No Man’s Sky Review: 2020 is its Year!

The Past is Behind Us. Really, Just Forget it!

We’re going to do a review of No Man’s Sky in 2020 because we’re not going to count the original release of No Man’s Sky in 2016. In fact, the world would be a better place if we just pretended the 2016 version of the game didn’t exist. However, most of us who were alive in 2016 know of the backlash following the original release of the game. It’s a good thing, thus, that three years later, No Man’s Sky’s “Beyond” update seemed to have calmed the raging inferno of gamers and allowed players to experience a (mostly) complete game. Let’s take a look at No Man’s Sky review 2020.

It’s as Interesting as Space – Black and Empty

The story mode for No Man’s Sky was introduced in 2017 with update 1.3. That means, for an entire year, people were just flying around to explore random planets with absolutely no direction at all. The story, also known as Atlas Rises, introduces an interdimensional race and a quest system that finally gives players some purpose in the universe. There are about 30 hours of story content in the Atlas Rises and finally gives the player some structure and guidance. Unfortunately, it’s not very memorable and is easily ignored as players wander aimlessly across space.

Story: 4/10

At Last a Reason to Play!

In the current version of the game, there is more structure after the tutorial that helps you figure out what you need to do other than giving you a ship and telling you to go to random planets. You do a Fallout 76-style base-building that will immerse you into the game if that’s what you’re into. It’s like a non-blocky space version of Minecraft. Explore, gather materials, and build.

Fortunately, in 2020, you’re not going to feel very lonely in No Man’s Sky anymore. You can run into other players and interact with their ships. There are also distinguishable characters now that aren’t just generic non-playable characters that give missions you can do with other players.

Unfortunately, the universe tries its best to keep you from doing the one thing you’re really doing in this game: exploring. Your sprint and jetpack deplete your life support meter, every planet has crazy weather events that force you to hide away, and it takes forever to learn another alien’s languages. You’re easily going to put hours into gameplay with some frustrating mechanics and repetitive combat. Yet! There’s something about repetitive gameplay that makes it fun! (If you enjoy repetitive gameplay, of course)

Gameplay: 4/10

Nothing to See Here

Even though No Man’s Sky changed their gameplay since release, the graphics are still as choppy with no real visual improvements. It still looks like the developers took all the colorfully bad Star Trek backdrops and put them into their game. Many of the planets might look colorful but they’re as repetitive as the environment in Death Stranding. It’s a whole lot of nothing! Some planets can be absolutely breathtaking but the stuttering, even on higher-end PCs, can be immersive-breaking.

Graphics: 2/10

Alluring Lullabies

If anything is good about No Man’s Sky in 2020, it’s the soft ambient soundtrack that accompanies you across endless exploration. It’s the perfect companion for exploring an endless procedurally generated environment. There’s a lot of lengthy soundscapes in the game that keeps you immersed in the game without distracting you from your gameplay. It’s definitely something to chill out when you’re putting hours into ‘Mine(space)craft’.

Music: 8/10

Final Thoughts

The updates to the game may help gamers restore some faith in the developers whom they’ve completely lost faith in. It isn’t as hit-or-miss as it was before so it might be worth giving No Man’s Sky a chance in 2020.