I have been through the game in nearly all of its permutations for a regular 4 years since launch. Participated in Waking Titan, in theorycrafting, all of it. Still use my day 1 save nearly all the time. I welcomed every new feature with open arms. The expeditions – chef’s kiss. Various features like derelict freighters and changes to base building – great. This patch, from a lore perspective – amazing! The customization and combat features – excellent! Hell, I even got a kick out of some stuff I missed, like the settlements.

But over time, every instance of my return to the game has been less lengthy until I began outright skipping more and more patches (been almost 2 years until I returned to this one) as the one thing I wanted to see in patch notes was nowhere to be seen.

Planet generation and exploration, at present, feel formulaic and sterile.

I don’t even have to visit a cold planet to know what it looks like. it’s the exact same every time with a difference in tree density. I barely have to visit a lush planet as they are mostly recycled between themselves and every single one has superheated storms. With very little difference, I am seeing the exact same generation and planets I have been seeing since around NEXT came out. The very same building blocks. They do not feel like planets, they feel like biomes. Animals are great to ride and befriend, but wild animals behave and look the exact same as in launch – chaotic.

I want to sink my teeth deep into developing my character, my journey, my fleet, my base and my empire. Hell, even finally commit to a galaxy center permadeath run. But what is the point if the exploration feels dead and if I feel like I’ve traversed every single planet a dozen times before? What was supposed to be the main attraction of the game and the expectation of millions of permutations has been, as of now, completely abandoned for the sake of easier introduction of new features in predictable worlds.

So I ask – can Hello Games crown all the great features they introduced over the years with an actual planet and animal generation overhaul? Can they truly give us long term explorers some new wonders to gaze in this endless universe? Can they, at last, provide the universe the depth that matches its width, even at the cost of a universe reset?

I believe they can and I hope they will.

I’m so surprised by No Man’s Sky on the Switch. It’s playable and not really all that limited. If, as Hello Games teased, multiplayer could get added, it would be an even more amazing feat.

Will I be sticking with Switch as the main driver for NMS? I’m not sure. It’s very serviceable though.

But, as I was looking into inspirations for No Man’s Sky today, I came across Elite. I had no idea, but Elite was ported to the NES. They had to do some work around in the cartridge. I know the OG Elite isn’t the same as games like Elite: Dangerous or No Man’s Sky…but man seeing 3D graphics on an NES (drawn wire frames) is interesting..and the game is still open ended and large in scope. It probably blew people’s minds!

I’m really happy Hello Games did port to the Switch. It’s a very nice way to dip my toes into this amazing, amazing game.

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