Today, Hello Games has released the new No Man's Sky THE SWARM update. The independent British developer said this is much larger than the previous patch, XENO ARENA (which introduced Pokémon-style pet battles).
THE SWARM introduces an ominous new enemy, the Hive of Glass, which Hello Games labeled as an existential threat to the entire universe. Upon launching No Man's Sky after the patch, all players will be required to complete a personality test that will split them into three factions, which must cooperate, strategize, and compete to face the Hive of Glass. To figure out what's happening, there will be a combined community effort. The secrets of the Hive's origins and weaknesses can be uncovered and shared with other players.
A war effort is being launched from the Nexus, the game's social and mission hub inside the Space Anomaly, with defenses rapidly being constructed and a new bulletin page tracking progress. Every player's war contribution against the Hive is being logged for all to see in both the Anomaly and the Galactic Atlas on this website. Players will want to keep an eye on which faction is contributing the most to the war effort, because the most effective faction will later be memorialized in the Space Anomaly.
According to Hello Games, THE SWARM update brings the biggest and most epic space battles yet to No Man's Sky. The Hive of Glass protects itself by releasing swarms of robotic drones, creating spectacular battles featuring hundreds of ships. The Hive itself is a weapon too, with the iris opening to release the largest weapon seen to date in the game, a laser capable of destroying freighter fleets and perhaps even space stations.
While the update's primary focus is on huge space battles, players will also investigate and pillage the remains of crashed drones (using the newly acquired Gravity Gun introduced earlier this year) on the planets. Shot-down drones need to be salvaged and researched. There are miniature planetary swarms to defeat, and research efforts to sabotage the swarm's network.
As well as saving the universe, THE SWARM adds a host of new rewards to No Man's Sky, including a full suit of armor that has a retro sci-fi feel, a new rifle, a huge new jetpack, and much more. You can find the full patch notes on the game's official site.
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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