No Man’s Sky is about to drop its 4.0 update, timed to coincide with the game’s launch on the Nintendo Switch.
An incredible milestone for a game that seems like an instant write-off at launch. I doubt even those who played No Man’s Sky‘s bare-cupboard launch build and still saw its potential could have predicted the prolonged and miraculous reversal of fortune it currently enjoys.
So what’s in the No Man’s Sky 4.0 update? A lot of housekeeping. That’s according to a recent interview with Hello Games’ Sean Murray over at PC Gamer.
On the docket: a revised introductory sequence to welcome in new players who may be picking up the game on Switch, or returning to the game on their preferred platform for the first time. A common refrain from returning players is that the game is full of interesting things to do, but there’s so much new stuff now that it’s become overwhelming to learn it all. Murray wants to streamline that.
One of the ways Murray hopes to help returning players pick through the combined weight of seven years of updates is by creating a new information portal to help players see everything they’ve completed to date, with more information on everything to help better educate. There will also be a log for players to read that contains a summary of the entire No Man’s Sky plot up to the 4.0 update.
Inventory space is expanding again, so players who’ve managed to fill the current backpack will find they can unlock quite a bit more room after 4.0. The inventory system itself is also changing to become more ‘streamlined’ according to Murray, but exactly what that means isn’t clear just yet.
4.0 also introduces the ‘Relaxed’ mode. Relaxed mode is designed to be a low-intensity version of the game — the joy of the sandbox without the stress of survival. At the other end of the spectrum, however, Survival mode has been tweaked to offer a steeper challenge for those who want it.
No Man’s Sky Version 4.0 arrives alongside the Nintendo Switch version on October 7.
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