAY variety, but maybe that gets better once you get your hands on much better ships. I'm still working on that. Although I do have much better guns and a much better suit now.

NMS is a relaxing game. It takes some time to get your head wrapped around the non-competitive nature of it. It isn't about beating anything. It is all about exploring and enjoying the universe. And survival. But don't worry so much about survival, there is always another thing around the corner. NMS packs a lot of things for you. So you don't have to worry so much. After you travel a bit you'll start to understand. This isn't about packing as much as you can, but about slowly learning what you need to pack. And when.

I'm loving it. And I can see myself returning to it again and again. But it isn't the answer to life's mysteries. It is yet another big step in gaming. And for that, the developers deserve all the success they will be getting from this game.

Those are my thoughts after a few days. I'll check in again later and let you know how its going.