It works - but it’s not pretty.
No Man’s Skyhas had a very strong redemption story.
So is this a worthy port?
Or is No Man’s Sky just ‘too big’ for Nintendo’s hybrid console?
No Man’s Sky is a fascinating and unique title.
That technology is used to create a highly open-ended sandbox.
And visually speaking, this release doesn’t impress very much.
Switch makes use of aggressive draw-in for virtually all screen elements.
Assets are often low-quality, particularly textures.
Expect to see chunky geometry and soupy texture-work for most objects.
No Man’s Sky uses TAA, but the coverage isn’t great.
Many screen elements, particularly those that intersect with certain effects, showcase sharp jagged edges.
In docked play, we’re looking at an 1152x648 resolution, while portable mode drops down to 896x504.
Outside of image quality the two modes do seem to be identical.
Performance-wise, we’re looking at a 30fps target with a v-sync cap, as you’d expect.
However, there are relatively frequent frame-rate drops.
Slightly more complex scenery can pull frame-rates to the mid 20s, even while simply walking around.
More complex actions, like firing at creatures or blasting away terrain, can cause similar issues.
You’ll also see some pretty hard stuttering at times when transitioning between planets and space.
For the most part though, that’s as bad as it gets.
However, there is a worst-case scenario that is worth covering.
Crank up the complexity however and you will absolutely make the game collapse.
A couple moments thereafter the screen was covered with graphical glitches, forcing a restart.
We end up with game-breaking graphical issues well before that point though, so the option is superfluous.
To contrast, the PS4 version of the game is more-or-less a locked 30fps.
Ultimately, No Man’s Sky on Switch isn’t a bad port.
However, the wide-open nature of the game with long, uninterrupted views really highlights the visual concessions here.
Pop-in and low resolutions leave many scenes looking barren and messy.
There’s other issues as well - the content cuts hurt, especially the absence of multiplayer.
No Man’s Sky is also a full-price title.
But what about players who are truly devoted to No Man’s Sky?
Ultimately, this is a serviceable but second-rate way to enjoy No Man’s Sky.
The compromises are many: cut-down visuals, poor performance, reduced features, and the occasional graphical glitch.
Perhaps this release, like the initial PS4 version, will be transformed into something better in time.
