While I have been enjoying No Man's Sky every update, I find that I get bored extremely quickly once I realize how little there is to do on the planets you explore. Each update I find myself getting excited to try out the new features and give it a go but end up losing steam extremely quickly as soon as I land on a planet. Sure there is vast oceans of content to explore in this game, but it's all shallow.

The general gameplay loop is travel to a new galaxy, land on some planets, scan and then leave once you realize that 20 minute adventure is really all the planet has to offer and there's nothing more but copy pasted ruins and items on it. I really want to love this game but every thing feels so dang vapid once the realization hits and then you can't really play without getting bored until next update and then the cycle begins anew.

The space travel system and merchant system is pretty fun but ends up suffering from the same issues if you are consistently playing. This game has a real issue with it overstaying it's welcome. You will catch yourself wanting to play and flying around only to lose motivation mid flight realizing you've more than likely already done what ever you're about to heading out to do. The spaceship ruins update was exciting to me until you realize each scrap ship is the same layout as well. The immersion and feeling from the first one felt like they were onto something amazing but that quickly died out after the 10th-11th time. The game suffers extremely hard from repetition until fatigue.

Base building has the same issue where you will build a beautiful base, but it doesn't really do too much, a.k.a building in minecraft effect. There's so much they could do with random events and have creatures interact with your base or just any kind of interactivity aside from the NPC's you put in place. Subnautica's bases feel substantial while NMS bases feel like an after thought. This effect is compounded by the fact you will get tired of the planet you're on no matter how pretty after at most a few hours due to the previously mentioned lack of variety on planets.

I am hoping they do a large planet overhaul with proper exploration, biome's, seasons and unique locations worthy of staying on the planet. As it functions now, the main feature of exploration still feels extremely hollow and not worth your time unless you like to just travel and explore without caring about the depth of the game. I've "beaten" (credits roll) the game multiple times and just can't stay hype about it with the main feature being so lackluster.

All in all a solid 6/10 but hard to recommend given it's been 5 years. I've put in around 130 hours since the start and it's rather hard to recall anything about my playthrough's aside from S class ships and some of the oddities that pretty much require a drop, taking the fun out of it. The time sink vs memorable moments is rather drab, this is coming from a Warframe player too, so that should clue you in on how much grind there is.

TL;DR: Worth a shot on game pass where it's free currently (6/4/21) and seeing if you vibe with the game other wise catch it on sale for 30$. The developer def deserves credit for standing by their product & supporting it but still have a long way to go in terms of content with actual variety & depth. Banal content on each planet you land on will put you off if you're into games with more than surface level entertainment.

While I have been enjoying No Man's Sky every update, I find that I get bored extremely quickly once I realize how little there is to do on the planets you explore. Each update I find myself getting excited to try out the new features and give it a go but end up losing steam extremely quickly as soon as I land on a planet. Sure there is vast oceans of content to explore in this game, but it's all shallow. The general gameplay loop is travel to a new galaxy, land on some planets, scan and then leave once you realize that 20 minute adventure is really all the planet has to offer and there's nothing more but copy pasted ruins and items on it. I really want to love this game but every thing feels so dang vapid once the realization hits and then you can't really play without getting bored until next update and then the cycle begins anew. The space travel system and merchant system is pretty fun but ends up suffering from the same issues if you are consistently playing. This game has a real issue with it overstaying it's welcome. You will catch yourself wanting to play and flying around only to lose motivation mid flight realizing you've more than likely already done what ever you're about to heading out to do. The spaceship ruins update was exciting to me until you realize each scrap ship is the same layout as well. The immersion and feeling from the first one felt like they were onto something amazing but that quickly died out after the 10th-11th time. The game suffers extremely hard from repetition until fatigue. Base building has the same issue where you will build a beautiful base, but it doesn't really do too much, a.k.a building in minecraft effect. There's so much they could do with random events and have creatures interact with your base or just any kind of interactivity aside from the NPC's you put in place. Subnautica's bases feel substantial while NMS bases feel like an after thought. This effect is compounded by the fact you will get tired of the planet you're on no matter how pretty after at most a few hours due to the previously mentioned lack of variety on planets. I am hoping they do a large planet overhaul with proper exploration, biome's, seasons and unique locations worthy of staying on the planet. As it functions now, the main feature of exploration still feels extremely hollow and not worth your time unless you like to just travel and explore without caring about the depth of the game. I've "beaten" (credits roll) the game multiple times and just can't stay hype about it with the main feature being so lackluster. All in all a solid 6/10 but hard to recommend given it's been 5 years. I've put in around 130 hours since the start and it's rather hard to recall anything about my playthrough's aside from S class ships and some of the oddities that pretty much require a drop, taking the fun out of it. The time sink vs memorable moments is rather drab, this is coming from a Warframe player too, so that should clue you in on how much grind there is. TL;DR: Worth a shot on game pass where it's free currently (6/4/21) and seeing if you vibe with the game other wise catch it on sale for 30$. The developer def deserves credit for standing by their product & supporting it but still have a long way to go in terms of content with actual variety & depth. Banal content on each planet you land on will put you off if you're into games with more than surface level entertainment.