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The original reveal ofNo Man’s Skyis a mixed memory for many people. It promised something fantastic, an almost limitless universe of endlessly unique planets, all procedurally generated. Following its launch, people realised the game wasn’t quite what it was marketed as, being truly without a strict goal. Just endless space.
In the years following, however, No Man’s Sky has achieved one of the greatest turnarounds in gaming, continuing with updates over six years past its initial launch. As a result, the game is a drastically different beast from where it started, and maybe from even when you last picked it up.
Updated August 03, 2025 by Quinton O’Connor:Yet again, No Man’s Sky has received a substantial update. And, yet again, we’re here to tell you how our thoughts on this question have morphed as a result. The (very) short answer? Yes, the game’s absolutely worth it in 2024. Here’s why.
Review
Though we have no dedicated review for No Man’s Sky, many of our editors have shared their opinions on the game over the years. In 2022, ourLead Features Editor, Jade King, remarked on her feelings on how the game had changed since launch. Despite acknowledging how incredible and genuinely great the game has become, she states that there’s a layer of intentional loneliness in the initial launch that no longer exists in No Man’s Sky.
We are a single meaningless being in a sea of endless stars, hoping that our discoveries might one day be stumbled upon.
Elsewhere,Features Editor Andy Kelly talks about how the various updates have made the game something he wants it to be, even if it isn’t how most play the game. For them,the post-launch Creative Mode is what made the game enjoyable. The gameplay loop of constantly mining and recharging your ship was a distraction from what they enjoyed most: seeing funky planets and their alien inhabitants.
Another major aspect of No Man’s Sky that was also launch post-launch is its VR mode, and most recently its updated PSVR2 mode.Mike Drucker, in a wonderfully wordy way, says that No Man’s Sky in VR is what made the game for him. The smallest little things made the vastness of its space seem real, and the ways you had to traverse made it adramatically different experience when it paralleled your own movements.
At their best, motion controls remove layers of abstraction to make what you’re physically doing feel consistent with what you’re pretending to do - and damned if No Man’s Sky isn’t a completely different game when that happens.
Across that plethora of opinions, it’s clear to see that No Man’s Sky,after years of updates, hasa little bit of something for everyoneand is pretty free-form in how you approach it. It’s a game that will at times demand tedium of you and makes no promises of success, though in reality, that’s all part of the game.
The Switch version of No Man’s Sky has often suffered from poor performance compared to other versions, thoughas of patch 4.4, Echoes, the performance and visuals have been dramatically improved.
Time Expenditure
No Man’s Sky is not a game with an endpoint. You’re given the primary goal of reaching the centre of the universe though, without spoiling it directly, this becomes a recurring goal. Even reaching the centre for the first time has no guaranteed route.Every planet will give you its own challengeswhen it comes to refuelling your ships and life support systems and the experience will be unique to each player due to the procedural nature of the game. That said, itcould potentially take 100s of hoursto reach it.
The game also has plenty of side stories in the game, with even more added with each update.These all vary immensely, typically centred around the update they come with. Some are short, requiring you to jump from planet to planet and can be done within a few hours. Others will ask you to wait days to advance to the next stage, and some may have random triggers. In many ways, the game is more intended to be played as a hobby, with a short few hours or whatever time you have spare to put in.
Now, despite the fact that No Man’s Sky is pseudo-endless in most regards, that hasn’t stopped people from reaching certain end goals, as you’re able to see from the hours below courtesy ofHowLongToBeat:
Completionist
150 Hours
The one exception to this endless nature would be Expeditions.Expeditions operate as a separate game modewith their own save and offer a more curated experience. These put players at a specific point in the universe and give them tasks to complete as a community.They’re limited-time events, so they require you to invest your time while they’re active. Tasks vary wildly by Expedition, and they cannot be replayed once they end.They come with plenty of unique goodiesfor participating and hitting community milestones, so be sure to take part if you value glamour.
We haveour own dedicated guide on Expeditionsif they’ve caught your interest.
