Footage of No Man’s Sky Version 1.0 Shows How Far the Game Has Come

In this day and age, pretty much everyone who currently plays No Man's Sky and has done so since the beginning is prepared to forgive Hello Games for what originally released back in 2016. At the time, it had one of the most disastrous launches in video game history, but there's no denying that it has drastically changed. Along with a slew of updates and a dedicated fan base, for many, it's one of the most interesting sci-fi titles around, and some may have even forgotten what the game initially looked like.

Recently, YouTuber Cycu1 has shown exactly what No Man's Sky looked and played like six years ago when it first launched. The video shows them playing the game on PS5, but they've installed the game directly from the disc, Version 1.0, essentially turning it into the original incarnation of the game. Fans will no doubt see the differences between then and now, with the hour and a half footage possibly opening up old wounds from players who remember what the game used to be like. It really demonstrates how far things have come and the work that Hello Games has been putting into its galaxy exploration title.

Probably the most notable difference is with the space stations, which can be seen about an hour into the playthrough. While they are now bustling hubs full of side quests, NPCs, and traders, Cycu1's video shows just how empty and uninteresting these stations were in Version 1.0. No Man's Sky features 18 quintillion discoverable planets, but back then things seemed so empty, and seeing how little content each space station has in this footage is a sobering reminder of what used to be.

Things are much better these days, thankfully. The developer continues to offer free updates that simply pack the already enormous game with even more content. In fact, No Man's Sky is also getting a Nintendo Switch port later this year, showing that it's still making an impact on the industry. The game is easily one of the most famous redemption arcs in all of video game development, with the studio even winning a BAFTA back in April.

Hello Games has also said it's working on its next game, but the company's co-founder Sean Murray has insisted that the team has learned its lesson about overhyping projects. Little is known about what this next release will be. Whether it will have any ties with the No Man's Sky universe cannot be said, but whatever the studio is working on will have to go to great lengths to be as ambitious as its sci-fi IP.