Recs.
Updated
SpecsUpdate
Pros
Pro Freedom to choose how you want to play
Ally with factions, trade or just be a pirate by attacking freighter spaceships. When trading with NPC aliens, you build up a positive reputation with the faction they belong to. Alternatively you can also be hostile and attack trade ships, or even be attacked by NPC pirate spaceships. Both can be ways to get what you need, so do whatever suits your play style. You can choose to follow the path of the Atlas, or find your own way to the center of the galaxy.
Pro Massive galaxy to explore
Thanks to the fact that the entire galaxy of No Man's Sky is procedurally generated, the amount of planets to explore is almost endless. The number of planets would be 18,446,744,073,709,551,616. However, the fact that 2 players managed to find each other in game on the first day, seems to make this number quite questionable.
Pro Endless procedural generation
This game procedurally generates almost everything. Your spaceships are procedurally generated, so are the planets, moons, every animal on these planets, the resource nodes, trade routes, etc. When discovering new species or planets, players get to rename these and leave their mark on the galaxy.
Cons
Con Total lack of true diversity in the planet generation
You can visit 18 quintillionplanets, true, but once you have seen the five or six different biomes you encounter in the game, you get only more of the same. Plants, animals, rock formations, all repeating themselves over and over again. Frustrating! They should have some algorithm which mixes or mutates the seemingly very few building blocks of the procedural generation, in order to avoid constant repetition of the same elements. And, by the way, the Next update seems to have only aggravated this frustrating problem. Not worth buying, at least until Hello Games correct this issue, which, in this particular game is a really central one.
Con Poor initial PC port
The advantage of the pc port is that field of vision can be broadened. That said, the initial PC release version of NMS suffered from graphics stuttering, crashes and bugs that might force the player to load a previous save. Patches throughout the weeks following the PC release have solved most of these issues though.
Con Expensive
No Man's Sky is a pretty big production for an indie game as the team of devs and artists consisted of 14 people in the later stages of development. The game stands out above most indie games in size, features, technology and graphics. Along with the amount of enthusiasm from the gaming community, this has allowed the studio to set the launch price at $60 (or €60).
Con No clearly defined missions
The objective of the game is to ultimately reach the center of the galaxy. However, the player is completely free and unguided from the beginning. You figure it out for yourself as you start mining, crafting and upgrading your ship and gear. This game doesn't have a big story to tell.