Note: The arrival of the substantial Waypoint 4.0 update isn't yet available on Switch. We'll update this review with our verdict on that and an overall score as soon as possible. In the meantime, you can find our pre-Waypoint impressions of the Switch release below.

It's been a long old road for Hello Games' No Man's Sky. First revealed at the VGX Awards all the way back in 2013, the procedurally generated infinite space simulator finally released — riding an enormous wave of hype — in August of 2016. However, the PS4 and PC game we got our sweaty hands on was a far cry from what had been advertised and promised during a build-up to launch that could have made Peter Molyneux blush.

Yes, No Man's Sky was not the all-encompassing wonder we'd been led to believe it would be. It had the procedurally generated planets, the 'infinite' universe in which to play, but there just wasn't a whole lot to actually do in the months following its initial launch. It had some serious technical issues, too. It didn't run well on consoles at the time, its procedurally generated aliens and environments were a bit duff and, as a result, the fury of what seemed like the entire internet was laser-focused on Sean Murray and the small team at Hello Games. It got nasty.

Fast forward to 2022 though, and there's possibly never been a bigger or better comeback story in the history of gaming. The No Man's Sky of today is a testament to an indie studio that point-blank refused to give up, that took the blows, admitted its mistakes, put its head down, cut comms, and concentrated on delivering — and it really did deliver. It ultimately delivered on every promise that had been made pre-release and it continued, and still continues, to deliver much more on top of that. What we've got now is a wondrous space exploration experience that lives up to the crazy pre-release hype. And now it's on Switch.

Over the course of six years, numerous big updates have improved every aspect of what's on offer here. That dodgy procedural generation has been transformed, tweaked and enhanced to ensure that the level of variety in planets, weather, local lifeforms and fauna makes for a genuinely compelling exploration experience. It now feels as though you're travelling in a universe that's actually full of endless possibilities with regards to what you'll confront when you set your ship down on a planet. From weather, atmospheric hazards and volatile plant/animal life, to jaw-dropping vistas and twisted alien environments, you just never know what you're in for when you open your ship's cockpit, and planets are now stuffed full of gear and long-lost artefacts to discover and sell as you upgrade every aspect of yourself and your trusty spaceship. The boring old gameplay loops of old are now a very distant memory indeed.

The opening tutorial section has been bolstered and improved and now provides a genuinely useful introduction to the game's core systems whilst also keeping you invested through some neat storytelling. There's base building, improved economy systems, character creation, space combat, farming, alien settlements, procedurally generated missions, underwater exploration, ground vehicles, portals...the list is long and all-encompassing. In short, No Man's Sky has become the game we all wanted it to be for the most part, but one question remains: Can Hello Games take all of this and jam it onto the Nintendo Switch in a playable state? We didn't dare believe but, as it turns out, they've only gone and done just that.

There may be visual sacrifices — par for the course on Switch by now — and it takes a little longer to load into initially. Multiplayer has yet to make the jump, and you'll need to hold on a little longer for the upcoming Waypoint update (which was meant to be live at launch but is still going through Nintendo certification at the time of writing), but overall this is a No Man's Sky port that serves up an absolutely rock-solid experience.

Even in the areas we might have expected and even accepted some frame rate drops here — launching off from planets or cranking our ship to warp speed to blast our way to a far-flung location — the game holds an almost perfect 30FPS. It's remarkable really, and it makes for a Switch conversion that, for us, sits right up top with the likes of The Witcher 3, Alien Isolation, and DOOM as one of the very best ports we've seen on the console thus far, something that just shouldn't work but absolutely does.

Of course, there have been sacrifices — it's not perfect. There's a blurriness to the visuals in handheld mode — you can see it clearly in our screenshots — and pop-in is much more noticeable as you bound around planet surfaces. However, the graphical style of No Man's Sky, that bold, colourful and chunky aesthetic, means that none of this really matters as much as it could with another game. That slight blurriness never holds you back, everything is perfectly readable in the environments, and you can settle in and explore and scavenge and build to your heart's content without needing to stress over technical issues. What an accomplishment.

This is also a game that absolutely sings as a portable title; we already feel like this is gonna be our default way to play it going forward, a perfect experience for long sessions on the couch or short blasts on a journey. None of the sacrifices that have been made by Hello Games to get this one running well encroach upon your enjoyment of the experience, and it all still looks pretty fantastic, even with the visuals dialled down to their most basic settings.

