No Man’s Sky is constantly evolving. The Waypoint update now opens up the space sandbox to everyone who doesn’t feel like collecting and crafting.
Table of Contents
Space, endless expanses. That’s how the intro to a famous science fiction series
starts.
begins. No Man’s Sky is also infinite. This applies not only to the size, thanks to the unlimited number of randomly generated galaxies, but with the new Waypoint update finally also to the freedom of the players.
Probably the biggest innovation of No Man’s Sky 4.0 is a difficulty level that can be defined in every detail. For example, do I want no survival elements, no costs, but challenging battles against spaceships or creatures? No problem! So the new function makes radical interventions in the gameplay possible, and that is a stroke of genius.
No Man’s Sky is a huge space sandbox that every player wants to shape differently. So why not make the starting point completely free as well? Six years after release, Waypoint was the deciding factor for me to finally play No Man’s Sky in 2022. Find out why you should do the same in this article.
After six years, we’ve hit it off
The aesthetics and vision of No Man’s Sky appealed to me at release, but the turbulent early days put me off. After that, there were always small approaches. I almost succumbed to the temptation of the free design options of my own space base and the exploration of the infinite galaxy – numerous free updates made No Man’s Sky more and more interesting since 2016.
However, I was always put off by the actual game mechanics, which for my understanding consisted of resource mining and resource management. Simply tinkering without any motivation, as is possible in creative mode, was not something I wanted to do either. I had to realise: I prefer to be lazy in video games and I won’t be happy with No Man’s Sky. Relationship status: It’s complicated.
But there is a new lure in Hello Games’ galaxy and it goes by the name of Waypoint. One of the new features: In 25 categories and in up to four gradations each, the degree of difficulty and user-friendliness can be defined. The player can decide whether there should still be battles in his score or whether resource management is necessary at all, and shopping at the merchant can also be free. These facilitations already existed in the game’s Creative Mode, which was added in the Foundation Update in 2016. However, Creative Mode is only a clearly defined default setting – personalised gradations were previously impossible.
For me, this has changed my gaming experience in No Man’s Sky dramatically: So now I no longer have to spend hours vacuuming resources on planetary surfaces with my multi-tool to start my exploration tour in space and unlock base-building expansions. However, I can activate survival tasks and battles for this, which give me extra motivation.
What is really great is the possibility of being able to adjust the difficulty level in almost all facets, even during the game. This way, I can further shape my experience in No Man’s Sky with increasing playtime and experience and adapt it to changing preferences. One day I might want excitement and action, another day I might just want to relax and drift through space. The dynamic difficulty level makes these adjustments possible at any time in the same game state.
Newcomers happy, veterans incensed
However, Waypoint, the 155th (!) update for No Man’s Sky, has many more innovations to offer that convinced me. For newcomers, they make life in space much easier. These include the revised inventory, which now offers more comfort and space. I have known how annoying it is to explore a world with an inventory bordering on overcrowding since Oblivion and Fallout at the latest, so this is a welcome improvement in my eyes.
However, the change to the inventory system in particular caused displeasure among veterans of the game. In short: It is no longer possible to get the absolute maximum out of your character. This is because technological improvements now work differently. So anyone who has previously put hours into optimisation is no longer overpowered in 4.0, but only powerful. This understandably makes some hardcore players angry.
However, it is not the most radical overhaul Hello Games has made in this area in their game’s history. The one constant in No Man’s Sky continues to be change. Even though I understand the anger, I am happy about the adjustments and the simpler designed inventory.
No Man’s Sky offers a lot of options and at the beginning it can be a bit overwhelming. The roughly 30-hour campaign is a good tutorial, but I kept feeling completely suffocated by the possibilities. A simpler design and at the same time more freedom make the start much more relaxed for me.
My favourite place in space
After getting over the initial overwhelm, I plunged fully into the galaxies of No Man’s Sky. The campaign was my first port of call. Although you notice that there is still no gigantic budget in the game, there is a lot of love and charm.
The somewhat sedate staging suited my leisurely style of play very well. Thanks to my defined difficulty level, I didn’t have to worry much about resources and could just explore. This is also the aspect I like best about the game.
As I suspected back at the release in 2016, the atmosphere of No Man’s Sky draws me in. Dreamy sounds come out of the speakers as I land again on an alien planet that looks very different from my last discovery. The storm gently moves the red sand on the surface, while in the background a kind of polar light appears over the hills.
Suddenly I meet a kind of space monchhichi in green fur called D. Galouctae. Of course I make him my companion and from then on explore the newly discovered planet with my furry friend. Galouctae and I quickly decide to settle and the alien planet becomes a new home. I spend the next few hours perfectionistically building my base.
The plans for the individual parts are quickly unlocked, I don’t need any resources for the components. After the base is finished, I decide in the difficulty menu to turn up the survival mode and activate the battles. As a result, my base suddenly fulfils another aspect than just looking good, and the exploration of the planet starts for me from a new perspective.
Still much to explore
I’ve rarely felt so free in a video game as I do in No Man’s Sky after the Waypoint update. At the same time, I get all euphoric when I see what else is in store for me. The large spaceships and fleets have not yet played a role in a run-through, nor have I built bases directly in space. Numerous secrets and visual highlights such as the space whales, which were added with the Leviathan update, have not yet been discovered by me.
Without the dynamic difficulty level and the other comfort features of 4.0, I would probably never have set foot in No Man’s Sky. I am all the happier that Waypoint has now made these exploration tours possible for me. Because without the innovations, I would have lost motivation very quickly.
The game experience of No Man’s Sky 4.0 is so individually definable that I would directly wish it for other genre representatives as well. After all, a sandbox should just be my big playground where my rules apply. I change them as I please and according to the mood of the day.
The developers also benefit from this because they can address a much larger audience. No Man’s Sky reaches me as a more leisurely player who shies away from big obstacles and doesn’t want to spend hours collecting and crafting.
In the same way, hardcore players find a challenge by turning the difficulty level up to the absolute maximum. Then the slightest touch threatens the permanent death of the game character. If they prefer to go back to leisurely tinkering the next day, that is no problem. The ultimate freedom of the player is simply an ingenious concept.
