No Man's Sky is a game about overcoming expectations – both in terms of its gameplay and its creation. A craft-em-up set in space with a near-infinite number of planets to explore, mine, destroy and document, all in an effort to survive.

Science fiction has always been a divisive genre for me. Books such as Dune or Stranger in a Strange Land have never appealed to me. However, I love the works of Harlan Ellison and Douglas Adams. Star Trek had good ideas with none of the budget, and therefore none of my attention as a child.

Childlike sense of wonder; Discovering a new planet can be awe-inspiring; No hand-holding contributes to sense of discovery

Inventory management is a pain the space pants; Repetitive puzzles; encounters; Graphical hiccups can kill the immersion; Tags

No Man's Sky is impressive, unusual and staggeringly vast. Despite some moments of tedium, its gravitational pull will keep many players perpetually engaged.

A near-endless universe full of varied flora and fauna; Having a whole universe to name is great fun; Wonderfully written alien encounters

Planets may change but the core experience never does; Tedious combat and fiddly inventory management; Illusion of depth is fleeting

In the grand tradition of PlayStation classics like Journey and The Unfinished Swan, Bound tells its story through metaphor, tugging at the player's emotion with a scope and beauty that's difficult to describe. In a couple ways, it's actually more effective at conveying meaning than similar games.

No Man's Sky is not what people thought it would be. In the recent decade, few games have been as hyped up as Hello Games' newest adventure. Since its debut trailer back in December 2013, some have have claimed it to be the game of the generation, or in some ridiculous instances the last game we...

World is incredible; Visual style is wonderful; Learning languages is a brilliant idea; Surprisingly accessible

Lack of direction; Crafting system isn't great

I was really hoping this game would be nice. I bought it the day it came out, and normally I wait a few months at least so I can grab a used copy instead. This game honestly sucked more than I'd ever imagined.

No Man's Sky is an exploration game set in a vast galaxy of over 18 quintillion planets. Each one is massive--too big for any one person to explore fully in the span of a day--and if you're the first to discover one, you not only get to name it, you also get first dibs on any discoveries contained...

A massive; seamless world; Impressive tech supports a genuine-feeling journey; Unfettered freedom to explore numerous rewarding pursuits; Attractive ship and weapon designs; Meaningful narrative

Frustrating item management and UI; Shallow variety; Mediocre shooting mechanics; NPCs lack meaningful personalities

In short bursts, 'No Man's Sky' is amazing, but going deeper, I found only a void. There's a great framework, and an arresting visual style to go with an ease of mobility, but in a short amount of time, I despaired of finding any more interactivity or progression in the all-too-similar horizons and...

A stunning technical achievement and a mesmerisingly addictive one, even after you realise how simplistic and repetitive it really is.

Enormous game world is a pleasure to explore even when you know all its tricks; Competent space and land combat; Excellent art design and soundtrack

Highly repetitive main gameplay loop, that requires little skill and offers little danger; Poor use of intelligent aliens; Flawed visuals when on a planet; Infuriating inventory and lots of minor bugs

We've spent the last week or so working towards this review, and as such it's an updated version of the Review Impressions article you may have already read if you're a frequent visitor to the site.