A classic role-playing game in space exploration has a fresh face.
No Man's Sky, which debuted in 2016, is coming to Nintendo Switch Friday (Oct. 7) with capabilities to reel in new players and to get older ones once again exploring the universe.
"People are arriving, new players, and we sort of want to tidy up our house," Hello Games co-founder Sean Murray told PC Gamer, a sister publication to Space.com.
The space survival game is known for offering 18 quintillion planets with unique sets of creatures upon each. Now it has ambitious aims to increase its player base with a new "relaxed" mode allowing a death-free experience of space exploration.
For those adventurers with too many things in their backpacks, the latest release will feature a "massive" inventory increase, which may bring old players back to the fold, Murray said.
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Returning players will get an easy flow back into the game with a summary of where the plot has taken people so far, Murray said, which was a direct response to online feedback. "Something I see online occasionally, people will say, 'I like the game, but it feels overwhelming to come back,' " he said.
There will still be a flurry of updates to catch up on, however, including living ships, ridable sandworms and cosmic whales, according to PC Gamer. New "journey" milestones are on the map (the equivalent of "levelling up" in the No Man's Sky universe) and players looking for a greater challenge can "actually crank the survival element way higher" in Version 4.0 of the game, Murray said.
No Man's Sky had mediocre early reviews from places like PC Gamer due to numerous technical issues, but Hello Games says it has done its best to address player concerns and to make the game sustainable for some years yet.
The company, however, is in a marketplace increasingly crowded with space RPG (role-playing game) content, with the likes of Halo Infinite, Starfield and Earth from Another Sun eagerly crowding in. Hello Game's decision to stand aside from microtransactions also makes it stand apart from games like Fortnite, which has some space skins and key partnerships (like Star Wars) and uses that revenue stream for growth.
If you're looking for more space game awesomeness, check out our picks for the best space horror games and best space mobile games. And if you're looking to save on the cosmic game experience, we've got 6 ways to save money on video games for space fans.
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
