Hello Games is giving players a reason to jump back into No Man’s Sky—well, several, actually.
The No Man’s Sky developer unveiled a new update for the action-adventure survival game today, and this might be one of the game’s biggest patches yet. The patch—Update 5.0, aka “Worlds Part I”—is all about refining the universe’s finer details. The universe is now a “richer, wilder, and more varied and immersive place,” according to the (incredibly long) patch notes, with more planet diversity, additional gameplay features, and quality-of-life improvements.
The list of changes includes floating islands players can build bases on, customization for Solar Ships, new creature designs, more defined water and weather effects, and a bug-hunting expedition.
“We are completely refreshing the universe with new technology, new flora, new fauna, and new gameplay.” Hello Games founder Sean Murray said in the update’s six-minute announcement trailer. “We’re achieving a level of variety that just wasn’t possible before.”
Murray said these changes are, in part, a result of the team working on its next project, Light No Fire, an ambitious survival exploration game with world-sized maps. The team is using many of the lessons learned and technologies used from Light No Fire and “bringing this technology back from the future” to No Man’s Sky.
No Man’s Sky experienced a rocky launch after it hit digital shelves in August 2016. Fans claimed Hello Games over-promised and under-delivered due to lacking features and disappointing graphics. But in the nearly eight years since the game’s release, the developer has released over 25 free core updates that added massive gameplay features, like pets, base-building, planet settlement management, and more. Today’s update now has fans saying the game might have “one of the most solid redemptions arcs” in gaming history.
The Worlds updates will come as further refinement to the universe of No Man’s Sky, and players can jump back into space exploration today to see all that the update has to offer.
