The first No Man’s Sky update of 2023 is called Fractal, and it goes live on all platforms on Wednesday, Feb. 22. Fractal brings a host of changes, many of which are focused on enhancing the game in virtual reality.
Fractal includes the Utopia Speeder, a starship that skims across the surface of a planet at high velocity, which is great for exploring a homeworld or checking out a stunning paradise. There’s also a Wonders Catalogue, which shows off a player’s discovery records across planets. Explorers can look back at past planets, looking at great heights and strange beasties.
Hello Games introduced virtual reality to No Man’s Sky in 2019, and with the release of the PlayStation VR 2, the developer has returned to overhaul some of these features. This includes more tactile options for flying a ship, grabbing plants, or punching objects, and head and hand tracking so players have to unholster their Multi-Tool or scan with their Analysis Visor.
The Fractal update also overhauls the game’s options for all platforms to include more accessibility features and customization. The Switch, PlayStation, and Steam Deck versions of No Man’s Sky also support gyroscopic controls, and Switch players additionally get access to the Nexus and Quicksilver missions as well as the “Trace of Metal” story.
Finally, there’s a new Expedition called Utopia, where players work together to rebuild an abandoned solar system for the enigmatic Utopia Foundation.