Should I get this game or Elite Dangerous?

[Hairy Barry #NFTAnalyst]

Elite Dangerous is cheaper but from the way I heard No Man's Sky described from reddit threads like this

https://www.reddit.com/r/NoMansSkyTheGame/comments/3cyyzm/elite_dangerous_is_essentially_a_minor_subset_of/

No Man's Sky is literally just Elite Dangerous but with MORE.

I also really value the crafting ability :( Idk if it's worth the extra cost.

[Bad Rando]

Keep in mind that it's possible to put on an eyepatch and peg leg to get NMS, and it won't detract from the experience. Trying before you buy (In the future when the price drops to at most 20 dollars instead of wasting 60 dollars now) can make a difference. But it also affects your preception of the game. I'm probably vague with all that but take it as you can.


The funny part is, I ended up buying Elite:Dangerous instead. The base game without Horizons is fun. But there's no denying that it doesn't get repetitive. The key difference is that you actually get rewarded and you actually feel like you're doing something in Elite. As repetetive as it gets of course.

Another thing to worry about is the mechanics. With mods, you can fly low among other stuff in NMS, but in Elite, flying and landing is much more interactive and realistic, and I never get tired of doing that. Additionally, while both have you flying around the spaceship and landing on planets (Depending on the game, it's DLC), You never get out of your ship on Elite, while you will in NMS. NMS is very simplistic. It's a simple game (That most wouldn't believe because of the performance strain the game's voxel generator gives your PC) but can be rather beautiful at times. The game is essentially a walking simulator and screenshot machine to me, where I'd land on a planet, look for resources, and once I have them I'd just walk around and take screenshots of everything. And the whole uploading feature and discovering other people's stuff sounds cool, it's just another gimmick.

Elite is different, and despite you being in a vehicle all the time, a lot more interactive with, well, pretty much everything NMS has sans landing on planets with water and life. It's like learning how to drive a car for the first time. That's the best similie I can come up with for now.

No Man's Sky (While was promised to be) ISN'T Multiplayer as of now. And putting on your peg leg won't make any difference as to whether or not your online experience is different. Because there is none.
Elite is. Most starting systems have a few players here and there. (They are hollow rectangles on your map) and you can see them fly around and land. PVP exists as well. Other players can attack you, if you carry good cargo. Or you can team up and either trade with other solar systems or be a band of Space Pirate CMDRs if you really wanted to.

On the topic of combat, the on foot combat in NMS is very lackluster. You get hit once and your hand goes flying back and you have to wait for it to slowly come back to resume shooting. It's not that slow, but it's still slower than most FPS games. Animations can be wonky as well. (Why does it look like I'm running and gunning while I'm underwater?) Your Mining Laser or your BoltCaster can be used to defeat hostile animals or sentinels. The weapon itself comes in a lot of visually different but similarly functioning variants. However you can modify the BoltCaster to either be a rapid fire SMG or a Shotgun with a ton of spread and recoil. Apparently more modules similar to changing the overall playstyle of a weapon is coming soon. Grenades are also used, if you have slots for it, and they are able to destroy the environment around you until it's a certain depth.
In space combat is tolerable for newcomers to dog fighting. There's a target in front of the enemies for you to shoot, you shoot there, and the enemies die. Simple, but how simple can it get before it gets boring? Especially with a fully upgraded weapons slot, where ships can and will melt in less than a second.

On the Elite side of things, and keep in mind that I JUST started playing Elite 3 days ago (But see how much I can say about it with like 10+ hours of play time vs 100 hours in NMS?) If you're buying Elite without Horizons, then you'll be in space combat in most instances. It's really recommended to do training first, as they'll get you used to the weapons and controls.
To fight, you'll first have to deploy your hardpoints. Then you have to target the enemy. The rest is self-explanatory. Just fire away. Now you'll find a sense of difficulty with the amount of time it'll take to beat enemies that are better than you. Or even in the same skill set. You can buy weapons and replace your current ones with them. (Mining laser counts as well.) I haven't looked at all the possible options and customization for ships, but I DO know this.

The handling for different ships in Elite will be noticable when you buy a new ship. Different ships in Elite cost different amounts of currency. They all are special and achieve more than what NMS promised.

Every ship in NMS handles nearly the same. Key differences to me were like half second differences. This one turns a half second slower than this one. THis one has a slightly wider turning angle. Once you start upgrading it, you WILL notice the difference in handling, but the general audience wouldn't know that until they do. Because the process to upgrading your ship in NMS is tedious. You have to know which upgrade is a handling upgrade and pray to RNGsus that you find the blueprint and material for it. OR you can buy a better ship for 170 million units.

Even so, with all of this detail in mind, I haven't even scratched the surface in a comparison between these two games. One I need to play more, and the other I played too much of with and without mods. At the end of the day, it IS ultimately OP's decision on what to get. But if you need a little push, No Man's Sky is NOT worth 60 dollars. You're scamming yourself. IF you want to spend 60 dollars on a good space themed game, despite being a different genre, buy Elite:Dangerous with the Horizons Season Pass. I don't have Horizons, and the game itself is still really enjoyable and relaxing. But I heard that Horizons adds on that much more to the experience.
And if you REALLY want to play NMS JUST to see how it REALLY is, get your eyepatch ready or wait for a heavy discount or sale if you're against being a space pirate. Just don't spend the 60. It's not worth it.