'No Man's Sky': 5 Awesome Features That Were Removed From The PS4/PC Game Before Release

“No Man’s Sky” was lambasted in many reviews for being light on features. As it turns out, Reddit has cataloged evidence that the released game on PS4 and PC is very different from what was originally promised. Here are five discussed features that didn’t make the cut!

1) True Multiplayer: One of “No Man’s Sky’s most publicized omissions was the the lack of true person-to-person multiplayer. When two coordinating explorers met each other in the same spot in the galaxy, the other lifeform was totally invisible.

We have an explanation for why this happened, but it still differs wildly from what Hello Games programmer Sean Murray told “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” in 2015. “The only way to know what you look like is for someone else to see you,” he said. He also told Game Informer that it would be possible to play with friends and grief others in combat. As it stands right now, nothing like that exists on PS4 or PC.

2) Classes That Could Be Treated As A Sole Profession: Before “No Man’s Sky” launched, the title was marketed as a very diverse game with several different play styles. Today, however, a single, stagnant gameplay loop categorizes the experience for all players.

Last year, Murray conversely told IGN that “you can also ... just not gather resources.“ “Perhaps you're the type of person who just never wants to do that because it seems a bit laborious, or you just don't like visiting planets ... you can do that if you want.” “No Man’s Sky,” as it presently exists, is almost entirely about resource collection no matter which path one takes. You can’t just decide to be a trader or pirate, for example. Clearly, this more expansive vision was scrapped from the final game.

3) Naming Ships And Different Stats: Ships are an important part of “No Man’s Sky,” but they were once discussed in a much deeper way. In March of this year, Murray told Game Informer that ships essentially act just like discoveries and could therefore be named. As if that wasn’t enough, IGN interviews featured discussions about specific ships being tailored for attributes like exploration or speed.

Spacecrafts in modern “No Man’s Sky” are largely just cosmetic cargo holders. Adding individual stats and names to ships seems like yet another idea that was abandoned to get this game out on time.

4) Factions That Matter: Factions were equally critical to “No Man’s Sky’s” pre-release concept. During an E3 2015 gameplay demo, Murray encountered a dogfight between two warring groups. “we're at the battle between two warring factions,” he said, adding that he could “join in” and “take sides” if he pleased.

Factions do exist in “No Man’s Sky,” but they’re severely watered down. Increasing standing with certain groups doesn’t offer any truly meaningful advantages, and there’s no possible way to make factions dislike you. This idea was maybe too ambitious to make a reality.

5) Complex Crafting: In a similar vein, crafting in “No Man’s Sky” is also very diluted. All recipes are essentially given to the player, so there’s very little material pioneering going on. Instead, the mechanic functions by collecting every clearly marked element that’s required to craft a specific upgrade.

Before release, Murray gave IGN slightly different ideas. “When we release the game, we're not telling people 'here are all the formulas,’” he said. “We're just letting players loose, and, a little bit like ‘Minecraft,’people can figure out those rules themselves.” Maybe Hello Games has some secrets that haven’t been found yet, but no scenarios like this have actually been reported by players.

A Note: Given the contents of this feature, it’s important to note that it’s hasty to accuse Sean Murray or Hello Games of lying about the above omissions. Not only do development conditions change as a game is made, but every one of these concepts could eventually be fleshed out as DLC. They just don’t exist at the time of writing.

“No Man’s Sky” is available now on PS4 and PC.

Which of these missing features do you want most? Tell us in the comments section!