Cost
Since its launch in 2016, No Man’s Sky has stayed at typicallythe same price of $59.99across all platforms. At launch, this was a hard purchase for many due to the game being relatively light on features. At present, however, the price is much more justifiable. The game is also frequently on sale at a 50 percent discount if you’d rather wait for that, which is acommon occurrence around new updates. It can also, at times, be found on various services,like Xbox Game Pass, saving you the upfront cost entirely.
Here’s a list of every platform for your viewing pleasure, as well as theirdefault prices in USD.
$59.99
Steam (for Mac and PC)
Steam has regional pricing, so the PC and Mac versions may have dramatically different prices per region
The game also explicitlydoes not feature microtransactions of any kind, with Hello Games promising never to add any to the game. No paid DLC exists for the game in any form, either. As a result, this means that whatever price you pay for the game is the only price you’ll likely ever pay for it.
The only other quirk to keep in mind isthe necessity of PS Plus and Xbox Live Gold to play online. Without it, you cannot see other players in shared spaces, though you can still encounter any planets they’ve discovered or bases they’ve built.
Important to remember is that theNintendo Switch version only supports local multiplayer, meaning you do not need an online subscription for any part of the game.
VR Compatibility
A good VR game is made by the quality of the world you’re inhabiting and the degree to which that world actually functions in VR. For many people,the VR in No Man’s Sky is a selling point, both for the game and VR as a platform. Thankfully, No Man’s Sky is both readilyavailable across a wide variety of VR platforms, but also bundled with the base gamerather than needing a separate purchase.
How does every version of its VR compare, however, and does every update apply to the VR mode as well? Let’s discuss.
Before you jump into any version of No Man’s Sky in VR, be sure tocheck out our tipsto help you get started.
PlayStation VR
VR capabilities were originally added to No Man’s Sky back in 2019, though they got a massive update in 2022 with the Fractal update. This added PSVR2 support, butextended that same support to older VR headsets as well, including the original PSVR.
For the most part,PSVR2 does not have unique gameplay features over its predecessor. There are many graphical improvements, fromthe OLED display, 4K resolution, and HDR, though it functions the same. The primary differences will be in those of immersion. The Dualsense controllers have adaptive triggers, haptic feedback, and even rumble on the headset itself alladd to that immersion, but not inherently new gameplay functionality.
The biggest difference here is infoveated rendering. This is a technique in which the headset can track your eyes and dynamically change the game’s rendering to match that. This makes for a smoother experience and is a feature locked behind the hardware of PSVR2.
PC VR
Most of the features of PSVR and its successor are also available on PC. Certain features, such as theadaptive triggers and so on, do not function even when using a PSVR2headset on the PC version, though many other techniques remain.
HDR, foveated rendering, motion tracking and so forth all remain on the PC version of No Man’s Sky, though the quality of these will vary depending on your own set-up.The majority of headsets are supported by No Man’s Skyand do not need room-tracking to function, allowing you a satisfying experience exclusively with motion controls.
The entirety of the game is playable in VR, with no functions defaulting to an out-of-body or third-person view, leaving your play completely seamless. It can, however, be a very taxing experience, so ensure to take breaks during longer sessions. You can only handle warping through space in VR so many times.
How It Compares To Other Space Games
No Man’s Sky has been on the scene for a while now, following on from plenty of successful space games with others following suit. With that in mind, you might be wondering if No Man’s Sky actually has the features you’re looking for. To that end,we’re comparing No Man’s Sky to both Starfield and Elite Dangerous.
In-Space And On-Foot
Per System, Based On Actions
No
From this limited view, you may see that thoughthese games all have space at their core gameplay, they each have different things they focus on, with No Man’s Sky more about pure exploration, Elite Dangerous about a deeper, detailed work, and Starfield honing in on combat and quests.
If you’d like an even deeper comparison, we’ve alreadycompared No Man’s Sky with Elite Dangerous, and alsocompared it with Starfield.
