Our author Leya has looked at the new update NEXT in No Man’s Sky before; she had previously turned a cold shoulder to the game, but particularly the multiplayer made the space adventure appealing to her.
The universe and its endless expanses have always attracted me. Even as a baby, I loved watching the spaceships in space when my parents watched a Star Wars movie. I even twisted my neck while sucking on the bottle just to stare at the little universe on the screen – at least that’s how I was told.
This deeply rooted fascination for the sea of stars and No Man’s Sky could have fit so beautifully together. I could have explored and discovered distant planets with my crew like in Star Trek. Yes, that would have been it.
2016 brought disappointment and forgetting: No Man’s Sky was supposed to offer an exploration of space in sheer infinity but it didn’t. The promised vibrant world with complex algorithms, where players were to embark on a fantastic discovery journey together, was absent.
When I realized that, my interest faded and I removed No Man’s Sky from my memory. It never landed on my hard drive.
The update NEXT changed that and I took the plunge
A new hype ignites: Two years later. Suddenly, No Man’s Sky and NEXT were on everyone’s lips. It turned out that an update is coming that would be twice the size of the entire base game with all expansions. At first, I became curious and when I read “real multiplayer,” my hype returned.
I grabbed a few friends and we kicked off right on time for the PC launch of NEXT.
This time I was not disappointed: Right from the start, the graphical update stands out and the planets shine in vibrant colors with dreamy textures. I often found myself just standing still to admire the picturesque clouds, the colorful grass, or the odd curious creature.
The start was a bit awkward and I died in under a minute: My crew and I were directly dropped onto a merciless planet filled with poison. For a change, there was also a storm here and there – made of poison. This also led to my quick demise.
In my next attempt, I was a bit smarter and knew which resources I needed to quickly gather to keep my life support systems intact.
The survival aspect is mild: While No Man’s Sky has the survival element, it is quite manageable. When I die, I get a marker showing where I can retrieve all my equipment. No one else can take it except me. Additionally, the game at least initially explains quite clearly what my next steps should be and how I can survive.
The real heart is the real multiplayer
I would never touch No Man’s Sky solo: No matter how much I enjoy the infinite universe with its mysterious facets, that very vast infinity can quickly become lonely. Because in the long run, I would find it tedious to make all those discoveries by myself. It wouldn’t be fun to quietly and still gather resources or zoom from planet to planet alone. For that, No Man’s Sky is simply too quiet at its core.
Shared joy is double joy: A particularly lovely experience is to set off together with your ships into the unknown and discover a new planet. Here I feel a step closer to my dream of being part of a researching star fleet. Showing each other the surroundings, resources, exciting caves, or animals makes up a large part of the fun. Just like planning future goals together.
Multiplayer offers joint missions, bases, and modes
The multiplayer is intelligently implemented: No one is solely the host, which gives us a lot of freedom in the group. While one person went to feed animals on planets, another was busy in the character editor.
It is also always possible to join an ongoing group and just participate. Whenever I did this, I always ended up relatively close to my crew. All modes can also be played together as long as the same difficulty setting is in place.
Free building with the entire group: I am particularly looking forward to building a joint base with my team. Messages have already been flying back and forth about where we want the base to be. One thinks it would be ideal near the water, while others prefer to build underground. Everything is possible. It feels a bit like Robinson Crusoe in space.
Will No Man’s Sky convince in the long run?
What about long-term motivation? At this point, where I have played for a few hours, I find the long-term motivation difficult to assess. No Man’s Sky is a huge sandbox where everyone has to find their own purpose. That also makes part of the appeal.
Constant new content and events promised: But with NEXT, No Man’s Sky takes another step forward and moves more in the direction of “Games-as-a-service“. The regular events could indeed bring the much-needed variety and motivate me.
At the moment, I enjoy the journey: I don’t know yet if I will leave No Man’s Sky sitting in the corner again in two weeks. But for the moment, it is a pleasantly calm yet moving journey. It comes quite close to my dream of being part of a lively universe that I explore together with my crew.
With my first positive impression, I seem not to be alone: Player numbers for No Man’s Sky on Steam increased by a factor of 10
Have you checked out NEXT and what are your first impressions?
