No Man's Sky Reviews: 10 Early Reactions You Need To Know
Is it worth the wait?
In a blur of disappointment for some and pure elation for the rest who always knew what No Man's Sky was going to be, Hello Games' near-mythological behemoth has finally arrived.
So far, reactions have been... mixed. Mostly positive, thanks to the absolutely unprecedented scale of quantum-leaping between a few hundred planets, but also with a hint of negativity. People really wanted this to be some sort of genre-blending, all tastes-satisfying masterwork of pure perfection, and while it most definitely will be for survival fans, sci-fi lovers or those who just appreciate a developer doing something truly different, there are a number of impressions you need to know regardless.
No Man's Sky has been a long time coming, but is it worth the wait?
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10. There's An Early Story Choice That Dictates Everything
"At the beginning of the game you're given an option: Do you want to follow this 'Atlas path'? Atlas is sort of this mysterious force in the universe that's guiding you towards the centre, the end goal of the game [...] or do you just want to fly around, doing whatever you want?" - Alex Navarro, Giantbomb.
At time of writing it's hard to say if you can go back on this, but the game opens with the binary choice of either siding with "Atlas"; a mysterious force governing the galaxy who'd like you to catalogue as much stuff as possible.
If you choose to move away from this, it opens the game up into more of an 'endless survival' mode where you're free to explore to your heart's content. It would appear that in the years leading up to release, the reason we got a mix of lore-based pre-order bonuses and insights into alien races alongside the notion that you need to head towards the centre of the galaxy, was because Hello Games are actually providing both.
Want to have a defined end goal? Choose Atlas and work your way towards the centre of the galaxy with a defined progression. However, if you like the idea of just exploring as and when you like, seeing how long you can survive and galavanting across the galaxy with 65daysofstatic's melancholic score in the background, you can do that too.