No Man’s Sky has changed an awful lot in the 10 years since its launch. Hello Games’ space sandbox has received a few dozen major free updates that have added features like base-building, spaceship construction, multiplayer missions, companions, mechs, and even its own version of the Death Star.
Speaking to PC Gamer for No Man’s Sky’s 10th anniversary, Sean Murray said that despite all those massive changes and added features that have transformed the space sandbox… he still likes the 2016 version of No Man’s Sky just fine.
“I’ve gone back to the original, played the game without any updates,” Murray said. “And I’ve got a real soft spot for it, to be honest. It’s a more esoteric experience. It’s a little bit weirder, but it’s got its charm.”
“The feeling that I have when I play it is, I’m alone and I’m on a planet and I don’t know what’s over the hill,” Murray said. “And I really love that feeling.”
Which isn’t to say the updated No Man’s Sky, even with its busy community events and multiplayer hubs, can’t feel that way too.
“I still get that feeling when I play No Man’s Sky now,” he said. “That is still in there, and is still the heart of the game. But personally, I love that I can do so many other things in the game now. I do really love base building, and I’ve really, really enjoyed—we added custom ships last year, and I lost myself in that. It’s a real dream for me to have that in the game. I’m a sci-fi nerd, so I love making ships.”
Even though the updated game is quite a departure from his original vision of No Man’s Sky, Murray still sees restless exploration of a massive galaxy as the core of the experience.
“I’m happy that we support all of those things, and I’m happy that there’s loads of other ways to play the game, but the heart is still the same for me,” he said. “The real driver, that’s still there, and that experience can be had when I start a new save, which I often do. It’s still there. I still have that feeling.”
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