No Man’s Sky Continues to Evolve With ‘The Abyss’

If anyone thought Hello Games was finished with No Man’s Sky after implementing the NEXT update earlier this year, they’d be absolutely wrong. The developer has launched a brand new update for the game today that dramatically fleshes-out the previously underwhelming nautical aspect of No Man’s Sky. With “The Abyss” update, players now have  every reason to dive into their favorite planets’ oceans and see what there is to see.

While “The Abyss” doesn’t reshape the game in the same way that the “NEXT” update did, it does appear to be quite impressive nonetheless. As seen in the trailer above, Hello Games has improved the detail and variety of all underwater biomes, added new elements to seek out, and placed special alien treasures for players to find and collect. It’s not really clear what one can do with these treasures yet; they might just be items for players to sell, or perhaps they tie into the new story line accompanying this update.

No Man’s Sky – The Abyss also brings base building into the underwater space as well as a new vehicle called the “Nautilon.” The base shown here looks like little more than a series of hub rooms connected via open walkways, but the ability to place aquariums in these hub rooms makes it likely that these underwater habitats will share many capabilities with their dry land counterparts.

As for the “Nautilon,” it appears to function as an easily accessible multi-purpose vehicle. The mini-sub can be summoned to any ocean on the planet at will, and it can be docked at the player’s submerged bases. With so many additions and changes over the past few months, it would be understandable if Hello Games decided to slow their pace a bit. However, it sounds like that’s the last thing they plan on doing. It’s been a long road for No Man’s Sky and Hello Games, but it looks like t set the developer is on realizing their vision no matter how long it takes.