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No Man’s Sky’s new patch streamlines the game for Switch launch

Update 4.0, Waypoint, gives game a major balance and design overhaul

Oli Welsh is senior editor, U.K., providing news, analysis, and criticism of film, TV, and games. He has been covering the business & culture of video games for two decades.

No Man’s Sky gets a major new update alongside its launch on Nintendo Switch on Friday. The update, called Waypoint, brings the game to version 4.0 and conducts a sweeping overhaul of the game’s balance and structure — although it doesn’t add much new content.

Developer Hello Games said Waypoint is designed to help new and returning players make sense of a game that has had 21 major updates in the six years since it initially launched, and to give Switch players a more “pick-up and play” experience. It also has a focus on quality of life improvements for the dedicated No Man’s Sky community.

There’s a new Relaxed Mode that aims for a streamlined, faster, and less grindy way to see the sights and features of this vast space exploration game. Custom game modes allow survival, crafting, combat, controls, and accessibility settings to be adjusted to each player’s play style.

Long-term players will benefit from an overhauled inventory system that greatly increases level caps for ships, weapons, and players, as well as a new milestone system, new collectibles, and improved mission content.

And if, like me, you played No Man’s Sky years ago and are daunted by the idea of returning to a long-forgotten game save plus a raft of new systems, a new information portal will break down all your progress and goals.

There’s more to pore over in the full Waypoint patch notes.

The next level of puzzles.

Take a break from your day by playing a puzzle or two! We’ve got SpellTower, Typeshift, crosswords, and more.

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