Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I made some substantial updates to my original review (and am now doing so a second time) after spending more time with the game. I've added a "pros and cons" list at the top here to condense some key items from the longer review below. There's also a new summary update at the very bottom for those who want my most current thoughts: PROS: +Endless exploration: Literally endless. If you enjoy just walking around alien planets taking in the sights like I do, naming animals and discovering what's over that next hill, you could play this game forever. +Awesome, stylistic graphics: Sure, with this big of a sandbox things like pop-in are an issue, but there have been a ton of stunning, "wow" visual moments for me. Being on a planet and looking up into the sky at its moons, or other planets yet to be discovered, still leaves me in awe. +"Choose your own path" play style: I like to wander and explore planets so I have upgraded my character's items accordingly, but if you want to work towards a ship and weapon built for dealing damage you can do that. Are there limitations? Yes, but in my opinion there's enough variety in tasks and customization to keep me busy for a long, long time (about 20-25 hours before I even felt I hit a variety "wall" that was noticeable). I feel concerns over the amount of content/variety are highly up to preference, and I dig into that more below. NUETRAL: +/- It's more of a video game-based "experience" than a traditional "game." I don't even know what genre I would call it. It's part Minecraft-like sandbox and part exploration-centric "walking simulator," but with a huge emphasis on discovery. This is either a huge plus for you if you're tired of traditional genres and want something different (that's me), or an enormous negative if you're expecting a relatively traditional AAA experience (which is a reasonable complaint at this price point). CONS: -Procedurally generated content can lead to seemingly "boring" or overly similar planets. Even as a fan of the game, there's no denying that. However, this doesn't bother me too much as it gives the "special" planets more significance and feels in line with the pseudo-"realistic" scientific/exploration vibe. That being said, this will be the nail in the coffin for many gamers not as patient with repetition. At times, you feel more like an isolated scientist than a bold space adventurer. I dig that personally, but many seem to hate it, so be forewarned. -A few of the "resource management" portions of the game (storage spaces for minerals/items, how you go about recharging items, etc.) feel a bit clunky and like unnecessary bottlenecks early on. However, you can overcome this by upgrading your suit and ship for more storage space, and by making frequent stops with traders. This becomes less of an annoyance as you play on, which kind of became an addictive part of the loop for me. Each additional storage space felt like a big win. -A lot of reviews mention the "lying" and "fake hype" that the developer (Hello Games) and the marketing force (Sony) seems to have perpetuated. There is a lot of evidence out there that this is true (and in many cases egregiously so). Many things that were claimed to be in the game didn't make it. You can find a post detailing all of this on the No Man's Sky Reddit page, if you're curious. I personally didn't follow the game pre-production so I wasn't affected by this. I never felt "ripped off" because I just enjoyed it for what it was without any expectations. If you were following the development of this game and are frustrated that the game didn't deliver on your expectations and the promises that were made, I totally get your rage. However, for those of us who didn't get caught up in all that and just bought it because it seemed like a unique space exploration game, maybe we were allowed to view it without the lens of frustration that you have. Just trying to give perspective to the situation. PC VERSION NOTE: Just as a friendly FYI for anyone looking into getting the now-released PC version, sounds like it's been a rocky release. I obviously have this on PS4 so I don't know all the details, but be sure to look into that situation before making that purchase. ++Update #2: The PC Version's issues now seem to be resolved and in fact it may be the "better" version to get because it sounds like the PC mods are turning it into a more varied game. Make sure to look into the mods if you own it/buy it on PC. Original review (with major updates marked throughout): Before I talk about the game, this needs to be said: there are a bunch of widely-separated, fundamentally different groups of individuals out there reviewing this game. I'm not going to say that one is definitively right and one is definitively wrong, but anyone seeing the heavy distribution of both 1-star and 5-star reviews and debating whether or not to get this game needs to know why it seems so divisive. Part of the reason is because it IS a divisive, extremely unique game that appeals to a very specific type of player (more on that soon). But the reason opinions appears so intensely separated online thus far is also at least partially because it's so hard to decipher who is