With the recent release of "No Man's Sky" for the PC, Steam saw over 200,000 players buying the game, making it the most purchased game this year. Players gave back 46,085 reviews with an overall mixed rating. "No Man's Sky" was one of the most anticipated games of 2016, it was also one of the most disappointing.
"No Man's Sky" is basically a space survival game that allows you to follow the path of the almighty Atlas or make your own destiny. In the game, you start on the edge of known space. You wake up at the crash site of your ship with no memory of your past or your mission. Like many others, I saw a trailer for the game a few months ago. The trailer showed off the game's ability to generate unique worlds and showed the universe from the cockpit of a starship. Just like literally everyone else who saw it, I was excited for what was to come. The only problem with the trailer was that it left a lot of room for the imagination. The developers never confirmed or denied any of the rumors that surfaced after the trailer made its debut. Some of the rumors were pretty reasonable, and I was surprised when I was in game and realized some of the things I heard just weren't possible.
The issue people had was the fact that the game is only, as of right now, single player. I mean, it is kind of surprising; you have the ability to travel the entire expanse of the universe, but you're all alone. Except for three other alien races, and the many different animal and plant species found on each planet, you're all alone. To me, this is a total heartbreaker, especially because the developers hinted, even though they never confirmed, that the game would be multiplayer. Despite this, the game is still awesome, and like no other.
The Stuff That I Do Like:
I'm a pretty easy person to please, especially when it comes to video games. This game is the exploration game that I have always dreamed of, and despite what people say, I love it. You can fly from galaxy to galaxy stopping at each planet, stripping it of its resources, and making a fortune from it. Each planet has its own unique weather conditions; we're talking radiation, low temperatures, high temperatures and flash storms, all of which are trying to kill you. You can be a friggin' space pirate, although I have yet to find a way to make it possible (soon). You can earn your living by traveling to each planet and cataloging plant and animal species. Each planet boasts its own plants and animals specific to said planet. You can find and upgrade crashed/abandoned starships; it saves millions of units. For each alien race, you have the ability to befriend, understand and learn about their history. Each race has their own language; you can learn words to help you understand them during encounters. The game wasn't exactly designed to let you become fluent in each language, but a player can devote their time to it and learn it completely. The dialogue encounters are just phenomenal; you are presented with a story, and then presented with options to solve the problem. You can be rewarded, hurt, or nothing can happen at all. It feels very "Dungeons and Dragons"-esque. You don't have to adhere to any storyline: You can be the good guy or the bad guy, you can be hated or loved, you can follow laws or break them; the decision is yours. You do have the task of traveling to the center of the universe. This helps so you're not just aimlessly wandering the cosmos, but again, you don't have to follow it.
The Stuff That I Do Not Like:
Aside from the whole single player thing, there are a few things that really grind my gears. The text speeds for alien encounters is so slow. I do not have the reading level of a third grader; let's move this along. On the other hand, the quotes that appear after you die go way too fast. Sometimes I blink and they're gone, and the quotes are usually pretty good, so I'd like to read them, thank you. Who doesn't like blasting off into space immediately after entering my starship? Everyone. This glitch is super annoying 'cause it's damn near impossible to fly back down to the same spot you were just at. You could, however, if you placed a waypoint; too bad you can't. This one really seems like a no-brainer; in a game where you can get lost after moving 30 seconds in one direction, you think you'd have some space tech that lets you mark points of interest (maybe I just haven't figured it out yet?). It would be nice if after you shot down other starships, there was a (slim) chance that the ships crash landed and could be repaired. After all, you can find starships that have been crashed/abandoned (I just want more purpose as a space pirate). Finally, my biggest pet peeve is that I can't sell my starship. I had complained about this to a friend, and he said to just think of it as being included in the price when buying a new starship. I can live with that, but at least let me know how much my ship is worth. 
