Some may not remember it well now, but No Man's Sky had an utterly disastrous launch back in August 2016. After much hype, the released game proved quite disappointing to critics and fans alike. The Metascore average for the PC version is still sitting at just 61/100 (which is labeled as 'Mixed or Average' on Metacritic), and fans were also quite critical in their user reviews on Steam.
One month after the game's debut, No Man's Sky was even investigated by the United Kingdom's Advertising Standards Authority after many complaints from British customers. The game was cleared of any wrongdoings on that count a few months later, but the mixed reception lingered.
Still, independent developer Hello Games embarked on a journey to deliver their true vision for the game. Year after year, they delivered dozens of major free updates, adding new features, content, and improvements in all areas, slowly winning back the respect and even admiration of gamers worldwide. In September 2021, five years after that fateful launch, No Man's Sky's overall user review score turned from 'Mixed' to 'Mostly Positive'.
Now, the game has reached another milestone, having finally moved from 'Mostly Positive' to 'Very Positive'. Game director Sean Murray, who also manages the official social media channels, wrote on X:
Holy shit you guys - it happened 🥳
ALL REVIEWS: Very Positive 😍
Thank you Thank you Thank you❤️
You have no idea what this means to us 🙏
It must feel good to have come this far after that debut. There is little doubt that it's one of the most epic comebacks in the history of gaming, arguably alongside Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIV and CD Projekt RED's Cyberpunk 2077.
The most important thing, though, is that Hello Games has earned back the love of its fans, who continue to play No Man's Sky in ever greater numbers after every new update. The last one added the long-awaited cross-save progression feature and also brought back Mass Effect's Normandy to celebrate N7 Day. The studio's engineers also impressed once again with their PS5 Pro implementation that supports a stable 8K resolution mode at 30 frames per second.
While No Man's Sky continues to be updated at an impressive pace, following the incredible recovery of the game, fans are also very eager to discover more about the studio's next title, Light No Fire. This fantasy-themed game promises to be every bit as ambitious as the previous game, given the studio's goal to deliver a true planet-sized multiplayer sandbox roleplaying game.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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