Five Years and One Major Discount Later, No Man’s Sky is Finally a Worthy Purchase

Jon Bitner
·6 min read

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It took a few years, but No Man’s Sky is finally the game it set out to be.

Developer Hello Games made big promises at launch in 2016, but an underdeveloped product led to lackluster reviews. Fast-forward to 2021, and 17 free updates later No Man’s Sky is finally a game worth playing.

From VR support and multiplayer to alien settlements and a sweeping next-gen update, there’s never been a better time to check out the infinite universe of No Man’s Sky. Whether you’re a solo adventurer or want to band together with a group of friends to explore the unknown, the survival game offers a lot of value to players – here’s why you should finally give it a download in 2021.

No Man’s Sky is Worth Playing in 2021

No Man's Sky
Credit: Hello Games

Without a doubt, No Man’s Sky is finally a game worth playing. The general consensus on the title has changed dramatically, with its Steam score finally crossing the threshold to “Mostly Positive.” It carries much of the same appeal as Minecraft – that is, the only limit to what you can accomplish is your own imagination – and there’s a million different ways to make its world your own.

If exploration and crafting don’t appeal to you, then you can dive into its expansive main storyline that’ll guide you through the universe. Not to mention the robust multiplayer that gives you good reason to band together with fellow players and jump into some challenging group content. If you’ve avoided playing No Man’s Sky all these years, 2021 is the time to rethink your opinion of the title. Hello Games has finally created a universe worthy of your time and is a great value for its price.

How Has No Man’s Sky Improved Over the Years?

No Man's Sky
Credit: Hello Games

It’s been about five years since No Man’s Sky first hit shelves, and a lot has changed since then. Planets are now filled with materials to harvest and enemies to battle. Crafting received a massive overhaul, giving you the ability to build a variety of shelters and unlock new gameplay mechanics. VR support has also been added, giving you another way to explore these extra-terrestrial landscapes.

With 17 free updates, there’s a lot of new ground to cover – but if you haven’t been keeping up with No Man’s Sky since launch, here are a few of the most exciting additions that have come to the game:

  • Next-Gen Graphics: To coincide with the arrival of PS5 and Xbox Series X, Hello Games launched a sweeping rework of the game’s graphics. All next-gen systems benefit from the enhancements, as well as high-end PCs. No Man’s Sky certainly doesn’t look like a game that’s five years old – and that’s largely because of this modern facelift.

  • Five Game Modes: Normal is the standard way to play, but you can also opt for Survival, Permadeath, Creative and Community Expedition. Each one changes up how you experience No Man’s Sky and caters to a different playstyle – broadening its appeal and giving you more ways to experience the action.

  • Space Anomaly Multiplayer: Multiplayer was severely lacking back in 2016 and was mostly restricted to random encounters with other players. Hello Games has turned things around, and cooperating with others is now a central pillar of No Man’s Sky. You’ll eventually unlock a hub world called the Space Anomaly, which lets you interact with other explorers and band together to go on a variety of missions. If you’d rather have a quiet experience reminiscent of that from 2016, you can always turn off multiplayer in the Options menu.

  • Expanded Main Story: No Man’s Sky gives you a lengthy main story to work through, with most players taking around 30 hours to reach the end. Even if you don’t want to float around an endless universe and explore, the game’s campaign is reason enough to give it a play. It’ll also introduce you to the variety of mechanics at play and serves as the perfect chance to get acquainted with its complex systems.

  • Crafting Updates: Not only are there a variety of ways to upgrade your equipment, but No Man’s Sky recently added the ability to create personal housing and residences. You can even craft Teleporters to quickly move to other homes you’ve built throughout the galaxy.

  • Frontiers: The latest update for No Man’s Sky introduces alien settlements bustling with activity. You can even become an Overseer of these settlements by earning the respect of its citizens – giving you the option to name the town and expand its reach.

The Best Deals and Discounts for No Man’s Sky

No Man's Sky
Credit: Slickdeals/Hello Games

Speaking of price, Hello Games is discounting No Man’s Sky by 50% to celebrate the launch of the Frontiers update. You’ll want to check it out soon, however, as the promo ends on September 13th. You can also find it on Xbox Game Pass – which continues to be the best deal in gaming.

Steam

Microsoft Store

PlayStation Store

What is No Man’s Sky?

No Man's Sky
Credit: Hello Games

No Man’s Sky is a space exploration game with a heavy emphasis on survival, discovery and crafting. You’ll start the game stranded on a hazardous world with no memory as to how you ended up there, and you’ll need to slowly repair your equipment to get off the hostile planet. Once that’s out of the way, you’re free to discover new solar systems, create hundreds of objects and analyze and catalog thousands of different animals, planets, minerals and other unknown objects floating around the galaxy.

Its world is entirely procedurally generated, meaning there’s a nearly infinite number of possibilities floating around in outer space. At its core, No Man’s Sky is all about exploring the far corners of the galaxy – crafting gear, upgrading equipment and trading with others as you go about your business. In that sense, it’s a bit like Minecraft, although its systems are slightly more complex, and its worlds are far more alien.

If you think that all sounds a bit ambitious, you’d be right. The game featured a massive, procedurally generated universe at launch, but it was a universe void of anything worth doing. Hello Games had bit off more than it could chew, and the game only managed to earn a niche following in the months after launch.

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