Recent reviews by Carmen Monoxide

Incredibly innovative game!

2 years after launch they were still updating the game. The entire time their reputation was in the toilet - nobody new was going to purchase the game, and the game didn't have microtransactions or anything to earn them money, they did this entirely as a reparation to the people who purchased the game. Two years on, things changed and the NEXT update came out, which in a lot of peoples mind took the game up to the standard people expected at launch. This is when I purchased the game.

Ever since, the developers have been pouring new content into the game, listening to community feedback, and improving the game beyond what anybody expected this game to ever become. With the launch of Visions hot on the heels of The Abyss, two major updates both within the last few weeks alone, NMS has seen the addition of an long list of community requested features including underwater biomes, a submarine, more planet variety, new base building stuff, the ability to collect trophies from your travels, a whole new plethora of exotic planet content such as new enemies and structures, and at this point it's safe to say that A) The game is finally worth getting, B) It's on sale constantly so even if you're hesitant about buying the game at full price, buy it at 50% off, and C) this absolutely gets my vote for the "Labour of Love" award.

This game is funny but also a bit nightmarish (scary). A very good game indeed. I like the fact it is set during the cold war in an alternate universe. 10 out of ten!

DAY 1 REVIEW:

Pro:
- Nice launch, barely any bugs and runs well, good job Haemimont!
- Scratches that same itch as Rimworld
- More in-depth than I expected, I thought it would just be a cities: skylines with oxygen, but there's a whole logistics layer including trade routes, drone zone of control, the ability to add switches and valves to power / fluid pipes, etc
- Lots of fun stuff to discover, really suprised by some of the weird stuff I am finding, and paths the narrative is taking.

Neutral:
- Best played on harder difficulties, lower difficulties are a bit TOO easy and it just becomes a city builder, which may suit you better depending on how you like to play. If you REALLY want a difficult challenge along the same lines, just play Rimworld.
- I can understand why the cartoonish artstyle may put people off if they are expecting something with a little bit of realism, which the game does try to push itself as seeing as most of the technology in the game is real. My main problem is that the first people on Mars get this giant dome, instead of a small HAB module like the Mars Direct / Semi-Direct mission plans, but if you prefer that style just play Kerbal Space Program, another fantastic game. I might make a mod to change/extend the early game.

Cons:
- Possibly overpriced, IMO from a customers perspective £20 would be a little more fitting, that's just me
- Would greatly benefit from an ironman mode!
- Music is pretty bad, and the good music station is repetitive, I mute it and turn on Spotify
- Fiddly controls, especially when dealing with assigning drones. They have to be assigned one at a time, which is tedious at best.

While it has had a shakey, unstable alpha between the addition of planets and now, I reccomend this game now as it is far more stable and playable than it used to be, especially with the latest physics update. The modding community is fantastic, and just the other day me and my friends launched our first space probe on our survival server! A week of work to get a rocket launch facility online and the feeling of satisfaction when everything worked was nearly on par with Kerbal Space Program. Highly reccomend.