My Second Hour of No Man’s Sky
I had some time to play again today, so am going to continue this Review In Progress… First big plus for the game — it was the first game I went to play, I have a stack of unfinished games to get through and play, no hesitation in loading No Man’s Sky.
My Likes
Gameplay and Story
Just enough Nudging to keep you heading the right way, you can probably ignore it if you want to and explore at random — it doesn’t feel like some games which claim to be open but are actually holding you “on rails” the whole way through. More GTA than WatchDogs, where GTA sometimes makes you do a mission as a tutorial, or to advance the plot, WatchDogs seemed to make you do exactly that one thing, then you must go here, simulated sandbox but actually a step-by-step on rails plot.
Graphics
Smooth, fluid, shiny, colourful and pretty too. I noticed when I was travelling extremely fast, you could see some elements being drawn in the distance, but nothing that deserves the negative stuff I’ve seen on other reviews. I do not think many of the “0/10” reviewers have actually played the game honestly.
Sound
Great music, good sound effects, immersion is high.
Exploration
So far i’ve explored 4 or 5 planets, and 2 star systems. A Space Station too which was very cool. So far it has been interesting and varied, the planets environments have varied from extremely harsh on the life support system to quite nice places that would be cool to holiday in.
Interaction with other life
Very cool, the first alien I spoke to did not speak English, and there was no “Universal Translator” or BabelFish. Very realistic, all though they did seem to be a bipedal, fairly humanoid creature; this might not be many though and i’m hoping for less Star Trek aliens — a bit of makeup or pointy ears etc, and more Babylon 5 or Star Wars where some of the aliens you have no idea where their eyes are, if they even have them.
It seems like you can slowly learn their language too, but a bit of body language which might not be correct as they are alien helped suggest that I stopped bothering this creature asap and travel elsewhere.
What I Dislike
Inventory management
I “wasted” about 15 minutes trying to figure out how (and what) to sell, to develop my engine technology- the ship and suit slots were full, and I had to purchase some sort of element, which was not very clear. Eventually I figured it out, this was a bit clunky and could be improved / maybe as we get further in the ship will get more storage and it won’t be a bother, if it stays this way though I can see that I’ll have to start dumping stuff instead of selling it or whatever, that will not be too much fun.
Realism
It would be great if you could choose different difficulty levels, as sometimes the survival elements of the game get in the way of, well, survival! I have died a couple of times now just cause I was slightly distracted, or accidentally blasted out into deep space if you’re unfamiliar with the game as many beginners are, you may not realise that you’ve run out of fuel and are suddenly 10 years away from the nearest planet or space station!
Lucky for me this time, I found some meteorites that contained the fuel I required and was able to get back to the populated areas from the deep void.
The drones are a bit annoying as a beginner, and when you’re unfamiliar with weapons or even How to reload they can be quite a pain, I don’t think this will be a problem for much longer though as I’m getting the hang of that; though having an ultra easy mode for those who want to truly explore and not do battle would be excellent.
I may keep up this hourly, in-progress ongoing review, or extend the time a little. I do not want to spoil the game for anyone so I am keeping the screenshots “vague” and will not reveal anything I think might spoil the game for others.
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