No Man’s Sky first gameplay impressions: five things we learned from the start of the game

The wait is finally over - No Man's Sky has arrived after years in the making.

Following years of E3 presentations, countless delays and a recent furore involving late review copies, does Hello Games' ambitious sci-fi adventure live up to its sky-high expectations?

Ahead of the launch, we took the game out for a test flight and played through the first few hours. Here are five things we learned.

1) It feels like Minecraft

The first hour and a half of No Man’s Sky is all about collecting items and crafting – and may prove slow for some.

Upon starting off, you're very much left to your own devices. You’re stranded on a planet with a broken ship, a spacesuit, a jetpack and a multi-tool, the latter of which can be used to scan, mine and collect resources from flora and fauna on the planet to try and fix your downed star ship – searching high and low for different elements to get the engine back online.

Venture away from your crash site and you'll bump into a host of impressive life forms – from bizarre, coral-style tube plants to cute, dog-like creatures that have an appetite for iron ore.

2) Walking is so, so slow

Although Hello Games encourages players to explore their planets, make sure you've got plenty of fuel when you land. Walking can become incredibly tedious. Expect to spend hours traversing larger expanses as you search for items and explore.

For those hard-to-reach areas, the jetpack will come in handy – but make sure you've got enough juice, or you'll come to an uncomfortable landing and take damage. Keep your slow pace in mind when venturing away from the ship – the first planet is high in radiation, so you'll need to find shelter or mine resources if you're to stay alive.

3) It's pretty – but not that pretty

No Man's Sky allows players to travel and explore a galaxy jam packed with more than 18 quintillion procedurally-generated planets. It might feel churlish to criticise a game that’s so mind-bogglingly huge, but this scale has led to visuals that, on close inspection, are perhaps not as sharp as some would have hoped for.

Textures are relatively low, while notable framerate issues may detract from the experience for some. There's also some pop up in the PS4 version we used – but for a game of this complexity, that's to be expected.

Still, it doesn't detract from some lovely vistas. An impressive day-night cycle helps make this opening planet feel alive and is an encouraging sign for what to expect.

4) The combat and inventory could do with some work

It won't be long before you bump into your first enemies – some flying drone-like robots called Sentinels. Armed with only a mining tool, you're tasked with bringing them down – which is harder than it sounds. Combat is slightly clunky and fiddly, especially as the drones move around a lot. Hold the mining tool down for too long and it'll need to recharge, leaving you vulnerable to devastating laser attacks.

The Sentinels also take a whopping amount of damage, so expect to die a few times when you first bump into them. The best tactic seems to be using huge rocks and plants as cover – making sure to stay away from open expanses. You'll also have to master a rather tricky inventory system to keep your shields, suit and mining tool charged. Again, this isn't quite as sharp as we'd like, but we're sure we'll grow into it.

5) Taking off is worth it

When you finally get off the first planet, No Man's Sky really comes to life. It's liberating flying across the expanse in two seconds that took you ten minutes to walk. Then, with a flick of your boosters, you're off – burning through the atmosphere and into outer space.

The transition is remarkably seamless, and incredibly impressive. By spending the first hour or two fixing the ship, you'll feel more connected and invested in it – and you know you'll have to look after it. It's also armed with blasters which can be used to mine asteroids for fuel as you traverse the galaxy.

Early on, the game does guide you towards certain planets. Make sure you have lots of fuel, as you'll need to use a super high speed boost to get to the closest planet – unless you want a 30-minute flight time.