No Man's Sky | Hello Games
THE NO MAN'S SKY ANOMALY AND WHY YOU SHOULD COME BACK
The universe is at your fingertips
by Felipe Parada
I always wanted to play No Man's Sky since it was first announced back in late 2013 during the VGA's. In amidst of blockbusters like Call of Duty, Battlefield and Uncharted; No Mans Sky looked like a game that was different in every single way. It tapped into a curiosity that everyone is born with and it gave us a feeling that this game would change the way saw and played video games. And at this very moment , the hype became real.
Fast forward 3 light-years later, the game was finally released. To my complete surprise all I kept hearing and reading were negative reviews. "It's too repetitive" was the popular comment followed by "This game just sucks". Negative review after negative review kept popping up on all popular gaming sites and that curiosity I once had for the game slowly started to fade. There were those few positive reviews but they were overshadowed by all the news of the death threats Sean Murray was receiving.
I thought to myself "Not again, how can this happen? Why is this happening?" and worst "Oh my god, another Destiny." It just seems like developers can't get it right. But I don't think it's all the developers fault, the hype train was just too big.
And just like every other game, it got put on the back burner. Forever to be lost in space. It was a shame because I felt that that is game was getting crucified for the wrong reasons. "One day" I told myself. "One day I'll pick it up and see what it's all about."
That day finally came. I recently picked up No Man's Sky for $20, not a bad purchase for a year old game. It was safe to say that my expectations were low because all the bad press that the game has generated over the course of just one year. Yet there was a small part of me that couldn't wait to get home, pop in the disc, download all the patches and discover my first planet. I needed to calm myself down on a couple of occasions because I did not want to let my imagination get the better of me and ruin my experience.
No Man's Sky has a simple design aesthetic, discovery. No matter where you go in the universe, you are constantly reminded of planets that need to be explored. At times it can be staring you right in the face.
In the new Atlas Rising Expansion, choose from a vast array of side missions. Hunt down sentinel, deliver goods and scan for lifeforms just to name a few.
Then it dawned on me that this feeling is what it's really about, the feeling of discovery. The feeling of discovering the unknown. This was the message that was lost amidst all the controversy, amidst all the hate. It was truly an anomaly.
The moment of truth came, and loaded up the game. Immediate you are thrust into a universe waiting to be discovered. As the trillions upon trillions of star systems fly by the screen goes white. I awoke on my first planet. The one thing I noticed right away was how vibrant the colors were the how the sound design was award winning.
I grinded all the materials needed to fix my ship and I was off to discover the universe. Each planet discovered led to more and more excitement. That feeling I originally had began to resurface as I renamed each planet and scanned all the life forms. I kept thinking, "Keep going, there are planets that need to be discovered."
And here I am 7 Galaxies later still grinding, still discovering, still pushing forward with no signs of stopping. I haven't even touched the Foundation and Pathfinder content yet. There has been little information on the upcoming "Titan Awakening" content patch but with Hello Games track record I'm sure it will be a welcomed addition to an already stellar experience.
Now I don't know if I'll feel like this after my 50th or 60th discovered galaxy but one thing I will say for sure is that the carrot is still inciting. With all the extra love shown to this game, developer Hello Games should be commended for their dedication to delivering a sound product. After a year later, it definitely shows.
It you haven't picked up the game yet now is the perfect time to jump in, fuel up that jump drive and begin exploring. For those you you who abandoned it, the upcoming "Titan Awakening" should be a good enough reason why you should come back.
Atlas Rising 1.30 (UPDATE) 9.1.17
Even with the trouble launch that No Man's Sky had exactly one year ago, many gamers thought that this was a another lost exclusive that was never going to be patched into the game that it should have been. Oh, how wrong the gaming community was. Hello Games could have easily taken the Mass Effect Andromeda route and completely abandon the game entirely but they didn't. Hello Games chose to stick with a game that they believe had potential and it definitely shows in the Atlas Rising Expansion.
First and foremost, if I haven't said it already I'll say it again, Hello Games needs to be commended on their dedication to delivering a stellar product (yes pun intended). They have set an example in an industry that is hell bent on the pre-order and micro-transaction culture. Every addition feels new and refreshing, from the New re-vamped HUD, to the biomes that gently sway in the wind as you run by to scavenge newly discovered crashed freighters. This game really feel like it has it all and we are just at the tip of the iceberg. As we speak we are already up to patch version 1.34 which means there are many more changes on the horizon.
Every addition feels new and refreshing, from the New re-vamped HUD, to the biomes that gently sway in the wind as you run by to scavenge newly discovered crashed freighters. This game really feel like it has it all and we are just at the tip of the iceberg. As we speak we are already up to patch version 1.34 which means there are many more changes on the horizon.
RATING:
I never got the ability to play vanilla No Man's Sky so it was difficult to recommend playing this game. After the Atlas Rising patch I would rate this game as a MUST PLAY and go as far as saying that you need to come back.
Did you get a chance to play No Man's Sky? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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