Let's get one thing clear: at the end of the day, this is still No Man's Sky. That might sound silly, but the excitement surrounding the huge Beyond update may have had people hoping for an unrecognisable, utterly transformative new experience. Beyond does many things to the game, but at its core, this is the very same space exploration game that caused a stir when it arrived in 2016. If you hated the grind for materials and the need to craft parts and top up your health bars, you'll likely still hate it now.
That being said, Beyond adds so much to the title it's borderline ridiculous. The headline new feature is full PlayStation VR support, and the good news is that it's been implemented wonderfully, despite a graphical downgrade. Fire up the game with your headset on and you'll finally be able to appreciate the size of your ship, alien creatures, and planets. Scale is something that's been imperative to the No Man's Sky experience from the off, but in virtual reality, the vastness of the procedurally generated universe is freshly impressive.
DualShock 4 and Move controllers are both supported in VR. The former keeps the controls mostly the same as you're used to, although you'll use the gyro sensor to aim your weapon, while the latter introduces an entirely different way to play. With a wand in each hand, exploring alien worlds becomes a more tactile adventure, and it translates fairly well. Reaching over your shoulder to grab your gun is a nice touch, as is mounting menus and inventories to your wrist. On-foot controls will take some getting used to, however. This is a game with lots of systems and lots of inputs, and while the developer has done an admirable job of fitting everything onto two Moves, it's still a bit finicky.
Flying your ship is where the motion controllers feel most natural, as you'll use one hand for the throttle and the other for the joystick. It's been said of this game since the early days that it'd be a natural fit for PSVR, and while it isn't perfect, the fact the whole game can be played this way is excellent.
You can even play with others whether they're also in VR or not. The expanded multiplayer is the other major addition, and it's pretty easy to find other explorers thanks to the Nexus. You can summon this social space station basically anywhere in the cosmos, and heading inside will put you in a server with a handful of other players. From there, you can meet up, go out on missions together, show off your ships and bases, and more. From our experience, the frame rate struggled while in this area, and other players' ships lagged considerably as they came and went. If you can deal with these performance hiccups, the Nexus is a smart way to encourage people to play together.
What's noticeable is that creatures and environments appear to have had a revamp. We've always liked the visual style of the game, but it's more diverse now than it's ever been, and seeing NPC aliens walking around and generally being more expressive is a small but welcome change.
We've not even really touched on the new building features, which essentially let you create even crazier bases, or improved interactions with alien wildlife. No Man's Sky is now packing a pretty hefty amount of things to do, which is pretty good when you remember no one initially had a clue what you were meant to do at all. But, going pack to our original point, there are so many layers that it can all be quite confusing. Even if you're a lapsed player who's put a lot of hours in, we'd highly recommend starting a fresh save. Beyond does a lot for the game, but it's still a dense, sometimes obtuse experience, so there's nothing wrong with going through the basics again.
What do you think of No Man's Sky Beyond and its new features? Have you been playing in PSVR? Has this update finally won you over? Recharge your shields in the comments below.
Comments 27
The new carrying limits have drastically improved the grind in my opinion, but it's still very much: collect this thing to make that thing, make X number of the new thing and combine them with this other thing to make the newer thing, then install that thing on the other thing and don't forget to refuel it later with the other other thing.
But it looks good. And it always keeps me coming back to see what I can find over on the next ball in space. Loved the ring system planet in my starter system. And the flying manatees. Here's to astrozoology, which has become my personal primary objective.
A wise man once said "A redemption story can be a great one, if it didn't start with deception."
I seriously want to get a PSVR for this. Also for Megaton Rainfall.
Although I think I may wait until they're done updating this game. Every time they do, I end up wanting to restart.
Tried the game for the first time last night and did it in VR. It was an absolutely incredible experience.
Unfortunately they still haven't fixed the biggest problem with the game, namely that the planets are still unbearably homogeneous. It feels like with every new update the game drifts further and further away from the exploration centric philosophy that used to be at the game's core.
This game reminds me of a certain theme park. It’s like, yes, they now have Pixar Pier, the Incredicoaster, Cars Land and other improvements, but it’s still CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE!!!
I had mild interest in this game leading up to its release. After the negative reception, I forgot about it, convinced I would never be interested in it. And now I'm straddling the fence on whether or not to buy it. The developers have done a good job updating this game and hopes everyone that plays NMS can appreciate that effort. Miyamoto famously said that a released broken game is broken forever. Maybe NMS will be an exception.