behind these early reviews that lack substance. Those 1-star reviews... Could it be a bummed out Xbox One fan (not ripping on anyone-- I own and enjoy an Xbox One, as well) who hasn't actually played it? A person who got into the marketing hype of the game but never looked into the actual features before release? Someone who doesn't normally like this kind of game (exploration, survival, walking simulator, etc.), but for some reason bought it anyway? Now I'm not saying it's impossible to hate this game, on the contrary I can see how it could seem like boring misery to those who enjoy a more traditional, action-oriented gaming experience. It's just that the majority of those early 1-star reviews reek of either minimal playtime, trolling, or a perspective on gaming that relies heavily on being given concrete "stuff to do" instead of an open playground. +Update #1: If you're looking for a good critical review though, there are some out there now. Most of those focus on the lack of gameplay diversity, and that's a criticism I can understand. If you're really on the fence, IGN's review-in-progress (which is now complete and scored quite low) is pretty critical and feels pretty honest to what I feel an "average" gamer might think about the game. It's a good counterpoint to my perspective here. ++Update #2: There's also a great 2-star review on Amazon here as the most helpful "negative" review-- the title mentions that it's an infinite game with nothing to do, something along those lines. That review is a GREAT one to read before buying it, if my review doesn't leave you 100% confident that it's the game for you. Then what about all those 5-star reviews... Could it be a bunch of PS4 fanboys blindly putting a console exclusive on a pedestal? A person who is so into the conceivably "boring" repeated exploration and survival loops that they don't see it as a flaw? I could see both of those being true, but at least with the latter situation I think that's an honest review based on preference. I can say that, at least personally, the 5-star reviews that actually discussed game content resonated with me a great deal. But again, it comes down to preference and I like the core "elements" of this game. In other words-- if you're on the fence and using Amazon reviews to make your decision, then you should actually read them either way to make sure it sounds like you're getting opinions from people who have really played the game and share your tastes. It's too unique to just say "it's good" or "it sucks" and expect that to be helpful. After playing 20-30+ hours since release (this game WILL make you lose track of time when you get immersed), I can see why it has garnered both wild praise and wild disgust, but I think the biggest key to whether or not you enjoy the game will come down to these simple questions: Do you like isolated sci-fi/space settings, EXPLORATION (emphasized because IMHO it is the part this game does best), mining, upgrading, and management of survival elements? Do you like those things enough to play with them as your central focus over and over with varying degrees of different scenery? +Update #1: For example, does it pump you up to leave one planet that's rocky and has no water and almost no animals, just to land on a kind of similar planet but this one has oceans and a little more wildlife? Not all the planets are that subtle in their differences, but you have to be prepared to deal with some of that in order to get to those "wow" moments: like finding a tree-heavy utopia full of larger, dinosaur-like creatures or jellyfish-like fauna floating through the air of a planet dense with toxic rain. I guess that's the chance you take as an explorer in a procedurally generated universe. If you're thinking "that's it?!" you're likely not alone. I mean, there are plenty of other things you can do. You can get involved in some planetary combat against the robot A.I. "guarding" the planets. You can fly around in space shooting things, etc. You can interact with several alien races as you learn more about them and their cultures. But you won't get your action fix here-- those things feel supplemental to the core experience, not refined like the more exploratory features mentioned above. +Update #1: Without spoiling it there ARE some minor action-centered moments. For instance, you may get attacked by space pirates. Also one planet I was on was full of wolf-like creatures determined to kill me, and another had toxic storms that made me seek shelter/my ship to survive. Still, the action-based "thrills" are few and far enough between to warn action fans of their rarity/absence. I'm sure as I continue to play I'll quite possibly find more depth to the game (and I'll continue to update this review accordingly), but that's a fair summary of what you should be considering before buying it. Sure, there is also trading, "learning" alien languages, finding alien artifacts, etc. But those, to me at least, are sub-components of the "exploration and mining." Still sound boring? You should move on because this isn't your game. If you bought it, you'd likely regret the full AAA price you paid. Still sound awesome? Then read on. You're probably a lot like me, and feel like the full AAA price is