The conversation about tech slots and activated Indium has really sidelined just how great a job they’ve done with the Switch port.

There’s definitely some roon for improvement with the UI, touch screen integration, and expansion of custom game settings, but goddamn, the game feels really smooth considering its “only” 30fps.

And while there’s obvious graphical compromises to make this miracle port possible, its not nearly as compromised as I’d expected, and it packs in a surprising amount of detail. I notice distance objects tend to blur a little when you’re on the move, but when you come to a full stop the details sharpen up pretty quick, there’s obviously some clever ‘hierarchy’ the game has to determine what needs to look clear and what can be subordinated in a given frame. The results won’t be as flattering in a side by side with high end PCs, but it does a great job of giving your brain enough details to fill in any gaps subconsciously.

And some nice shading and lighting techniques are preserved from the main consoles /PC build, especially that sun-kissed translucent effect that massive funghi tend to have when the sun’s hitting the right angle.

The work they’ve done in previous updates on the overall scale of the world and its relative asset sizing translates well to the small screen, giving the impression of inhabiting these massive planets with imposing mountains, dense woodlands, and intimidating cave networks that feel easy to get lost in without a terrain manipulator as a last ditch “fuck outta here” measure. For a handheld game, the world it presents feels bigger than it has any right to be on such a dinky platform.

And the autosave system clearly seems designed with the Switch’s pick-up-put-down gameplay ethos. I don’t think I’ve made a single manual save since starting up a new save post-4.0. (Constructed save points still do double duty as permanent nav markers, so nothing is really lost here.) And with the new custom game parameters you can opt in to useful features that reduce the moment to moment busywork that might otherwise feel laborious in context of the ’20 minute loop’ that Switch lends itself to by its portable nature.

All in all, I’ve been playing since 2016 launch, and this is the most significant platform-driven update I’ve played since PSVR. (And we’ve still got the second-generation VR update to come!)

To be frank, I’ve often felt like I often preferred the ‘idea’ of No Man’s Sky and what it represents as a sandbox experience, rather than the more mundane reality of actually playing it. Maybe it’s the long boot times on PS4, but I often felt like the friction points of the grinding loop kept me from sinking into more substantive play sessions, and as a result I’d usually just derp around until my launch thrusters ran out, then not be bothered to go refuel, and so my playthrough would just fizzle out.

Now it’s on handheld, and it’s got custom game modifiers to tailor the moment to moment gameplay, I’ve found a sweet spot where I’m actually focused on doing the story, heading to galactic core, etc, and not getting bogged down in minutiae every time my mining laser or launch thruster runs out, nor getting slowed down by sprint being tied to life support systems. The pace of my moment to moment gameplay finally lines up with the spacefaring fantasy I picture in my head when I think about what No Man’s Sky represents.

So yeah, I think that’s pretty cool. 😊