Of course, we're still waiting for that big Waypoint update to arrive. It's just launched on other consoles but will be another few days making its way to Switch, and so we won't be putting a score on this review just yet. Waypoint is the largest update yet for the game and introduces a raft of fundamental changes, additions and improvements to how the game plays. There's a ton of stuff on the way here, with reworked inventory management, new visual elements in space and on planet surfaces, a "relaxed" gameplay mode, survival challenges, inventory filters, crafting trees, dynamic difficulty settings, custom game options and more besides, so we want to thoroughly explore all of that before delivering our final verdict.

We'll be diving into Waypoint as soon as it hits Switch to test out all its new features and see how they further improve the core gameplay experience. But for now, the keen intergalactic travellers among you can rest assured that if you're thinking about hopping aboard this particular space adventure at launch, a super solid Switch port awaits. Watch this space.

Scoring Policy Review copy provided by Hello Games

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Liquids, solids and the occasional gas

I know it's been said to death at this point but still: what a comeback story. Survival games like NMS don't interest me personally but I'm glad that this port is a rock-solid conversion all the same

It’s great I already played for 5 hours. Still a long way to go to get to my 530 hours on PlayStation 🙃 But why is the new update bot released yet. Nintendo hurry up!

Well let’s see what other reviewers say who didn’t get an exclusive first look. I’ll never understand how this site had the most time with Mario strikers yet managed to give it the best review. Surely the exclusive first look had nothing to do with it.

I’ll pick it up in a sale at some point in the future. 🚀

This is a game I have wanted to play since I first saw the trailer. It's nice to see Hello Games have their act together with the Switch release.

I’ve played it for a few hours. The frame rate is good and so are the visuals. There is a bit too much pop-in but overall I’m happy.

This is a fantastic port on Switch. As I said in the other NMS story, the graphics can be a bit all over the place (some textures look really good, while others can be muddy or flat looking), the bells and whistles graphical things like fog/lighting/shadows are all there (if paired back some), and the pop-in is there (but I'm such an old school gamer that unless its popping up right in my face, I don't even notice anymore), but the gameplay is just purely wonderful. I've put in 5-6 hours so far, still have yet to find the Anomaly, and its been a joy of a ride up till now. This game truly does feel like a universe in your pocket!

Could anyone tell me if this game is 'hard' with its difficulty and survival elements? I usually play quite cosy games so I'm not sure if it's for me or not.

There's a relaxed mode incoming soon, but what that is exactly i don't know.

@Nanami_Ataraxi there are several modes to choose from including a creative mode, normal and survival so you can chill if you don't fancy being tested with survival stuff.

The price is making me apprehensive.

@PJOReilly okay then that's brilliant I saw you said about the casual mode to come as well but I didn't know if it would lose the integrity of the game that way, so it's good to see there are lots of options

Having played the PC version from launch, I was already familiar with the basics, so I didn't have much of a learning curve to deal with. But I gotta say, besides the surprising quality of the port, the thing I am most happy with is how they mapped the controls. Controls feel intuitive to me, having an idea how the menus etc are laid out. I've only got a short time so far, just built my first base computer and shelter but I can't really see anything that would cause rage quit. Multiplayer is a non-factor for me, since I never played it anyways...

@Nanami_Ataraxi if you play it on normal mode, it's quite chill. I prefer exploration, so if I run into the rare hostiles, I just run away.

@agrazioli That's wonderful, this might be right up my street then. I mean I do play MH and Japanese ARPG's but I tend to stay away from anything that would woop my butt to hard.

But the crafting/exploration/farming and player progression that PJ described seemed right up my street but getting powned by enemies and losing all my stuff every five minutes doesn't gel with me. But this seems like a nice balance.

Another to add to the payday list it seems.

With this, NL's hands-on, and SwitchUp's review, looks like the "problems" (if we can call them that) aren't serious ones.

Some pop-in, the occasional stutter, long initial load times, and downgraded visuals? I've been playing games on potato PCs for years. Compared to what I've been through back then, this version of NMS is perfection.

Here's hoping the upcoming update improves the game further so I can finally decide to grab a physical copy.

@calbeau It's genuinely really impressive. I haven't even had any noticeable stutter yet in almost 13hrs of play. Amazing port.

