No Man’s Sky’s Outlaws update is a solid Han Solo fantasy

If you’re a placid, peaceful player, it may be easy to pass on Outlaws, the new No Man’s Sky update targeted toward the rogues and rascals of the galaxy. Hello Games will allow you to continue exploring the planets and building bases, or searching for lore fragments. But Outlaws enables a whole new style of play, which turns the player’s Traveller into an under-the-radar smuggler who can pick up dangerous missions and carry illegal supplies across monitored borders in the galaxy.

This is a pretty archetypal sci-fi fantasy, and there are times where it works very well in No Man’s Sky. There’s a lot of joy in plotting out a supply run, ping-ponging between stations, submitting fraudulent passports to hide my footwork, and stopping Sentinel scans from detecting the high-value goods I have packed in the back of my little ship. Even if everything goes well, or if it’s just me, I never get in any kind of trouble. I might have to give up my cargo or pay a bribe if I am less fortunate.

Space combat is smoother in Outlaws; the ability to lock on to my opponents means that I no longer spin in circles in space, chasing an enemy that is always just on the edge of my peripheral version. The Squadrons feature allows me to summon a couple of brothers to my side. Plus, I have the option to spend even more money on my Squadron. If the authorities pursue me, I will fight them back. It’s not easy, as the Sentinels are a relentless and numerous foe — but it can save millions of units on cargo.

If there’s one complaint I have about Outlaws, it’s that the expansion just doesn’t feel pirate-y enough. The idea of expanding pirates brings out a wild abandonment and sense of adventure. Pirates are unchained, pursuing freedom and treasure above following the petty laws of society. But No Man’s Sky is a quieter kind of game; I feel more like I’m doing paperwork at the space DMV than flipping off the space feds as I do a warp jump out of there with my ship full of illicit goods.

In a strange way, I don’t really mind that the pirate fantasy of Outlaws is incomplete. This is partially because I love smuggling, and partially because this is Hello Games. By constantly updating the game, and adding new layers and complexity to it, the developer earned their trust. Even if you don’t travel to these villainous crime systems, Outlaws complements the dozens of other tiny updates that have brought No Man’s Sky in space. These planetary dogfights are very different from the battles that take place in space. While I am traveling across planets’ surface, I observe freighters entering the system. I travel with a little Sentinel by my side, and protect my Settlement from waves of hostile, newly adapted Sentinel attackers.

I have no doubt Outlaws represents a new way to play role-play in No Man’s Sky ;. It’s still fun, and it’s also functional. I just want a little more yar har and rum in my pirate fantasy. And as always, I’m willing to wait to see how Hello Games iterates on what it’s already built.