After completely ignoring this game since launch I finally decided to give it a shot starting a week ago, and I’ve been playing it nonstop all week.

I love sand box exploration games, space, sci-fi, and customization. Although there is somewhat shallowness in certain aspects, this game hits all of those fairly well and the story and mystery is a nice cherry on top. Going from system to system, planet to planet… It can get a little repetitive. But repetition isn’t bad. Repetition is normal. Every game is repetitive. I kind of see this game like Warframe but better and way less grindy and way more freedom. This is probably the first “casual” game that I’ve seriously gotten into besides Minecraft and it’s refreshing to say the least.

I’m wondering how this game has or will effect the production of other games and how far they will go in the future because to me this game seems like the tip of the iceberg when it comes to procedural generation. I can only imagine what’s in store for the future of exploratory gaming and other implementation of this kind of design.

There is definitely one thing that is missing from this game, and I guess I’m beating a dead horse here but this game needs ship customization or even creation. It could be an extra thing to seek out materials for, more blueprints, recipes and an addition to the market. Customization is simple. And if you don’t want it then you could just flat out ignore the aspect. Purely aesthetic. It sure would be a great community enhancement for personalization.

I’m not usually one to write down my grievances with video games, but the release of 4.0 was so disappointing I feel I need to get up on my soapbox and give my opinion, especially since others are telling those of us against the 4.0 update that how we feel is an overreaction.

I installed NMS when it was added to game pass, and since then I’ve gotten 500+ hours under my belt as an interloper. I’ve learned the ins and outs of this game. I’ve hunted for my perfect ship, spent hours reloading for an elusive S-Class freighter, and figured out adjacency bonuses to really unlock my gear’s full potential. Every update I’ve played has had me singing praise for NMS, and 4.0 sounded like it would be no different. It promised a streamlined UI, higher level caps, and major QoL changes. After playing it I feel lied to. 4.0 did not feel like the step forward it was supposed to be. Instead, it was more like three big steps back.

The new inventory system completely ruined the gear I spent so long finding, leveling, and perfecting. Over 2/3 of my tech upgrades were removed from my gear, upgrades I spent hours hunting for down in the depths of derelict freighters and across the galaxies space stations were rendered completely useless. I’ve seen people saying that we didn’t need our maxed out gear, and that this change wasn’t a big deal, and maybe they’re partly right. We didn’t need maxed gear, but we wanted it, so we put in the extra time and effort to level up our gear and perfect it and make it ours. Now it’s all gone, and the time and effort we spent is wasted.

To add insult to injury, the new UI makes it harder to try and salvage what I can from my equipment. It feels like a total downgrade from the legacy UI. The inventory tabs were cleaner, felt much better to use, and moving stuff around in them was efficient and easy. The new one-page inventory feels claustrophobic, and the page scrolls too fast on console to move anything around effectively. It’s been a pain in the ass to try and fix my stuff with this new “streamlined” UI, and I’m wishing I could switch it back.

This update broke my heart. I’ve loved playing this game, exploring its vast galaxies on my quest through the cosmos and leaving my small mark on the wonderful worlds I’ve visited, but I feel like I cant play the game in its current state. I sincerely hope Hello Games will do what they can to try and fix this, and in the future think about both new and old players when making updates.

As a final word, if you aren’t happy with 4.0, please don’t use it as an excuse to be rude to or harass the NMS devs. If you are messaging them, remember that they are real people with real feelings. With that being said, I’m done here.

Phoenix out.