When comparing No Man's Sky vs DiRT 4, the Slant community recommends No Man's Sky for most people. In the question“What are the best PC games with infinite replayability?” No Man's Sky is ranked 25th while DiRT 4 is ranked 26th. The most important reason people chose No Man's Sky is:
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, languages, etc. When discovering new species or planets, players get to rename these and leave their mark on the galaxy.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
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, languages, etc. When discovering new species or planets, players get to rename these and leave their mark on the galaxy.
Pro Good graphics
The art style of this game is very colorful and saturated and uses hues in a way that it gives you an otherworldly feel. Graphics like these tend to remain good for a much longer time than classic 3D graphics.
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 Seamless space to planetary flight
Pro Freedom to choose how you want to play
Ally with factions, trade or just be a pirate. 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.
Pro Virtually endless replayability
Stages are procedurally generated as you go. This means that Dirt 4 has virtually endless replayability.
The custom stage creator called 'Your Stage' is fairly simple to use. You choose only the length and the complexity of the stage and on which country your race will take place. There are five countries to choose from: Australia, USA, Spain, Sweden and Wales.
Pro Great variety of terrains available
Races take part in five different countries around the world: USA, Australia, Spain, Sweden and Wales. Each of them with unique features and demands. Australia for example is gravel-based with tight zones and twists. Spain is mountainous with little margin for error.
Pro Lets you micromanage your career and facilities
In career mode you can spend earned credits on improving your facilities and as a result the effectiveness of your engineers.
You also get to micromanage your career, especially when it comes to sponsorship deals where you will constantly try to find better and better deals to increase your earnings.
Pro You can share custom tracks
If you create a custom track that you enjoy, or rather, if the game generates a custom track that you particularly enjoy, you can save it and even share it with friends who own the game.
Pro Brilliant sound effects
The sound effects are brilliant as well. From the buzzing sounds coming from the cars to the nature sounds coming from the track you are currently racing.
Pro Great visuals
Even though they could stand to be a little sharper, the visuals are very detailed. You can easily see and make out in detail the leaves as they rise above the ground once you pass on them, or the mud caked on the car you are driving.
The water visual effects are phenomenal as well. Especially the splash effects.
Cons
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.
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 Some car categories are not that well-covered
While certain car categories and eras are well-covered with lots of different models, some eras are left behind. The 2000s for example are represented by only a handful of car models.
Con Visuals lack a little sharpness
Some of the visuals lack a bit of sharpness found in other racing games. Especially shadows which appear a bit blocky.