No Man’s Sky Just Out-Starfielded Starfield and It’s Kind of Embarrassing

So, this is wild: Hello Games just shadow-dropped another free update to No Man's Sky - and it casually out–Starfielded Starfield.

One of the biggest complaints about Starfield, and honestly the reason why so many players bounced off it, is how fragmented it feels. You go in expecting a seamless journey across the galaxy, but instead you get hit with a parade of loading screens. Want to fly to a planet? Nope. You hop in your ship, pick a destination from a menu, watch a cutscene of your spaceship flying through space, then you pick where you want to land and - surprise - another loading screen.

For a game that promised space exploration, it feels more like space fast travel.

Meanwhile, No Man's Sky gave us true freedom of exploration seven years before Starfield even launched.

The comeback story

Of course, we can’t forget how rough No Man’s Sky was at launch. It was buggy, barebones, and overhyped to the point of becoming the poster child for gaming disappointments. But then came the Cinderella story: Hello Games never gave up. They just kept rolling out free update after free update, quietly transforming it into one of the most beloved space sims out there.

And now? They’ve gone and dropped a new update that feels like it was tailor-made to dunk on Starfield.

The Voyagers Update

The new Voyagers Update introduces large, fully customizable starships. You can build them out, kit them to your liking, and actually walk around inside them while they auto-navigate to your destination. Want to open the hatch mid-flight and float into the void? Go for it.

And the customization menu? Yeah, it looks suspiciously like a beefed-up version of Starfield’s ship builder. Except here, it’s attached to actual freedom, not another set of menus and loading screens.

So while Bethesda’s space RPG limits you to menus, No Man’s Sky keeps doubling down on immersion and exploration.

The timing couldn’t be funnier

The irony is delicious. Right as Hello Games drops this update, Bethesda has been forced to confirm a leak: yes, they’re finally working on improving Starfield’s space travel. The teased “cruise mode” promises more rewarding journeys, less menu-hopping, and maybe - finally - the kind of spacefaring freedom that players expected at launch.

But the thing is, Hello Games already delivered it. For free. Again.

Starfield is still a good game with potential, but No Man’s Sky just proved that the underdog space sim is still the king of actual space exploration. One game keeps talking about the future. The other keeps delivering it.