# No Man's Sky Cosmos 22 Hacker News commenters recommended No Man's Sky Cosmos and 31 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 1 of 13 months. **Verdict:** People recommend it as a cheap, chill sandbox with an ambitious universe that has grown a lot since launch. Critics say it feels sparse after a few dozen hours. ## Why people recommend it - Chill sandbox to play freely (3 comments): "it's just a chill game you can potter about doing whatever you want in" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49629631)) "I like NMS the way it is, like Minecraft, a sandbox." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49646563)) "It's a chill sandbox and that's fine." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49630969)) - Ambitious scope, impressive procedural universe (2 comments): "I've never seen something so damn ambitious pulled off to the extent I've seen in NMS" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49648246)) "The team is excellent and they ship incredible ambitious work." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49628783)) - Good value for the price (2 comments): "an unbeatable deal for what it is as a game but it's a frustrating near miss" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49629866)) "I've definitely got $25 worth of entertainment from it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49630718)) - Improved over time, positive player reviews (3 comments): "the Steam reviews now are generally quite positive from players who've logged tons of hours" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49634720)) "thousands of people are continuously happy, the subreddit expresses joy" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49630052)) "It has a Steam Review Score of 84%" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49630371)) ## What people warn about - Launched before ready, many bugs (3 comments): "their decision to launch before the game was ready" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49629394)) "Many of the day 1 game breaking bugs still exist and every time I play it every couple years, they're still there." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49635302)) "hyping up the game beyond what it could actually do when it was released" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49629924)) - Thin content after a few hours (2 comments): "I won't deny there's probably only 20-40 hours of "real content" in the game." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49630633)) "Every time I come back to the game and try a new update, the game is indeed sparse after a few hours, and the novelty wears off" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49637245)) - Shallow, samey, easy systems (2 comments): "a lot of it can feel samey (most of the scanning) and kinda boring" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49629190)) "The systems in the game are very shallow, and overall, everything is too easy, which makes the game feel bland." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49637224)) - Repetitive missions and weak story (2 comments): "story is lacking and only reason to progress "main quest" is to unlock certain things by doing the same thing over and over again" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49646747)) "the missions to go to some random town and talk to someone and escort them back? Horrible." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49635614)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Minecraft](https://hackerapproved.com/p/minecraft.md): 222 recommend - [Luanti](https://hackerapproved.com/p/luanti.md): 23 recommend - [Voxile](https://hackerapproved.com/p/voxile.md): 16 recommend - [Terraria](https://hackerapproved.com/p/terraria.md): 14 recommend - [Garry's Mod](https://hackerapproved.com/p/garry-s-mod.md): 12 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://www.nomanssky.com/) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "No Man's Sky Cosmos", https://hackerapproved.com/p/no-man-s-sky-cosmos/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).