This is so difficult to review. "Would you like to play a walking simulator in space? You'll LOVE this game." See? That can be interpreted in a ton of ways. Sarcastic and critical: check. But also, it touches on the quiet appeal and languid pace of this game and the way it unfolds. It's meditative, and occasionally boring in a pleasantly undemanding way. You're in it for the steady sense of movement, the journey, even if the procedural mechanics are poking through way too much, even if the universe feels empty to the point of being abandoned. If your thing is Battlefield, Doom and Call of Duty, this game will make you claw your eyes out. If your thing is Elite: Dangerous, you may still feel a sense of frustration at how empty the universe feels, but I reckon it'll pull you in. If you played Dear Esther until the end, and you like the idea of doing that maybe a hundred times more, go nuts - No Man's Sky will scratch that itch for you. It's come a long way since its catastrophic pig's ear of a launch. The developers stood their ground and kept releasing updates that made a real difference to all aspects of the game. It's still not what was promised in the worst of the pre-launch hype, but it's a lot closer, and that's exciting. It shows they care enough to take this game out of its Early-Access-in-all-but-name origins, and make it the game it could be, given enough time and effort. They're putting that time and effort in. Credit where credit is due. If you buy it, you're investing in a game that's still cooking. I have no idea why this isn't a huge part of the marketing for the game, but, I guess any shift in communication for this game runs the risk of getting hated all over. It's weird. I'm enjoying it. I also like going for long, long walks. Worth bearing in mind.
