The Next Chapter of No Man’s Sky is Here with Beyond

Beyond is No Man’s Sky’s biggest update yet

Aug 16, 2019

By: Noah Friscopp

Second Chances

No Man’s Sky, Hello Games’ sci-fi exploration game had a bit of a rough start when it came out in 2016. Unfortunately, a lot of what was promised to be in the game just wasn’t there. Instead of throwing in the towel, Hello Games has been slowly but surely adding more and more to the game, and today their most massive update ever goes live in the form of Beyond. No Man’s Sky Beyond is bigger than any update to the game before, with VR support, full online gameplay and double the small changes that make it easier than ever to jump in and explore the incredibly vast universe that Hello Games has created.

Explore strange new worlds

Virtual Reality Space Exploration

One of the most significant additions to the game, by far, is the ability to play the entire game in VR. PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Index VR are all supported, and the game changes dramatically. When you’re playing the game in VR, everything feels so much larger, and the wonderment that comes with exploring planets and the vast reaches of space is all the more incredible. Controlling the game in VR is a lot different as well. You can just play the game with a controller and move your head around with the headset, but there is much greater potential in using wand type controllers like PSVR’s PlayStation Move wands. When using the wands, the way you interact with your Multitool, your Exosuit, and your spaceship changes drastically. Before you would just tap a button to activate your analysis visor (the game’s binoculars/scanning technology). Now, you have to actually tap the side of your head as you would if you were wearing a spacesuit. If you want to equip your Multitool to mine resources or fight off hostile alien creatures, you pull it off of your backpack. Perhaps the most exciting change to control is that of your ship, where your right-hand acts as the ship’s flight stick and your left controls the throttle for speed. If you ever wanted to know how it would feel to pilot a starfighter for real, this is the game that finally makes that possible.

No Man's Sky comes to life in VR

Full Online Multiplayer

No Man Sky’s last huge update Next added the ability to explore the game with your friends, and it worked well! But, if you wanted to see more explorers out in the game that you don’t know it was much more difficult. Now with Beyond, you can seamlessly be entered into the game with up to 8 players on console and 32 on PC. There is also a new social space, like the Tower in Destiny that lets you find people to group up with and play easily called The Space Anomaly. The Space Anomaly is a place to check out people’s customizations, see the best bases created by the community, and group up for new Nexus Missions that take you and your friends across the universe to complete challenges, build bases and get rewards. This game is more fun with friends, and now grouping up is easier than ever. When flying, you can summon The Space Anomaly to your location, so don’t worry about having to fly thousands of light-years to get to it.

Exploring the universe is better with a friend

No Man’s Sky 2.0 AKA Too Many Changes to List

No Man’s Sky 2.0 was originally going to be an update of its own, but Hello Games decided to package VR, Online, and 2.0 into one package. 2.0 has the largest list of changes to date ranging from:

Easier tutorials for new players
Easier mining for less grinding
A new galaxy map
NPCs that move around and react to your actions
New alien languages
The ability to ride creatures
Improved base building
And so much more.

Check out the full list of additions and changes HERE because I could go on all day about everything the game has to offer now. There is no better time to jump into the game than now, with Beyond. It feels like not only have the original promises of the game been met, but there is even more to see and discover. Will Hello Games continue to improve and iterate on their universe? Only time will tell but it seems like they don’t be slowing down anytime soon. If this is what they are capable of, who knows what else is possible. No Man’s Sky is turning out to be one of the most exciting space games available, and a story of redemption that can only be respected. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.