I enjoyed *No Man’s Sky* at launch by ignoring the hype, loving its lonely universe, and earning the Platinum. Years later, massive free updates—especially VR—turned it into one of gaming’s greatest comeback stories.
I’m one of the few people who actually liked No Man’s Sky when it first launched back in August 2016. One of the main reasons for that was simple: I never followed the hype train. Because of that, I was able to enjoy the rather empty universe for what it was, and I ended up having a blast for weeks—right up until I earned the Platinum trophy.
The Advert…
I never wrote about the Limited Edition I picked up on launch day, mostly because the internet at the time was absolutely flooded with negativity. People were doing everything they could to tear the game apart, and honestly, I enjoyed the game far too much to let that kind of vibe spill onto the blog.
The Cheating Features Are Missing…
These two pictures tell part of the story of why the launch went so badly. My box even had a sticker placed on top to hide the multiplayer icon and the age rating.
Yes, it was a major letdown that the game wasn’t an online co-op experience at launch—everything about it screamed multiplayer, yet it simply wasn’t there… at least not until the following year, when it finally arrived via an update.
Time passed, and people more or less forgot about No Man’s Sky, despite the fact that it received several massive updates that steadily improved the game in ways few titles ever manage. Still, the disastrous launch nearly killed it.
Fast forward to 2019, three years later. While there’s still some negativity attached to the name No Man’s Sky, it’s nothing like it used to be. That’s entirely down to Hello Games fixing, expanding, and adding a ridiculous amount of content since launch—slowly turning the game into something much closer to what was promised before release.
The Update…
The update releasing this week, however, might just be the biggest and most insane free update I can remember in the history of DLC. And it all comes down to one feature.
Yes—you can now play No Man’s Sky in VR.
This isn’t some half-baked mode, tech demo, or side experiment. It’s everything. The full game. And that, my friends, is nothing short of spectacular. In my humble opinion, it’s a system seller for PSVR.
Thanks to this update, you now have multiplayer, vehicles, an online hub system, and full VR support—all compatible with your old save files. Just imagine for a moment if this had been the launch feature set, and how different the reception would have been compared to the mass hysteria and hate that surrounded the game in 2016.
The IGN ANTI VR TWATS…
I’ll admit this openly: I really dislike IGN for how anti-VR they’ve been over the years. I generally avoid their site and channels altogether. That said, one of their recent videos on No Man’s Sky VR was actually worth watching—though it’s painfully obvious that they’re not particularly experienced VR players. They talk as if this game reinvented VR, conveniently ignoring how long they themselves ignored the medium. Still, credit where credit is due: this is an impressive technical achievement.
While we’re talking about things I still want…
PC EDITION ONLY WTF…
There’s also the PC-exclusive Explorer’s Edition, and to this day, I still can’t understand why that version never made it to consoles.
The Actual Box…
Now, back to the Limited Edition box from 2016. The game comes in a beautiful book-style flip box that practically screams “look at me” on the shelf—and it does exactly that.
The Steel Book…
Inside, you’ll find a very sought-after Steelbook edition. It might not look all that special in photos, but in person it’s excellent, with a nice embossed logo and solid design. The Blu-ray disc itself also looks great.
The Art Book…
The included art book is a typical A5-sized one, packed with beautiful artwork from in-game locations as well as early concept art. I actually took it out earlier this week to photograph it, but ended up flipping through it several times instead—and completely forgot to take the pictures until the night after.
No secret there: I love art books.
A Comic?
The box also includes a Dark Horse comic. It looks great, but I’ll be honest—the story itself wasn’t particularly memorable. Lovely artwork and presentation, but not something that really stuck with me.
All in all, this is a very nice package. While the PC-exclusive Explorer’s Edition is still the more tempting one for me personally.
The Verdict…
I suspect I’d be complaining just as much if the situation had been reversed. If you ever get the chance to pick up this Limited Edition, I’d recommend doing so.
It looks great, the Steelbook is highly sought after, and chances are it’ll return your money—and then some—if you ever decide to sell it later.
1 thought on “A Look At No Man’s Sky Limited Edition”
Very good read, Tony. I always thought that people were giving this game an undeserved harsh time. It might have not lived up beyond the initial expectations, but the devs dared to do something new, and that at least should have been respected.
I never bought the game simply because it would have gone in the backlog with many others, but I really have to change my mind. This VR edition looks ace, and that PC exclusive does too.
It looks great, the Steelbook is highly sought after, and chances are it’ll return your money—and then some—if you ever decide to sell it later.
Very good read, Tony. I always thought that people were giving this game an undeserved harsh time. It might have not lived up beyond the initial expectations, but the devs dared to do something new, and that at least should have been respected.
I never bought the game simply because it would have gone in the backlog with many others, but I really have to change my mind. This VR edition looks ace, and that PC exclusive does too.