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submitted 1 week ago by extarion@lemmy.zip to c/games@lemmy.world

As someone who last tried No Man's Sky out about 5 years ago, it looks like it's time to give it another shot.

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[-] EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world 80 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

This game has added so many systems over the years, but it still just hasn’t really grown into anything of substance. It’s a game where the only real “thing to do” is mindless busywork. 200 new systems, all created to a standard of absolute minimum viability, none of them are very rewarding on their own, and none of them really create interesting interactions with each other. It’s like they every system was added with the idea that they’re optional, which makes them all feel unnecessary.

You can build bases now, but there’s no real reason to other than to do so. There are settlements you can become the leader of? But what that entails is essentially nothing. The game is designed from the ground up for you to move from planet to planet without lingering too long on any particular one, and yet they added a bunch of mechanics based around specific planets.

It’s a really bizarre product.

[-] deacon@lemmy.world 49 points 1 week ago

It isn’t a game I play. It’s a universe I visit from time to time. I fucking love it

[-] killerscene@lemmy.dbzer0.com 24 points 1 week ago

thats the perfect game for some people.

would have liked to play this, but its just too much to jump into now. would have been nice if it was functional from the get go.

ill probably end up giving light no fire a try as theyre probably more in their element as developers in regards to a game of that scale

[-] onslaught545@lemmy.zip 10 points 1 week ago

Eh, I picked it up last year and had no trouble hitting the ground running. I did make it harder on myself by skipping the storyline and just figured things out as I went, though.

[-] Butterpaderp@lemmy.world 16 points 1 week ago

To me, it's a similar game to animal crossing. Lots of things to do and customize, not alot of depth. But, some people enjoy that, and that's okay. And I gotta give them credit for adding so many updates over the years.

[-] Auntievenim@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago

My dude, you sound like a south park character. I'm not even kidding. Just dont play the game if you dont understand how to create your own fun.

[-] EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

I don’t play the game, I prefer games that are fun on their own without me having to create my own.

[-] Coyote_sly@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago

This describes literally every single video game ever, though - there's never a reason to do literally anything beyond "I want to" because it's almost entirely time wasting entertainment anyway.

Now, these procedural games often fail to create much of a reason to 'want to'. But sometimes I prefer that to the transparent, skinner-box optimal game design in many other genres.

[-] EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world 16 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I don’t agree with that at all. Giving your players a rewarding reason to interact with the games systems is a foundational pillar of game design.

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[-] ushmel@piefed.world 73 points 1 week ago

They've released a ton of content and game enhancements since 5 years ago. I just picked it up a couple of months ago and I'm floored by how good this game is. Yes, it's all randomized/procedurally generated and that's why it's so vast. The story is okay but not AAA amazing, but definitely check it out if it's been a while.

[-] extarion@lemmy.zip 13 points 1 week ago

Might hop on with a few friends in a few days, I'm already excited to see the current state of the game!

[-] ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world 49 points 1 week ago

I just wish there was more to it. Every update adds more to do, but no reason to do it. Now we have a puddle as wide as an ocean.

[-] yarr@feddit.nl 29 points 1 week ago

There are two types of gamers:

Some see an open world sandbox and say "Wow, I can do anything!" and pick their own goals.

The other type says "WHAT it's pointless!" and wants some kind of arrow pointing at the next objective.

[-] ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world 22 points 1 week ago

Cool false dilemma.

It's one thing to be given a sandbox, and another thing to be given a toy box. Maybe your imagination lets you take it as far as you need, but some people need more of a purpose to justify putting time into it as opposed to something more productive.

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[-] Colalextrast@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago

I was about to dispute this, but I think its essentially correct. I for sure fall into the second camp, and while I despise the minimap bloat of a lot of newer games, I do want something that is going to guide my actions a bit. I want to like No Man's Sky so much, but playing it feels like work. Endless tasks with no satisfaction except whatever personal pride you happen to glean from a job well done.

There's gotta be a sweet spot between "I dunno, do whatever" and "here's a map of everything interesting, do it all". I think Breath of the Wild had a okay balance, but still not great. Maybe something more like Morrowind's "here's verbal clues, now go figure it out" approach

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[-] mhague@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

There's two types of gamers.

People who like sandboxes with the understanding that there are some toys / structures to play with.

People who just like playing in sand and don't care if a sandbox is literally just a box of sand.

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[-] bricker@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Agreed. While it's still pretty cool and I definitely respect their continued updates, I really only play for a few days every update then move on to something else.

Aside from the creative aspect to it, there really isn't much keeping me engaged for long

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[-] malle_yeno@pawb.social 34 points 1 week ago

ITT: people vaguely complaining about NMS but not pointing to anything that's wrong with it.

Y'all know you can not like a product without something being fundamentally and at-its-core wrong with it, right? It could just be not your cup of tea?

I personally have been having a blast making my Corvette and am excited for the new expedition. The fact that I got all this stuff for no added cost makes me feel even better about the time I'll have.

[-] sausager@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago

People on here crying, meanwhile I'm flying around the galaxy in my Eagle 5 Winnebago

[-] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

Did you include the fuel port in the glovebox in case you need to install any Liquid Schwartz?

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[-] thejoker954@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago

Mile wide, inch deep. I've no doubt (as excited for this update as I am) that this will be the same.

Basically they just add a framework for new features and then leaves it there without building it out.

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[-] Boiglenoight@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago

I love NMS for what it is. A sandbox. Some people don’t like playing in one. That’s fine.

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[-] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

But you just don't understand. Sean Murray personally lied to me nine years ago!!! Boycotted forevar!!!