Glad to hear it runs pretty well, seems like a perfect Switch game to chill with in bed or on the sofa while others have the TV.

Maybe a touch pricey currently but it is already available at a lower price than retail.

Lots of impossible ports lately.

Is multiplayer actually planned for the Switch version of this game, though? I got the impression it just wasn't going to feature in this particular port.

This is a weird situation for me. I love that it's on switch and doing well. I love playing whatever I can on the switch, but. . . I'm not sure I could enjoy this the same outside of vr. The universe is so all encompassing in vr. This is literally my go to experience for the wonders of vr, and going away from that for this game seems like a downgrade I can't personally get behind.

I’ve had my eye on this since launch, hoping it would be a modern “Elite”. I’m so in the mood for this type of game right now, settle into the autumn and winter with an epic exploration title.

This write up is so reassuring. The issues presented don’t bother me, and sounds like an amazing game to pick up before an upcoming vacation.

This game is a game I come back to every know and then whenever ai don’t have much to play, it’s just sheer fun!

Man, how this game grew, crazy.

cant believe its on switch never mind how good the port is amazing job. will get it next month as flying to new york tomorrow

Awesome to hear PJ’s positive pre-review for this game! It’ll be gratifying when my pre-order finally arrives.

Pop-in can be a distraction but usually not a game breaker for me.

Can anyone tell me how the pop-in in NMS compares to that in Subnautica? That’s probably the most similar game experience I’ve had on Switch.

Good to see it runs so well. Was torn between this and NieR and it won with it's $40 price point. Future sale pickup for me though.

Is there cross-save compatibility between Xbox and NSW?

@SteamEngenius going get both next month as cant choose between

It arrived this morning and blimey it's impressive. It put me on an ice planet during late evening. The planet's ring system filled the starry sky, with the occassional shooting star streaking accross it. Honestly, it' was a beautiful first impression of the game. Glad I;'m not in my college years lol. 'Reckon there's any intelligent life out there?' 'Who cares.'

The Switch is the only console where you can downgrade an experience and then charge more money for it.

Went to bed last night and dreamed I could not find copper. 10/10.

@IronMan30 the price is actually quite good for the quantity and quality you are getting

@Nanami_Ataraxi this game has 4 modes and one is a creative mode where you would not need to put a lot of effort in “surviving”.

I’ve played this on PS4/PS5 and PC. Had the game since the original release. I think this review it pretty fair except the multiplayer part. Not every game needs multiplayer and I personally haven’t ever used the multiplayer aspect of this game. Aside from that, this game runs well and does not feel compromised on quality. The only real “con” I could say for this is just the initial load time. Other than that, it’s great!

I wouldn't say the lack of multiplayer is a con, I for one will probably not use it and won't miss it

@SteamEngenius Me too. I took the plunge and bought NMS. Nier will have to wait until next pay day 😊

Looks good for an underpowered console, so why can't Nintendo games (I'm looking at you, Pokemon violet/scarlet) look as good 🤔

Many first party Nintendo games look better than No Man's Sky on Switch.

I agree about Game Freaks efforts though. Funnily enough the Let's Go games were their first on the system and are still easily the best looking Pokemon games on Switch.

It runs really well what i'm quite shocked by and yeah playing this handheld is a dream come true. That said anyone coming from the other versions can see how much they had to cut or downgrade, i get why they had to do it but its one of the biggest downgrade ports i've seen on the Switch, even TW3 had less cutback. Overall though the magic is intact and while the PS5 will always be my main version it is great being able to spends hours having Its Always Sunny on in the background while i'm making bases and exploring planets on my Switch.

Shame the Waypoint Update has yet to drop for Switch versions though.

@Fizza Just to point out the Waypoint Update dropping anytime soon for Switch will allow you to tailor every aspect of the game to your needs, you can completely switch off the survival stuff if you want or have it on but low enough where its no issue but still adds a small amount of challenge now and then. You can play the game now anyway you want.

@Nanami_Ataraxi The new Waypoint Update already out on the other versions due on the Switch anytime soon adds some modes what will suit you perfectly. You have Relaxed Mode, its basically easy mode where everything from Normal Mode is there but stripped back, its designed to make everything far easier and less grindy but not be full on God mode that Creative Mode is. Finally there's Custom Mode, that allows you alter and change every aspect of the game to suit your needs, its pretty in depth and gives you full control over how you want the game to be for you.

