Starfield and No Man’s Sky have a lot in common when it comes to space exploration. They’re both immersive sci-fi games with massive, procedurally generated worlds. Both allow players to refuel their ships, battle pirates, and explore the surface of moons. Both reward exploration but in different ways. Whether you want to reach a distant planet or enjoy the view between the stars, both games have you covered. That said, the two facets of exploration are travel and discovery, and these gigantic games rank very differently in those categories. Here’s everything you need to know about how space exploration in these games compares.
No Man’s Sky Sandbox vs. Starfield Instances
Space exploration feels seamless in No Man’s Sky. Your fighter lifts off a planet’s surface, breaks through the clouds, and bursts free of the atmosphere, sailing into space. The transition between atmospheric flight and space flight is glassy smooth, as is the transition to space stations. As long as the player is traveling within a single solar system, there are virtually no loading screens. Cutscenes are reserved for black hole jumps and transitions between star systems. The player is almost always in direct control of their ship. This level of direct control is the biggest point in NMS’s favor. When the game does have to load, it treats the player to a sleek traveling animation to maintain immersion.
Starfield’s universe is broken up into thousands of individual instances, so jumping between planets looks and feels the way it does in Mass Effect and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Pick a destination and trigger a cutscene. That happens whether you’re hopping solar systems or lifting off the surface of a moon. Atmospheric flight isn’t an option. The player only has direct control over their ship when piloting it in instances of space outside of moons and planets. The joy of exploration is also somewhat hampered by the frequent loss of control to cutscenes and loading screens. Simple graphical transitions would make the numerous loading screens bearable, but until Bethesda or some clever modder addresses that, they’re here to stay.
The Battle of Discovery
If travel is the first part of exploration, discovery is the second. Both games use procedural generation to create their many worlds and give players something to discover, but Starfield arguably does it better. In both games, the reward for exploration might be resources, a thrilling battle, or just a killer view of a distant star. It’s here that Starfield’s budget and massive team outshines NMS. Visiting Points of Interest, mining ore, and scanning flora and fauna play out similarly in both games. So do distress calls and pirate encounters. Few discoveries occur in space itself, but when the discoveries do come, they’re universally satisfying.
Even fans of No Man’s Sky admit that its procedural generation turns out worlds that feel a bit too familiar. Once you’ve seen a dozen or so planets in NMS, you’ve kind of seen them all. There’s more variety in Starfield, but even when the locations feel eerily reminiscent of somewhere you saw 10 hours earlier, the discoveries still feel better by comparison. Bethesda’s budget and team size aren’t comparable, and neither are the results, especially in combat. You can’t meaningfully talk about exploration in Starfield without addressing combat, because most exploring ends in a fight. Dogfights, surface battles, and even boarding parties are all possible, and all of it feels great. Combat in NMS is an afterthought.
Does Starfield or No Man’s Sky Do Exploration Better?
No Man’s Sky does better with the journey, and Starfield does better with the destination. Both games have flaws, but in their respective areas, each blows the other away. They offer fundamentally different experiences, and which one you consider the best depends upon the kind of player you are. If you like your space exploration seamless and mostly relaxed, No Man’s Sky is the game for you. If you want a sci-fi montage interspersed with chaos and big-budget thrills, Starfield triumphs. With both of these games now available to play, it’s clear that the ultimate winner is the player.
Starfield is available now for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