nothing compared to the amazing sci-fi experiences and literally endless replayability this game offers. That last part will be a big argument with some: endless replayability. Some will say that they got bored after an hour or two. I can understand that, but after 20-30+ hours it was still absolutely enthralling to me. I still would sit in awe of the ability to explore a new planet, name flora and fauna, and mine minerals to fuel my upgrades and my journey ahead. Then, what really blew my mind, I could look into the sky and see that planet's moon, fly to a crater on it that looked appealing, get out of my ship and just sit in awe gazing at the planet I had just explored (and named) minutes earlier. Then I look down and notice this moon is relatively barren on the surface, but has deep caves to explore and oceans filled with more life forms to discover. For a certain type of gamer, who comes into it knowing what to expect, it's nirvana. +Update #1: I can't begin to explain how geeked out I was upon swimming in one planet's oceans and finally coming across my first shark-like creature - which attacked me and promptly lead to me jetpack-ing the heck out of there! If exploring for hours just to stumble upon thing like that sounds cool to you, you'll love this. So why the 4-star review? The previously mentioned repetition can't be ignored. It will just bother some people, like me, a whole lot less than others. And also, the survival component, which can be summed up as "collect certain materials to recharge the stuff that keeps you alive," is an occasional frustration that gets in the way of an otherwise immersive experience. More than once, I saw something in the distance, say an alien monolith, and made for it only to find I needed to make a side-track for materials to recharge my life support systems. It's not game-breaking, but it'd be nice (and maybe the upgrade path will lead to this?) to be able to specialize my suit for exploration and dramatically reduce the amount of times the events described above happen. If that is in fact a future "upgrade" path, I'll mention that in any amendments to this review. +Update #1: You CAN in fact improve the length of your survival "clock" with upgrades down the line. I upgraded my suit accordingly and this is no longer an annoyance. Yay! I'm keeping the 4-star rating, though, because while the survivalism "bottleneck" got less annoying over time, the occasional lack of planetary, flora, and fauna variety got slightly more annoying. It keeps this game from perfection for me, but still very much feels worth full AAA price because I'm still enjoying every time I boot it up and forge on to the next planet. To summarize, if you normally like playing more action-oriented (or story-oriented) games and just wanted to give this a shot because you heard it's the big PS4 console exclusive, do a little more research before you make the plunge. On the other hand, if you like exploration-based games, have a love of space/sci-fi, and enjoy just getting lost in a world (or many, many worlds) and discovering endless nooks and crannies, then buy it ASAP and you won't regret it. +Update #1: I wanted to clarify there IS a story (and a lot of lore) in the game, and a "goal," but they are so vague and subtle that I wouldn't call them a plus or minus to the experience so far. I saw another review liken this game to an explorer who said he climbed Mt. Everest just because it "was there." You kinda have to want to explore the universe of No Man's Sky just because it's there. It's a chill, self-motivated journey for sure. But so far I'm loving it! ++Update #2: If I could give the game 3.5 stars with this review system... maybe I would. I'm on the fence. Don't get me wrong, I'm still loving my time with it these days. In fact, I played just last night after about 32 hours or so in this universe and had more fun on a cool new planet than I had in a while. So why am I contemplating that 1/2 star downgrade? While the exploration part is still awesome, I've run out of things to upgrade on my preferred "path." I have maxed out backpack slots and most of the "survival" upgrades I wanted. I have a really nice ship that's tricked out enough to not warrant upgrade. My weapon is strong enough to destroy anything I want to quickly, so there's no pressure to work on that. Long story short: all there is left is exploration for me. As I state repeatedly in this review, I'm actually pretty cool with that because I'm viewing it as a very specific niche-filling game in my library. Something to play when I want to relax and not worry about upgrades and progress. However, I'm definitely able to admit that impacts the value of this game. So that potential 3.5 rating would be to reflect that while I feel I'm personally getting my money's worth still, it's a pretty one-dimensional game to have costed $60 bucks. If you end up getting this game cheaper when the price drops, I don't think you'll have that concern. If you really, really love exploration like me, you'll notice the lack of depth-- you just won't care as much as others. Plus I remain hopeful that future updates will add content-- hopefully free updates! That could go a long way towards securing that 4-star rating in stone.