No Man's Sky

Where to begin. Let's see... When I bought it it was on a whim. I was dead set against it at first because I knew it wouldn't be proper multiplayer. So already a strike against it, but so many people said good things, and it looked shiny, and the other plusses that were promised I figured sure, why not and bought a pre-order with a few hours to spare. That being said, I wish I hadn't. It's a very beautiful game.. on the surface. But that luster soon fades. Ship combat, while not as bad as many proclaim, is still not great, and doesn't even support joysticks it seems (least not mine or my friend who has it). Really? Who makes a game like that? Next big thing, navigation. Would it really be that hard to make a damn map? Is the future somehow devoid of being able to map something properly? If it's not bad enough on a planet, in the star map? Yeah trying to go back and find previous systems is abysmal. It's complete rubbish. Perhaps the worst of all, the biggest kick in the genitals would be the leaked ending. I normally hate spoilers, and won't discuss it here in case, but you can look it up if you like, and it's.. shallow and such a let down... completely devoid of thought or care. It's like the developer assumed with so many quadrillion stars no one would get to the end to call bullshit. Well people have. And if I could get a refund I would, and buy another game that wasn't so.. half assed in my opinion. It's a great half a game. For that money though you shouldn't have half a game, you should have a /full/ game. and this just isn't it. Take the money and go try Elite Dangerous (far cheaper in price) Or any of the other games out there like this. I for one will tinker on off hours perhaps just to say I beat it when I eventually do, but more out of punishing myself for getting suckered, maybe with false hope of them fixing things. It's not worth buying. To the Dev... liar liar, pants on fire. You're a con man.

Graphics 4/5 For it's art style & direction, these graphics are solid. The experience of going from a starbase or capital ship to planet - all without loading screens is technically impressive. There are still little glitches that I've no doubt will eventually be fixed. User Interface 1/5 They have improved the UI from vanilla. Unfortunately it is still horrible. NMS is one of the few games I've played where I actively HATE the UI. Seriously. I'm sitting here right now hating it. Here's why: 1. No simple "quality of life" controls. No way to search your items, no inventory filters, no way to auto-stack items. 2. There's no easy way to learn what materials are needed to build things. In other words, there's no "recipe" book, screen, or dialogue. Also missing is any kind of clue or information on whether or not an item CAN be crafted. Can you get this blueprint, or do you have to buy it? Who knows!? While I don't mind building the things I need, I don't like to be frustrated by not knowing how to get the blueprints I need to build certain things! Gameplay 4/5 The core game of exploration is good. Being able to own a fleet is pretty slick. Being able to build out rooms in your Freighter is also pretty cool. Multiplayer adds to the awesome, allowing friends to dock with your Freighter, and your entire fleet can go cruising wherever! The ability to build enhancements for your freigher - also cool. That said... 1. I bought a 2nd ship & chose to keep it rather than exchange it. Apparently I cannot recall it to my freighter? This seems counterintuitive. 2. Manually having to recharge my shields, life support, etc, etc. They should just let it automatically recharge as long as I have the right materials and/or items in my inventory! Summary 4/5 I give this game a 4 out of 5. The interface still needs a lot of improvement. If you like the simple pleasure of exploring, then this is the game for you. It's a galaxy-sized sandbox within which you get to play.

The latest updates make the game finally perfect.

The man who is traveling and does not yet know the city awaiting him along his route wonders what the palace will be like, the barracks, the mill, the theater, the bazaar. In every city of the empire every building is different and set in a different order: but as soon as the stranger arrives at the unknown city and his eye penetrates the pine cone of pagodas and garrets and haymows, following the scrawl of canals, gardens, rubbish heaps, he immediately distinguishes which are the princes' palaces, the high priests' temples, the tavern, the prison, the slum.This- some say -confirms the hypothesis that each man bears in his mind a city made only of differences, a city without figures and without form, and the individual cities fill it up. ========== Invisible Cities (Italo Calvino)

More value here than 99% of the games you can buy.