(Edit: I thought the sarcasm in this was clear enough but maybe it's tough to get through to some people.)

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[-] Metz@lemmy.world 28 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I got 150 hours out of this game and I think that is very much all i will ever play.

For a good while it was even quite interesting because there were still a lot of new things to discover.

But then you started to do things just to get them done not because they were particularly fun or interesting.

If they don't implement some fundamental new way to play this game or combine existing mechanics better together I don't think anything could pull me back.

And i hope procedural generation starts to die very soon. Throwing the same basic ingredience into a mixer does not give you something new but more of the same. It's boring.

[-] k2r@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Couldn’t have phrased my NMS experience better. It was interesting at first then it got boring / repetitive

[-] ripcord@lemmy.world 14 points 1 week ago

I mean if it was 150 hours (or close to) before it got repetitive, that's better than 98% of games.

[-] ArtificialHoldings@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

I absolutely love the vibe of playing the game, but yeah a lot of the systems they add feel isolated and rather pointless. There's a settlement system where you can basically be the mayor of a settlement, developing it and managing its growth - but it doesn't really lead anywhere. They have fishing, crop growth, cooking - but it doesn't really support anything in particular. There's an extensive creature taming/breeding system, but creatures don't seem to do a lot afaik.

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[-] Cethin@lemmy.zip 21 points 1 week ago

I appreciate that the devs keep updating the game, but honestly I don't get it. Sure, there are a lot of planets. There's not any reason to one over another though. They're all procedurally generated with the same general stuff (yeah, you'll need to travel for specific resources). For me, it just feels like I'm wasting time, because it doesn't make you feel like you're doing anything meaningful. I can't be the only one who feels this way.

[-] thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 week ago

I don’t get how/why it’s still profitable for them to keep working on it - but I’m in full support.

It’s not to dissimilar to Minecraft in a number of ways, in a sense - there’s not really any drive to do anything in particular, it’s ultimately up to the player to do what they feel like.

It’s a literal sandbox, rather than a narrative experience. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, that’s perfectly fine!

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[-] CurlyWurlies4All@slrpnk.net 21 points 1 week ago

I keep being enticed back to trying the game again with each new release but the gameplay just doesn't grab me and there's such a limited amount of story that it doesn't get its hooks in me. I guess I'm just not a crafting/survival type.

[-] jerakor@startrek.website 11 points 1 week ago

If they have an expedition then play that mode. I really do not understand why they do not keep an Expedition or two running at all times. They add exactly the amount of depth folks find missing and normally I can run one and then I still play and have fun for another 20 hours before the game gets repetitive and I quit for a bit again.

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[-] PoorYorick@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago

I want to like this game so bad. On paper it is exactly the kind of game that I love, but trying to play it multi-player with my partner is just an experience in frustration. It seems so perfect for multi-player, but so much of the interface just seems setup for one player only.

[-] paraphrand@lemmy.world 16 points 1 week ago

The UI design has always been a weak point in the game. Through all the revisions.

[-] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago

It really says something that like the first mod that was ever published after release was the one that eliminates the damn hold-to-confirm mechanic that is on every. Single. Stupid. Interaction. (At least this became an official feature and you can natively disable it on most interaction prompts now.)

The fact that basically none of the inventory and crafting screens are consistent with each other is one of the main things that still bugs the hell out of me with NMS. Especially when you're using refiners and so forth, because the dumb popup they give you that only shows you like four options at a time doesn't even arrange the items within it in the same order as they are in your main inventory. They should have just stolen the paradigm from Minecraft and used it for everything.

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[-] daniskarma@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 1 week ago

One of the best redemption arcs in recent video game story.

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[-] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 14 points 1 week ago

Might just be a bit burnt out on games like NMS and Elite. A whole universe of unique but equally irrelevant rocks.

What fun stuff is there to do at essentially an end game status? NMS probably does manage better than Elite though, at least you can build a house or something. Or make your freighter hangar pretty.

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[-] mlg@lemmy.world 14 points 1 week ago
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[-] ZMonster@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago

Look at these comments 🤣

Oh boy do people love hating NMS. I get it. But like it or not, there is literally no game out there doing what this game does for its players at absolutely no additional cost.

For those who aren't aware: The problem with this game has always been its fans. Not the players, but the fans.

"ThIs GaMe WaS aLl HyPe¡!” Then why did you hype it?

"iT wAsN't WoRtH tHe PrE-oRdEr!” Then why did you pre-order it?

"It'S nOt EvEn A gAmE" Murray literally said it wasn't a game, in 2015.

[-] crimsonpoodle@pawb.social 7 points 1 week ago

Not to mention it was a rag tag game dev studio who through that hype had their dream come true, did they’re best to deliver it, and have continued to work on it for over a decade now. People are human; and they’ve more than shown it wasn’t ever intended as a grift.

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[-] heyWhatsay@slrpnk.net 8 points 1 week ago

This game and the developers deserve credit and support for what they created. I need to spend more time in that sandbox universe, I feel like I've only scratched the surface.

[-] LostWanderer@fedia.io 8 points 1 week ago

I haven't played in a while, this is piquing my interest again! I love how vast this game is becoming, more major gaming studios need to follow their example when it comes to rehabbing a game that came out initially as the worst version of itself. Still haven't even gotten to the center of the universe, I might try again as the path is really weird.

[-] kazaika@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

Nooooo i cant play right now, the fomo is getting me

[-] FlihpFlorp@piefed.zip 7 points 1 week ago

I hoped on lemmy to look up some news since I saw the steam artwork changed and here was this post at the top

Haven’t read the notes yet on what we get but I’m excited

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this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2025
543 points (100.0% liked)

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