Initially, No Man's Sky received scathing reviews. The flashy advertising campaign did not quite match what players actually got.
Nevertheless, Hello Games managed to turn things around, and today No Man's Sky has mostly positive reviews on Steam (78% rating).
Hello Games boss Sean Murray noted a 1% increase in the Steam rating and expressed hope that in the foreseeable future they might climb another couple of points:
“Guys, we just reached 78% positive reviews in "All Reviews".
In 2021 we reached the Mostly Positive mark (70%), which took 5 years.
Mathematically, each [subsequent] percentage point is much harder to gain than the last — I never thought it was possible, but guys, maybe one day we will reach "Very Positive" (80%)”.
More than 7 years after launch, No Man's Sky continues to gradually improve its reputation. Throughout all these years, the game has been supported “for free” — simply buying the game is enough, and updates with new content are delivered at no additional cost.