I don’t know why but the game really struggles on my old computer now. Had to transfer it to the new one, which I primarily bought to play Starfield.
I’ve been playing it on the Steam Deck, which handles it fine.
Yet another big update. This might be enough to get me to drop back in for the new expedition.
‘Part I’…
The recent Worlds update brought me back. Been reading up on NMS on reddit, etc. and finding a lot more is there than I had previously imagined.
Since I last played NMS about 4-5 years ago, I’ve spent a lot of time in Space Engineers, Stationeers, Starfield, Elite Dangerous and even Star Citizen. Circling back to NMS I finally see what it does and doesn’t do, in comparison and contrast with other star system or galactic-scale games. It’s a pretty refined game now, runs well on my PC. Grindy in its own way, with a somewhat linear (and slightly annoying) tutorial, but is as least as good in most important aspects as any space game out there.
The first time I played, back in 2016, I was, like many others, dazzled by the possibilities but bored and bewildered by what was actually there. I came back a couple years later and built a base–which confused me, because if the game was about travel and exploration, then “settling down” ran contrary to that.
But again, comparing with other games, I now see that the idea is to build one or more bases, whatever you like, on planets you choose to revisit for whatever reason. Then, you can teleport between them, a huge time saver. And you get to discover and “own” the naming rights to planets and such, which is saved on their server, which is a cool feature not shared in many other games. So the game is really a huge sandbox to play around in, which I am OK with. (See Space Engineers, where that is literally all you do. No story at all, or even NPC characters. Just NPC ships and stations that you can interact with.)
I’m thinking I’ll go through the entire NMS story line this time–I have not done this in the past–and go much deeper into the game than previously. It’s a pretty nice time, well spent.
The greatest redemption arc in video game history has perhaps reached its conclusion: No Man’s Sky’s overall rating on Steam has climbed to ‘very positive.’
I gather Part II went live yesterday.
New star systems, gas giants and their moons, ocean worlds, fishing, floating Nautilon sub spawner, etc.
It’s like the developers are overcompensating for releasing the game unfinished by putting out insane amounts of new content and features.
(Not that I’m complaining!)
Definitely for the first few years, but I think we’re well past that and are just into “amazing game company is doing amazing work.”
Yeah, they are something special. 
No Man’s Sky is a great Steam Deck game. I should update it, and set up my Deck docking station again.
Did you guys see that there’s a new game being developed by Hello Games, called “Light No Fire”? Seems to be a fantasy version of No Man’s Sky. Here’s hoping development is a bit smoother this time, but I think we can trust the publisher to keep tinkering with it regardless of how it initially ships.
My understanding is that the last few major updates to NMS have been integrating tech developed for the new game.
Not until your post but holy crap that sounds like a must buy for me.
It’ll definitely be a must buy for me… three years after it’s released.
OK, here I am. I have to ask. With all the massive fixes, the game has obviously been fixed and delivered far beyond what many even expected.
Some questions from me, a curious buyer:
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I remember when it was released. It was just get materials, upgrade ship, maybe take pictures of animals and name them. So, like, what is it like now? What do you do???
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If you would be so kind, what are some of the largest improvements and content that have elevated this game to great reviews?
Thanks, everyone. I’m so glad this game(and Cyberpunk) worked out, though with Cyberpunk, I definitely would have expected better right out the gate.
I think the core gameplay loop is still the same. It’s still a sandbox survival game with no real plot other than “keep going forward.”
The improvements have mostly been focused around creating more stuff to do in that sandbox. More diverse biomes, more ships, ground vehicles, etc. I think an awful lot of improvements have been made to underwater stuff, with submersibles and underwater base building.
There have been something like 30 major updates since release so it’s difficult to give any kind of concise rundown.
That said, it’s currently on sale for 60% off and you’ve been asking about the game for 10 years. Just buy it. 
I haven’t played nearly enough to answer this question, despite coming back to this game a handful of times over the years. Mind you, I’ve never played the game early on, so some of these updates are crazy to me. I can’t imagine the game before base building considering how a major part of the tutorial is building a base computer and then getting data from across the universe to feed into it.
That said…
Update 1 - base building basics
Update 2 - vehicles for moving around planets
Update 3 - a storyline; portals; procedural quests
Update 4 - freighters, giant spaceships that act like mobile bases
Update 5 - underwater biomes, bases, and submarines
Update 6 - more planet variety, rare items like fossils or scrap to find on planets
Update 7 - VR support and a galactic hub called the Nexus that ties into the storyline
Update 8 - added the ability to upgrade spaceships and a bunch of tweaks
Update 9 - living ships and encounters in space
Update 10 - added a mech you can pilot as an exocraft, building on the prior vehicle update
Update 11 - cross play with other systems, release on Xbox
Update 12 - derelict freighters to explore, ability to customize freighters
Update 13 - overhaul to various systems, more biomes, giant worms
Update 14 - updated the freighters with Tainted Metal, a new (purely in game of course) currency for upgrades and such that’s part of the derelict ship raid system
Update 15 - next gen update for consoles
Update 16 - tame and breed the procedurally generated creatures
Update 17 - added Expeditions. I haven’t done these yet but as I understand it they’re timed events that cycle through; when one is active, you start a new save (or a sub-save with your existing character) and then run through a pretty tight quest line on a set planet/group of planets. When you’re done you earn rewards that carry over to your main game.
Update 18 - visual overhaul and flying pets
Update 19 - planetary settlements that you can help out and then manage; base overhaul
Update 20 - more sentinel types (the robot enemies that protect some planets), more behavior for them, hubs for them
Update 21 - pirates, pirate stations, the ability to have NPCs pilot ships in a squadron for you
Update 22 - freighter construction overhaul (you can build a base on your freighter if I didn’t mention that), space weather and such improved
Update 23 - switch release, new game modes like Relaxed or Creative, various improvements
Update 24 - more tweaks, PSVR compatibility, etc
Update 25 - corrupted planets, more sentinel updates
Update 26 - Mac OS release
Update 27 - a new alien race, a new pirate faction, and new equipment based around the alien race’s tech. Also, overhauls to freighter combat
Update 28 - changes to Expeditions; pirate freighters
Update 29 - space stations overhauled, build ships from scratch
Update 30 - game mode where you’re the only intelligent life in the universe
Update 31 - this is the Worlds Part 1 update mentioned above, which was HUGE.
Update 32 - I bet you thought this would be Worlds part 2 but it’s not! There were multiple updates in between! This one added fishing.
Update 33 - an Expedition to a universe where hyperdrives don’t work and travel between star systems is done through portals on the surface of planets
Update 34 - cross save compatibility
Update 35 - Worlds part II
Heh, see above, I gave a non concise rundown.
I played for a while over the last few days. Picked up an existing save, that was right past the tutorial stage.
First planet I visit, I get a distress call from a settlement. It’s an arid planet, swarming with sentinels. No wonder these guys are having trouble. Why are you settling here? Nevertheless, I decided to help them, and the settlement is slowly improving. Just about to break even, and then start paying down the debt on it.
While waiting for decisions and construction to process, I’ve been been doing small trips to neighboring systems and completing various quests. I just got a distress beacon that led me to a crashed ship that’s an A class with like 38+15 slots or something like that? Much better than my current ship. I repaired it, most of the slots are blocked off by broken stuff but it’s fully functional with the existing modules now.
Question for those who have done the cursed expedition: how long do they take? Is it worth starting now when there are two days left?