8 years after its controversial launch, it seems No Man's Sky's comeback tour is finally complete. The game has just reached 80% positive reviews on Steam, bringing the overall rating to "Very Positive."
No Man's Sky has been receiving far more positive Steam reviews than negative since about 2017, when the game's chain of major, free content updates really got going in earnest. But those positive reviews had not been enough to counterbalance the tens of thousands of negative reviews that piled on at its mediocre launch.
Earlier this year, Hello Games founder Sean Murray celebrated on social media when No Man's Sky reached 78% positive reviews. Murray said at the time that he "never thought it possible, but guys we might hit Very Positive one day." That day, it turns out, was not so far in the future.
"Holy shit you guys - it happened," Hello Game founder Sean Murray said on Twitter today in a message of gratitude to fans. "You have no idea what this means to us."
Holy shit you guys - it happened 🥳ALL REVIEWS: Very Positive 😍Thank you Thank you Thank you❤️You have no idea what this means to us 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Go0uyZHZA6November 27, 2024
While No Man's Sky disappointed prospective fans at launch, it's become the go-to example of a game elevated from 'disappointment' to 'stone-cold classic' thanks to a dev team that never stopped responding to the community's feedback. The next (and final) milestone would be the "Overwhelmingly Positive" label, which would require No Man's Sky to reach 95% positive reviews. Averages being what they are, every new percentage point is going to be that much harder to claw back - but hey, Hello Games has already put eight years into No Man's Sky. Who's to say another eight aren't on the way?
The next project for Hello Games is Light No Fire which - dare I say it? - looks even more ambitious than No Man's Sky.
