No Man's Sky is now rated Very Positive on Steam, 8 years after its disastrous launch.

Cyberpunk 2077 has often been hailed as the greatest redemption story in videogames history, but No Man's Sky is also a contender. Hello Games' sci-fi adventure game has climbed up the Steam ratings ladder to "very positive".

No Man's Sky has at least 80% positive user reviews, which is a huge improvement from its early days. The Wayback Machine shows what it looked like one year ago, in August 2017. Positive reviews were coming in but the overall rating was stuck at "mostly negative", thanks to the large, weighty number of early negative reviews.

It took five years and 17 free, "game-changing" updates to hoist the game into a "mostly positive" overall rating. And earlier in 2024, the next step on the ladder was within sight: Hello Games head Sean Murray said in April, "I never thought it possible, but guys we might hit 'Very Positive' (80%) one day." It took five years, 17 "game-changing updates" and free to download to get the game to a "mostly favorable" rating. In 2024, the next step was within reach: Hello Games' Sean Murray stated in April that, "I never imagined it possible, but we might hit "Very Positive" (80%) oneday."

We are here. Murray wrote, "Holy shit to you guys -- it happened," on X. "ALL REVIEWS - Very Positive. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You have no idea how much this means to us."

As we said earlier in the year, it is "a great symbol win" for Hello Games but not a game changer in any practical sense. No Man's Sky has already been a huge sales success, and is widely regarded as a great game. It's one of the few games that can be found on both our "worst launch" and "best games list" at the same time. This Steam rating won't have a real impact on the future of the game, but symbols are important, and this one is big.

According to my rough calculations, 100,000 more positive reviews - and no negatives - would bump the rating up five points. This would still be well below the mark. Murray has said that the math is difficult. Even if the final number isn't achievable, this new landmark is still a great achievement.

Hello Games has also launched Expeditions Redux, which allows you to play (or replay, if they were missed) the community expeditions of the past year "in a ‘reduxed’ form so that they can be completed with relative ease and rewards unlocked." The first, Omega is now live and runs until December 11, 2018. If you don't have No Man's Sky already in your library, the 2024 Steam Autumn sale is offering it for $24/PS20/EUR24 -- 60% off the regular price.