GameTech: Sky is not the limit for Irish games developer

When you’re looking to take things to the next level, sometimes you can be too ambitious. But with their Next update, developers Hello Games, led by Irishman Sean Murray, have finally taken No Man’s Sky to the level they always wanted. It’s one of gaming’s greatest comeback stories.

When it was first released two years ago, No Man’s Sky was one of the most anticipated games of 2016. Murray had spent the previous 12 months talking up the game’s potential and trailers for No Man’s Sky looked incredible. Unfortunately, the end result didn’t quite live up to expectations, with many expected features missing from the experience.

Since then, Murray and Hello Games have been quietly updating No Man’s Sky periodically, adding things like base-building and better story options.

However, this latest update, called Next, finally puts everything together into a package worthy of the attention.

For a start, Next adds true multiplayer to No Man’s Sky. Up to four players can now team up and explore the galaxy together. In today’s world of social gaming, this was always a glaring omission and multiplayer transforms No Man’s Sky.

One of the biggest attractions to multiplayer will be joint base-building, meaning you and your friends can create a headquarters together. Much more fun than just doing it alone. Even better, bases can now be built anywhere, not just in the restricted spaces originally allowed in the vanilla release.

There are plenty of other huge improvements. The addition of space stations that actually feel like proper hubs is essential, as are the new frigate fleets. Traders and other NPCs on these hubs will now give you story missions and direct you to different missions. The vanilla release was severely hampered by a lack of energy, so adding some sense of civilised life to the universe was critical.

The game can also be played in third-person mode now, which makes jet-packing, swimming and even walking a lot more comfortable and expansive, for those who prefer that camera perspective. Finally, there are smaller changes, with certain materials being far easier to find, less grinding overall, a better movement system, improved draw distance, and more.

Sean Murray and Hello Games didn’t need to spend two years improving No Man’s Sky. The game sold well at launch and probably made the company richer than it has ever been. But this investment has already paid off – this week, No Man’s Sky was one of the most played games in the world, with 60,000 concurrent players on PC alone.Congratulations to Murray and his team – from no man’s land, back to No Man’s Sky.

SOCCER EVOLUTION

Meanwhile, Pro Evolution Soccer redeemed itself a few years back, by focusing on gameplay and becoming the best football simulator on the market. Still, FIFA remains the flashier and more comprehensive single-player experience, with all the licences, including the Champions League rights this year, and does a far better job of creating the fantasy of professional football.

Pro Evo is coming out fighting this year, by releasing earlier than usual. Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 is coming out on August 30, almost three weeks earlier than last year. In addition, Konami have added ‘visible player fatigue’ on the pitch, new animations and increased player individuality.

They’ve also completely revamped the MyClub portion of the game, adding player cards and High Performance Players that temporarily boost stats based on real-world performances.

Most of that will be very familiar to FIFA fans, but that’s ok – Pro Evo remains the clear winner on the pitch.

MEXICAN RAVE

The Mexican team did quite well in the World Cup, but they’d do even better in a wrestling competition — at least if luchador Juan Aguacate was involved. In the original Guacamelee, Juan saved Mexico by jumping, fighting and wrestling his way through one of 2014’s best platform Metroidvanias.

The much anticipated sequel, Guacamelee, arrives later this month, with Juan returning seven years after the events of the first outing. This time around, the luchador must save not only Mexico, but ‘time and space in his universe’.

If a luchador saving time and space didn’t give you a clue, then perhaps the ability to turn into a blue chicken will — Guacamelee doesn’t take itself too seriously. You can wrestle with its challenges on August 21.