@antisumo true, it seems like there is a lot to do in this game. It's just less than ideal since it's cheaper on other systems.

Edit: turns out they raised the price for new buyers on XSX.

As soon as I finish Automata, this is next. Sounds like a grand game.

Definitely interested to get this for relax mode….

It's almost like the narrative that these games were not capable of running on the Switch was a load of BS. It's almost like all that was needed was developers good at their jobs. It's almost like these ports were never impossible. 😳

not on my priority list maybe way down in the future..

@WallyWest What about asteroid fields how do they look ?

@NinjaNicky because the fans keep supporting it. Why bother putting in the time and resources?

@aresius Haven't really come across them yet and have only like a few floating around, i get the impression the update what added 100's and 100's of them at once to space doesn't apply here and i have a feeling its even more stripped back from what we had prior to that update.

@WallyWest What a pity, they were important for mining i guess, well we can’t have anything

@eaglebob345 the Switch is capable of a lot more than people thought (Doom 2016 and Witcher 3 showed that very early on). Also shows that the Wii U was probably also cable of similar feats if the success was there (the Wii U and Switch are very comparable power wise). But, I'm so happy for the Switch that the support has been there and makes me extremely giddy at what the Switch 2 will be able to do!! Optimization has always and will always be king for dedicated hardware!

Another banger port on Switch, you love to see it. Definitely buying this later down the road.

Of course, there have been sacrifices — it's not perfect. There's a blurriness to the visuals in handheld mode — you can see it clearly in our screenshots — and pop-in is much more noticeable as you bound around planet surfaces. This right here is why we need a Super Switch in 2023 for that very reason. And why people would complain it doesn't doesn't need not to look any further reasons why.

@WallyWest Thanks so much for your comment This and the other ones I've read have really solidified me getting this game now!

Definitely didn't want to go all creative because I'm not a creative person at all XD But this mode looks like it makes it more accessible whilst still Keeping what makes the game great ^-^

@aresius Its worth noting i've barely been in space. Once i left the starting planet i quickly found a Paradise Planet in the next system and have since stayed there exploring and building an underwater base. It could be the astroid stuff isn't as cutback as i thought.

@Nanami_Ataraxi Yeah as i said the custom mode makes it so anyone can play it the way they want. For instance want the danger of pirate ships and dangerous planets but no grind? Simple you set the danger levels of those things to medium or max and then set the cost of buying and crafting to low or just straight up free, that's just a small example but its pretty cool. Hopefully the new update just drops soon as its tailored made for new players.

I know it's not perfect, but here it is, on the Switch. I can still remember people vehemently stating it would either never come to Switch or, it wasn't possible to be on Switch. I have a passion for all things space related, but damn if I have the time to play this. Never say never, I may just find a way.

I hope this gets cross play and cross save/progression support. I have this game on PC and would love to transfer progress back and forth. Many developers have implemented these features into Switch games.

@Wexter I too am excited for what Nintendo does next. Hopefully it receives support from the start, rather than Nintendo having to go it alone with a few key friends again.

I tired to play on PC with friends. The opening is very stressful and I gave up after about 10 minutes.

I am very grateful to Hello Games who pulled this off, but after playing around 300 switch games, I am not sure if I am willing to tolerate this much of visual downgrade due to Switch hardware. I think I am at the point of being fine with playing some games on pc only, especially open world games which in my opinion should be visually pleasing. Whats the point in spending hours running around a world thats ugly version of something that could literally look ten times better elsewhere. I know this could be said about every other game thats available on other hardware, but it really hurts when its this genre which is about exploration.

i havn't played it but these screenshots and a couple performance reviews really don't look nice at all. it looks too muddy to be immersed in the world

@Justaguest totally agree. i felt the same about The Outer Worlds switch port. it's just too muddy. it breaks immersion when pop-in occurs everytime you turn around and the graphics are just barely maintaining legibility. i don't understand how these reviewers keep saying things like "it's far from unplayable", like sure it's playable, but is it Enjoyable? i guess they're not actually playing most of these games to completion. or the fact they got to interview the devs softened their critical thinking skills

Insane that they managed to get this running so well on the Switch ...Very impressive. I've played it on PS5 myself and was blown away that it runs so well on there, and now it's on Switch. Quite the achievement. What a journey this game has been on, truly a legendary redemption story IMO.

