No Man’s Sky is several years old and has received several major patches that have morphed the game into a completely difference experience from its lackluster launch. Almost all the changes are for the better. The latest Beyond update is the next literal game changer, and you won’t even have to wait two weeks to try it out.
Hello Games announced today that No Man’s Sky: Beyond would be available on August 14. Called the “most ambitious chapter so far” in the game’s lifespan by director Sean Murray, the update includes “a radical new social and multiplayer experience.” It’s a remarkable change from when the game initially launched as a solo experience.
By far the biggest addition in Beyond is the new VR mode. It’s enabled for both Steam VR and PlayStation VR. As the Xbox One doesn’t support a VR headset, players on that platform will be left out of the fun.
The VR experience is designed to radically transform the game, with you holding the joysticks inside your vehicles to pilot them, with display screens visible in front of you. Weapons are held in your actual hands through tracked motion controllers, and you can feel like you’re being eaten alive as you soar through a hole in a speeding piece of space debris.
That’s not all. Hello Games’ official announcement mentions three new features, but only calls out expanded multiplayer and VR support. What’s the third feature? That’s a mystery for now. The short teaser trailer offers few clues — but the music does seem rather ominous, doesn’t it?
Hello Games’ commitment to improving No Man’s Sky over time is appreciated. Back when first released in 2016, it was met with middling reviews, many of which criticized the lack of incentive to continue playing despite its massive size. This criticism was taken to heart, as the game later added base-building elements and multiplayer features to keep players coming back.
No Man’s Sky is available now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. We are still patiently awaiting the day the game gets Nintendo Switch support so that we can play the whole thing through Nintendo Labo’s VR goggles.
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