In decades to come, if we look back at videogames, we will probably speak about** No Man’s Sky** - the game that promised the earth was roundly (and a little unfairly) panned at launch, and went on to reinvent itself as possible one of the best survival games of all time.

Hello Games continue to drop massive updates to the game, with April 2022’s Outlaws update being the latest to bring a vast swathe of new content to the NMS universe.

So if you are confused about what you will actually play if you jump into (or back into No Man’s Sky today), let’s look at the Outlaws update.

What’s new in No Man’s Sky Outlaws update?¶

It seems that every time a new update drops, there are so many changes that it can be challenging to know what to do, or even to start your journey all over again.

Outlaws launched on 13 April 2022 and recedived three initial patches (3.87, 3,88 and 3.89) prior to the Leviathan Expedition update. It has since received three more (3.91, 3.92 and 3.93, with the latest being on 17 June 2022) as Hello Games continue to fox any minor issues that still remain.

Outlaws allows players to become an interstellar rebel now that the game has its own Outlaw systems.

Outlaw Stations¶

Now playing the bad guy might not be for everybody, some of us just want to be left alone in the great expanse so, of course, you don’t need to visit these areas that have fallen under outlaw control, but if you fancy embarking on a bit of piracy, without being under the watchful eye of the Sentinals, then these areas will be for you.

Improved Space Combat¶

Combat in the stars has been rebalanced to help its flow and make the risks a bit more worthwhile. Ship flying, especially with a mouse and keyboard still needs a little work in our opinion, but these changes will go a long way to make it a little more worthwhile. You can even switch on autopilot for combat in the options, which will let the AI steer for you, leaving you in charge of the weapon systems.

Graphical overhauls¶

New explosions, as well as environmental effects, have all been added and improved. Now you can gaze up from a planet’s surface and watch starships and giant freighters making their way overhead. It all helps to bring the No Man’s Sky Universe to life more and make it feel less like a vast empty space.

Other graphical improvements include the arrival of cloth! Now you can wear realistic cloaks and hoods. These can be obtained at an Appearance Modifier in a space station to complete your look

Smuggling¶

From playing Elite right back in the 1980’s we have loved space trading games where you got the chance to do something a little be illicit in terms of the cargo you were ferrying. Now you can buy contraband from outlaw stations and ship it back to the vanilla areas of the galaxy for massive profits.

Squadrons¶

You can now recruit NPCs to your squadron and have a band of trust wingmen fly alongside you - handy when you are heading to any of the more nefarious corners of the galaxy.

What is the next update for No Man’s Sky?¶

At this stage, Hello Games are keeping quiet but they have promised there is still a lot more to come. The game certainly won’t be getting a sequel and time soon as the devs are perfectly happy realizing their original dream for the NMS universe.