@KIRO That's exactly the vibe right now. I've put a good many hours into the game but shied away from its base-building, combat and more hardcore survival systems. I'm quite eager to start from scratch in relaxed mode because it sounds like exactly the experience I've been trying to have without needing to dodge the bits that don't interest me.

@Felixfromdownunder What the screenshots don't show is how solid an experience the game is otherwise. I'd play an 8-bit version if I had to. Visuals have never been NMS's strong suit, but it's nice to see how good they've gotten over on the PS5. A mildly compromised Switch version I'd reckon is well worth the price of entry, especially if you get to take the whole experience on the go.

I was afraid of this. Was hoping we’d read a little about the game and how it works and what you do in it. Instead it’s just about how it’s been updated and how it runs.

Has anyone ever made a thorough review of the game post all these updates that talks about it from a fresh perspective?

@nofriendo Good to know! Thanks. I don't mind a bit of FPS stuff but life is kicking my butt enough, I need to chillllllll.......

@PJOReilly Nice! What I hear from this port just keeps getting better and better.

@nofriendo alright fair enough, if the core gameplay loop really is just that good then yea power to the players and all that. To me all the marketing makes it out to be an experience about exploration, but if the world looks like an oil painting to me that's just not worth exploring

What is up with October? Bayonetta 3 and three decent ports (Persona 5, No Mans Sky, Nier) that I absolutely wanted to play but simply didn’t want new hardware. To clarify, not trying to fanboy. The kids love the Switch and I find it fantastic to take to another TV in the bedroom or play some portable when I get the chance. I realize at some point Elden Ring and Spider-Man will sway a upgrade, but happy for these “impossible “ports.

@Seacor Don't think cross save will ever be possible with Switch versions. The Switch version lacks Settlements and with that it lacks all the items and mission rewards from it, a PC save with that stuff could break the game if it was transfered to Switch. Also to my understanding the Switch version has its own universe while PS, Xbox and PC all share the same one so again cross save with Switch would be very hard or impossible to do.

@WallyWest Hopefully, if and when they bring multiplayer and settlements to the Switch version they can do this. Unfortunately, I am holding out purchasing the Switch version as I don’t want to deal with separate progression on the Switch and PC.

Noticeable blurriness in handheld mode - No buy.

Been having a blast with the game on OLED handheld today. Stable and looks as good as you would expect for a Switch port.

Shame there is no talk of a Samus ship and suit for Switch. Missed opportunity.

@Moistnado I do hope Metroid Prime 4 has some element of No Man's Sky. Samus tracking down bounties accross a galaxy would make for some ace side quests.

I’m so excited for this!

Some of you are the reason we can't have nice things. Instead of being happy that the dev ported the game well to the Switch, which is an achievement in its own right, you complain and refuse to buy. Then you'll wonder why other developers don't bother or simply do cloud versions. I agree that some games like The Outter Worlds didn't deserve a buy, at first. But they got it together and the game was better for it. This game looks amazing on the Switch.

@Nanami_Ataraxi Once you reach a certain point and upgrade your suit it's less of a problem. If you don't explore planets enough you may have to just buy the materials you need for crafting and building.

It's quite blurry in handheld mode, with lot's of pop in, sometimes the visuals verge on broken, with 5-10 second gaps for items to spawn in around my base. To be honest, it didn't run that great on my PS4, so I'm OK with the downgrade to play portable and the colours look nice on the OLED. I'm sure I'm going to play the game more when I can just pick it up on my Switch. I think they've done the best they can with it, don't regret my purchase (I had the game at launch on PS4 back in the day).

@Arawn93 And it's just a really nice and chilled game to play in portable innit. I can see myself spending a lot more time with NMS because of this port.

@SonOfDracula Its £40 on Switch though, its not full price.

@5th313ment Most of the comments have been positive though.

@5th313ment did outer worlds get patched again?

@GrailUK ahh yes, I agree. I would love for Prime 4 to have a usable ship.

Serious Nintendo you suck big time. Still no 4.0 release. Nintendo gamers are the last as usual.

Been curious about this game for some time, but not curious enough to buy it for PS4 and be tethered to my TV. The idea of playing it handheld is compelling and I may just go ahead and bite the bullet this time...

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