I really want to reinstall this and start again. Thanks for the great impressions, @quintumply.
I tried it out last night. The grind of collecting numerous things just to fuel your ship is still there... not sure I can be bothered. It was fun at first, but is just a chore now. I just want to get on with exploring and not have to run around perpetually looking for multiple items to create fuel. All that tech, and they can't fit a ship with a longer-lasting power source?
I never minded the resource grind, it was the lack of storage requiring massive inventory management that irked me. I downloaded the update yesterday and will give it a try this weekend.
I'm gonna have to pass on this one. I'm only allowed to play games that are fun for my girlfriend to watch while i'm playing. This game would probably bore her to death. And she owns the place so there is not much i can do....
Giving players some work to do for rewards is much better than micro transactions or just handing out everything to them. Its not like anything is hard to find you just need to go pick it up!!
@Paranoimia start a new save, when you pick what mode you want, normal mode, survival,etc. There's a new mode, I can't remember the name. Where you have infinite resources and health, so you can just explore.
Let me know if you try it, please.
@Paranoimia found it for you: Creative Mode. I'll copy and paste a summary from the website;
"This mode of play is a more relaxed version with the ability to "explore and create freely," and was added as part of the Foundation Update. The player is allowed to indulge their creativity and construction skills, with unlimited health and resources, and zero building costs. It is important to note that trophies will NOT unlock in Creative Mode. Story elements like the Atlas Path and Black Holes are not available in this mode."
You interested?
I got the game and sunk a good few hours into it after the Next update and I like it and want to try especially in VR but the grind just doesn't interest me but oddly the lore and the trophies did so I dont want to try creative mode.
Well, I bought subnautica just this week, and it's been a really good experience, but a survival game with almost no story and no coop is very lonely. So NMS is a yes, as soon as I finish subnautica.
And it's a game we can find everywhere used and really cheap.. (even new is cheap) So, I think it's not a bad investment, at all.
I was actually pretty underwhelmed with the VR aspect. It's extremely blurry and low-res. Cockpit looks great but I don't get that WHOAH flying feeling that I get from taking off in Ultrawings.
Teleporting everywhere also breaks the fourth wall to me, it's annoying that to turn my body I have to click buttons. Breaks immersion completely.
Ended up taking off the VR set and just playing normally.
@Paranoimia Can you not just play on creative? Surely you can explore to your hearts content then?
@tomassi @oldschool1987
The trophies (rightly) don't pop in that mode. I don't really want it all "easy mode" as I enjoy the rest just as it is; I just wish the fuel would last a bit longer... it's the one aspect which kinda blocks my enjoyment.
@mantralux apparently NMS in VR does have an option to play with the pad and full movement. So no teleportation or click movement needed.
Cool update but like I always complain on the subreddit unless they improve the fauna/flora/planet diversity there's no incentive for me to continue playing! After 4 or 5 hours and some planets you already have seen everything almost, the same pineapple creatures, the same plants, the same planet biomes....it gets boring fast. The fact that the combat with sentinels is not even good makes it even worse to explore.
Once they have huge diversity in fauna this game will be perfect for what it is..
@Paranoimia fair point, I've already got the platinum, so I might give it a go myself
@mantralux turn teleportation off. Go onto settings and set it to smooth.
The original review I read for this described it as an "Infinite Space Sandbox"!!! .... yeuch, what a turn-off! Took the plunge today as its only £15.99 on PS Store. Doubt I woulda touched it without the VR implementation. Graphics in VR could be better ... even at this scale. Played it couple hours .. pretty good so far. Is there actually a narrative .... or do i just fumble about planets doing the same thang ad infinitum??
I've been playing this on my PC / Valve Index all day, It is incredible in scale and scope. I quite liked NMS when it first come out, went to the center and back twice as I found it a nice way to just really chill. But in VR its crazy. But in VR on the index it's pushing a RTX 2080ti to max. I'm sure performance will improve over time but I don't know PS4 is managing to even run this!
@Pete_Stooge New girl friend? I mean I know she's got her own place and all but is she really that much of a looker?
Are there any good space flight adventure action games that have a huge universe to explore? Elite seems just overly complex(simulation like) and cold by what I read about it(please correct me if im wrong). Not sure what else is good out there.
I miss Sundog(but that's probably nostalgia talking)
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