It’s incredible to chart how far Hello Games has come in just over a decade – even if, geographically speaking, it’s really not so far at all. From one corner of Guildford to another, with sprouts from EA’s now partly abandoned offices where Sean Murray first began tinkering with what was then known as Skyscraper, via the ramshackle building they shared with a taxi rank down by the banks of the Wey which tragically burst just as No Man’s Sky was in the depths of development to the new space the team finds itself now.
It’s even more incredible to chart just how far No Man’s Sky has come in just over three years. The latest trailer for next week’s Beyond update, cut neatly to 65daysofstatic’s driving soundtrack, invites comparisons to our very first glimpses of No Man’s Sky – boldy so, you might say, after some of the controversies around the launch as expectation and reality didn’t quite match up for some. But it goes to illustrate how No Man’s Sky has evolved, surely surpassing anyone’s expectations of what it would be.
The Beyond update pushes No Man’s Sky further still, introducing features and improvements that might come as a surprise even to those who’ve been following its progress since Hello Games announced it earlier this year.
No Man’s Sky BEYOND Trailer – Gameplay Launch Trailer Watch on YouTube
There are mounts – – denser and more varied biomes, new construction and crafting, tameable creatures, creatures, cooking and recipes, a new galactic map, a new discovery menu, a new word-learning system, all-new NPC races, NPC encounters on planet surfaces, improved base building that introduces logic and electricity systems and can allow for bigger bases. It can even allow, as Hello Games’ founder Grant Duncan mocked up before our visit to the studio, for a fully functioning game of Rocket League to be played out within No Man’s Sky, complete with a working scoring system.