What Players Are Saying
Consistent Growth, But The Same Heart - Iestyn Knox
So much has changed in No Man’s Sky since 2016, but the core of the game has remained gloriously consistent. The primary gameplay loop remains focused on exploration, survival, and resource gathering, so don’t expect a rollercoaster ride of a game so much as a visually captivating lazy river. The years of loving care that Hello Games have put into updates offer diversions from your slow drift through the universe, but these are all crucially optional.
you’re able to acquire a frigate or a sentient organic ship, raise aliens as pets or livestock, or look for answers in the centre of the galaxy, but you don’t have to. Regardless of whether you want to be the scourge of the galaxy, a submarine-based underwater explorer, or you’re just looking to switch off from the real world for a few hours, No Man’s Sky welcomes all to a refreshingly open universe.
A Space Odyssey For The Lonely Traveller - Hilton Webster
The No Man’s Sky that existed back on day one in 2016, and the No Man’s Sky that exist now are, to be honest, almost completely different games. In many ways it’s closer to what was promised, but I’ve been there from the very beginning and I can say the game is even better. It’s an incredible VR experience. It’s an outer space smuggling simulator. It’s a journey through ancient alien cultures. It’s a traveller’s almanac. It’s at times lonely, and other times so shockinglyalive. It’s anything you want it to be, and yet it still has traces of that planet-hopping adventure it was from the start. I really do love No Man’s Sky because change is at the core of what it is. And it is always changing, always growing.
The Final Frontier Never Ends - Quinton O’Connor
I’m ahugeStar Trek fan. I’m also big into Star Wars, Babylon 5, Stargate, Farscape, The Expanse, Battlestar Galactica - you get the point. Before its launch, I was all-in on No Man’s Sky. When the middling impressions hit the net back then, I found myself “too busy” to give it a shot. That’s fair, perhaps; but it’s unfair, and I’ll be the first to admit it, that I kept putting off starting the game in the years to come, despite the massive improvements across the board. At last, in 2023, I booted up No Man’s Sky to see what all the fuss was about. Sure enough, in its modern iterations, No Man’s Sky sells space like no one’s business. It’s the Star Trek game I never knew I needed. And there’s fishing!Fishing!Perhaps it’s also the JRPG I never knew I needed…
The Slowest Sci-Fi Burn - Branden Lizardi
Do you like the old school school Fi aesthetic? Sharp polygons against technicolor landscapes that blend the familiar and the bizarre? No Man’s Sky has that in absolute spades. But you won’t get it all at once. Seeing it all will take literal weeks, and a majority of the meantime will be low-intensity traveling and exploration. If you’re looking for some solid vibes to tune out the world with, this is perfect. For those more high-action-oriented, you might find yourself bored after not too long.
There’s Something For Everyone - Matthew McKeown
Space is unbelievably, mind-numbingly big, but No Man’s Sky manages to cram so much to do in that star-filled void. There’s something for everyone, whether that’s fighting, farming, or finishing off daily missions. The game was rough for a while, but it’s in a really great place now.
A Game To Always Go Back To - Sam Hallahan
No Man’s Sky is now much bigger than the original promises Hello Games made, and no one could have expected it to become what it is. It might feel overwhelming to dive in at this point, but the game takes it a step at a time while allowing you the freedom to pursue what you wish: base building, exploration, a pirate squad - it’s up to you! With so much to discover, and new content still coming, No Man’s Sky is the perfect comfort game you can always return to, never worrying about how much you’re doing, how you’re doing it, or how much you have left.
Entire Galaxies Waiting To Be Discovered - Sean Murray
People call No Man’s Sky a mile wide and an inch deep, but it’s more like several galaxies wide and an inch deep. But then you realize you can turn the game on its side, and suddenly, it’s deeper than any other game ever made. You can be anything you want in No Man’s Sky: an explorer, a pirate, an adventurer, a homesteader, a gardener, an exterminator, a bounty hunter - it’s all up to you. No other game will give you the sense of discovery and wonder you’ll find in No Man’s Sky.
