Though it got off to an extremely shaky start, No Man's Sky is now generally considered to be one of the best space survival sims out there, rivaling the likes of Elite Dangerous and EVE Online. Over the last six years, Hello Games has worked tirelessly to make No Man's Sky a game that lives up to its potential, and the hype that once surrounded it. And by all accounts, the developer has succeeded, with an unprecedented amount of free content having been added over the years.
In April of last year, No Man's Sky received another massive update, this time adding Expeditions to the game. As opposed to the standard procedurally-generated formula of No Man's Sky's usual gameplay loop, Expeditions sought to add a few hand-crafted events to the game, each one designed with unique mechanics and contexts in mind. Since then, six Expedition missions have released, each one more ambitious than the last. The latest Expedition, titled "Leviathan," has just arrived, and along with some exciting and worthwhile loot, there are some pretty unique mechanics on display here.
Everything Added With No Man's Sky's Leviathan Update
No Man's Sky seventh Expedition, Leviathan, tasks players with seeking out a temporal anomaly. Once players have arrived at the anomaly, they'll become trapped inside a time loop. From here, the usual No Man's Sky gameplay is flipped on its head, instead becoming an intense roguelike survival game, where death means starting from scratch.
Once inside the loop, the difficulty is ramped up to Survivor level, meaning that players who are used to lower difficulty tiers might need to bring in some friends to try and break the cycle. As players make their way through the time loop, they'll encounter Memory Fragments. These Fragments are essentially randomly generated loot that changes between each loop.
While the player's general goal is to continue through the loop, face off against a mysterious new creature, and break the cycle, they will be able to take breaks to go and visit Specialist Polo, who will give the player some vital rewards for researching the anomaly. The more players engage in Polo's research, the stronger the Memory Fragments will become, meaning that players around the globe will be working towards a common goal and helping each other out.
Participating in Polo's research and continuing through the time loop will uncover more about the story at the heart of this anomaly, eventually revealing the titular big bad of the Expedition, the Leviathan. This gigantic space whale may not be as evil as the legends say, but it's certainly linked to the time loop, and players will need to put a stop to it somehow.
For taking part in the Leviathan Expedition, players will receive three limited-time posters, a mesmerizing Temporal Starship Trail, and a sleek Whalestalker cloak, one of the new clothing additions from the most recent Outlaws update. The big prize for completing this Expedition, however, is a brand-new capital ship frigate: the hulking Leviathan itself.
Of course, as is the case with every No Man's Sky update, the featured bases at the Space Anomaly have also been refreshed. These bases are a handful of community creations that Hello Games has decided to highlight, and each one can be easily accessed via the teleporter near Iteration Mercury. The Leviathan update is available now and will run until about July 6, giving players plenty of time to hop into No Man's Sky's intriguing temporal loop.
No Man's Sky is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X, with a Switch version also in development.
