No Man's Sky For Nintendo Switch Review: Portable Infinity

When I first got my Switch in 2017, my reaction to it was about what I'd expected. Which is to say within the first week all I could think about was how much I wanted all of the games I enjoy to eventually find their way onto Nintendo's (at the time) new hybrid handheld-slash-console. And I do mean all of them.

Back then "No Man's Sky" had only been out for about a year, so I wasn't expecting spontaneous miracles, but I was definitely thinking about how much I desperately wanted to be able to explore those functionally infinite galaxies on it. I could bring it into the bedroom with me if I wasn't ready to stop playing and could make peace with not sleeping that night. I'd be able to explore alien worlds when taking the train to visit my parents. It would have been amazing.

Now here we are, roughly five years later and I don't have to imagine what it would be like anymore. And let me tell you, "No Man's Sky on the Switch" sure is "No Man's Sky" on the Switch. Impressions in this review are based on playing with a standard Nintendo Switch (i.e. not an OLED model). Story spoilers (yes, there is a story) will be kept to a minimum, but several later-game gameplay elements will be mentioned.

Whether you're starting with this version or have played "No Man's Sky" before, playing on the Switch gives you access to all of the previous and current content updates. From the original Foundation update that added base building, to the ability to command freighters in Next, all the way up to the myriad quality of life improvements from the most recent (as of writing) Waypoint. If it's available on other platforms, chances are good it's also on or coming to the Switch — though its patches do seem to be coming out separately from the PC, PlayStation, and Xbox updates for some reason.

Depending on how you decide to handle your exploration and what ways you allow yourself to get sidetracked, you can do all sorts of things. Explore a derelict freighter, braving the dark corridors as you try to find valuable salvage. Create a small farm of sorts, using machinery to feed the local fauna and collect what amounts to milk and eggs from them. Dig up ancient alien ruins to find valuable artifacts. Earn credits taking on bounties for wanted pirates.

Point is, there's very little you can do in "No Man's Sky" on one platform that you can't also do on the Switch, including the various game modes (Normal, Relaxed, Survival, Creative, Custom, Expedition, etc). Which is very cool! But also, if you're already familiar with the game, don't come into this version expecting anything fundamentally new. Barring one major, and obvious, exception.

An unexpected perk of playing on the Switch is that it makes limited use of the touchscreen controls when playing in handheld mode. Primarily it's an alternative way to navigate through the various menus that appear when interacting with the world, using your inventory, and so on. It's nothing groundbreaking (or even particularly useful), but having the option to tap to select a different mission in the log is nice.

But no, the real advantage (really the only advantage) the Switch version has is that it's convenient. You can explore your galaxy at your leisure while sitting on the couch, then pop the Switch off of its dock and start playing in handheld mode — possibly still on the couch, but you have the option to carry it pretty much anywhere. If you don't already have a Steam Deck, portability will likely be your one best reason for buying "No Man's Sky" on Switch.

I cannot overstate how much I've been enjoying being able to play this game whenever I want, no matter where I am. If the TV is needed for something else I can free it up and keep playing without missing a beat. Obviously, it can be played in the bathroom. And yes, on more than one occasion I've kept myself up late by bringing it to bed.

It also looks great on the smaller screen. Some sacrifices have absolutely been made to get all of this running on Switch, and it's easiest to see when playing docked, but all those graphical compromises melt away in handheld mode.

I knew going in that some technical elements would have to be cut or scaled back in order for "No Man's Sky" to bring all of its practically-infinite elements to a (let's be honest here) weaker console. What I wasn't prepared for was finding out that a couple of gameplay elements I enjoyed were also removed — again, likely for the sake of keeping the Switch from bursting into flames while you play.

Multiplayer has been axed, which, I get, but the omission also resulted in Nexus missions getting dropped. And that's really disappointing because I enjoyed doing Nexus missions solo. It's also a problem because you can still, in theory, spend the quicksilver you're supposed to earn from these cooperative-focused missions on special items. But without being able to take on these missions I can't earn any quicksilver, so I can't actually buy any of the special gear I want, even though the vendor is still there and I can still look in the shop.

It was also a bummer to discover that Settlements aren't in the Switch version, either. I know they weren't to everyone's taste but I liked having a tiny town I could expand and semi-customize, which would slowly earn me some extra goodies over real-world time. Their absence doesn't keep me from enjoying myself, but it's one of the game's many distractions that I had fun with and now it's gone.