Can ‘No Man’s Sky’ Rebuild With Foundation Update?

   No Man’s Sky has abundant issues, no one can reasonably deny that. No one will blame the outraged buyers from uninstalling the game and shutting out the possibility of accepting Hello Games as worthy of their time. With the recent announcement of the Foundation update, perhaps those fans should let go of their intense feelings, and take another look. Maybe Hello Games can rebuild their failed sci-fi with updates to the game. With the upcoming update, some aspects of the game will improve, but is Hello Games focusing on the right aspects of the game to update? More of the same will not help the game; it would be a massive error if the studio’s endeavors to improve the game turns out just as boring and grindy as the game they already produced. At the very least, they are giving the community what they are asking for: content.It remains to be seen if the upcoming content will be worth playing or not. The game may not be what was promised, even with the update, but it is at least worth booting it back up if already owned.

To form an opinion on if the updates will help rebuild interest in the game, an analysis of what is wrong with the game and what is being fixed is required. Looking at the shortcomings and upcoming benefits should shed light on why it may be worth loading the old saves of No Man’s Sky. The most obvious reason to set the game down after no more than three hours is that after two hours the player is doing the exact same thing they were doing the first two minutes. The game has no content or at least none that could hold any interest. As ironic as it is, a game that has almost infinite planets and places to explore, has nothing to do. Each planet, while mildly different, looks like the same barren wasteland as the next planet. As a survival game, it should at least be difficult to survive, but death is as rare as a glitch free world in No Man’s Sky’s universe.

“we have added the foundations of base building… This is putting in place a foundation for things to come.”

The list of things wrong with the game could go on and on, however, it is important to focus on what Hello Games intends to fix with the new updates instead of dwelling on what they failed to provide at release. The most obvious fix is adding content. The number one complaint is that there is nothing to do in the infinite universe. With the upcoming updates, it looks like there will finally be tasks to accomplish. While it is impossible to know for now how well the update will fix that issue, at least it will improve slightly.

Being able to accomplish a task on one planet, or building a base on one planet, will allow the player to feel more grounded. One planet will seem quite a bit different from the next when the player is able to say “This is my planet”. This should at the very least make the universe seem less empty. It is even worth hoping for that the update can add a layer of difficulty. Defending and building a base can be hard work. Giving the player a difficult task is one of the best ways to provoke interest. With any luck, this update will add that layer of difficulty that has been missing from No Man’s Sky. While there are still more questions about this update than anything, it is worth noting that it could improve in a minor way most of the aspects that are wrong with the original release.

More content is the wish of the consumers who spent sixty dollars on this game, but when more content was promised, it seems like it only made them upset further. After looking through comments and forums, it is impossible to point out more than 5 positive remarks. It seems everyone is set on hating Hello Games, but one can’t deny that the concerns and points raised are legitimate. Everything given so far from the now infamous studio has been dull; why should an update be anything but more of the same? No promises are being made, but there is room for minor optimism.

One of the simple pleasure features of Fallout 4 is the settlement building, is it too much to hope for that Hello Games can make their base building as interesting? Keep in mind, No Man’s Sky at its heart is a survival game. It is not meant to be as exciting as Titanfall 2, or Overwatch. Something as simple as allowing players to build their own home base is almost as exciting as survival games get. The concern that this update will only bring more time consuming and boring additions to the game is a shared one, but it isn’t fair to the developers to assume the worst when they have likely learned from their mistakes.

It is understandable to be upset after purchasing a sixty dollar game that is not what was promised. It is also understandable that the game isn’t everything it was said to be. According to the Hello Games Wikipedia page, there are only 16 staff members. While more quality content is needed for this game, Hello Games is doing what it can as fast as it can. This update is a statement that they are working on updates to the game and there is room for No Man’s Sky to be enjoyable yet. Now that the team is less focused on creating an infinite universe, perhaps they will have the time to make interesting content to fill their universe with. This isn’t to say that the new update will be everything everyone hoped for. It will take much more than one update to help No Man’s Sky into a game that is worth sixty dollars, but for the masses that already own the game and are unable to return it; give it a try again. There may be a reason yet to play the game again.