I’ve recently started playing with my PS Vita again, after a long time of not really using it at all and having no real great use for the system, I went a long time without even charging it. But having to travel to work in the train and having spare time on my lunch breaks, I decided to charge the handheld again and have been getting a lot of use out of it. Mainly I just play PS One classics, especially Crash Bandicoot games and watch TV shows, but I do want something more from it still.
I started thinking today that with all the big games on consoles, there really should be something big on the Vita. It feels super neglected and its library is filled with some great games, but also a lot of small titles from small indie game developers.
That thought got me thinking really, No Man’s Sky was a massive game really and was something that everyone was talking about for months and months. Except when it came out on the PS4, it wasn’t the biggest hit with people (various reasons I won’t go in to) and not all reviews were great (see mine here). But the thing is, it’s a massive game that came from what seems to be a small indie developer, to me it seems like it could have been perfect for the PS Vita audience.
No Man’s Sky sees you as the player do a lot of mining, flying around in the ship, trading stuff and managing your inventory. Most of the complaints about the game from what I read online and from my own experience with it, was that it was a bit repetitive and I agree with that. On the PS4 or on the PC, when you sit down for a long time doing the same few things, it can be not the best experience for everyone. But the Vita could really be a great place to play this game.
On short train rides, bus rides or wherever you go, even during lunch breaks or short times when you have time to play with your handheld. It seems to me that it would be alright to sit down, relax a bit and explore some random planet or fly in space. No Man’s Sky did have this relaxing component to it and it would have been a great handheld game experience. If you’re just looking for a bit of time out, wondering around a nice planet for some time and listening to the games soundtrack can be quite relaxing in short bursts and honestly, the game would have been great on the handheld.
Although I do know the game isn’t perfect, I did notice when I played on the PS4 that the game had constant interruptions to refuel, fix your gun, manage your inventory and other things which do take the relaxation part out of the game quite a bit. But the component is still there to relax and play and explore and I think that’s what I want that when I travel around places. I don’t want an intense handheld gaming experience, I want a relaxing one. No Man’s Sky could have been that game.
I may be a madman to say it, but I believe with a few tweaks to the game, No Man’s Sky could have been a very relaxing and enjoyable experience on the PS Vita. For now I suppose, I can play it using remote play, but still, it would have been nice I think to have the game on the system itself.
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