Scoring No Man’s Sky on Potential?

As I work through countless hours of No Man’s Sky, jotting down various thoughts as I go, I’ve started to think about how I’m going to write my review. Am I going to score it low because of hype Hello Games didn’t create? Am I going to score it high just because some people want me too? I’m going to give a firm no to both of those questions. One question, however, has not been as easy to answer: can I (partially) base my No Man’s Sky review score on potential?

I think anyone who sits here and thinks that Hello Games hasn’t created a ton of potential for No Man’s Sky is kidding themselves. So much could be added to the title to increase its appeal 100 fold. For example, base building, a feature that according to the developers is coming sooner rather than later. The appeal of No Man’s Sky significantly increases when base building becomes an option.

When it comes to large, open world titles like No Man’s Sky, it’s hard not to compare it to ARK. Recently, I discovered the world of Ark when played with friends, and it is a vastly superior way of playing the game. I logged numerous hours over this past weekend, building houses and pens, taming dinosaurs, creating resource storing rafts, and the like. Regardless of what I was actually doing – or how mundane it really was – I was having a blast. Chopping trees down for wood and thatch was a blast, even when I did it for an hour straight. Why? Because I was doing it with someone else. While I was collecting resources for the house, he was taming dinosaurs. Someone else was building a pen. It was just fun.

This is where I think No Man’s Sky ‘could’ go, despite the constant reminders from the developer that this is not a multiplayer game. Want to increase the appeal of your title No Man’s Sky? Then add a multiplayer option, where I can explore and planet with a friend.

In this short article I’ve detailed two ways that No Man’s Sky has some serious potential to go from OK to great. Two, small additions could move No Man’s Sky from a 6.5 or 7/10 to a 8 or 8.5/10. I don’t fault the developers for the low scores which were based on fan hype. However, failing to do something greater with their title, that I can eventually blame them for.

Can I score this higher because of potential? I don’t think so, but if No Man’s Sky innovates and adds with future (free) DLC, I’d have no problem coming back to up my score.