No Man’s Sky’s Interceptor update is here — new ship, enhanced combat, and a universe-wide threat

No Man's Sky Interceptor capital ship space battles

(Image credit: Hello Games / No Man's Sky)

The games industry’s greatest comeback story is a shining example of how to win back the hearts and minds of gamers from even the most disastrous of launches — and that story seems far from over.

Having taken players to the deepest depths of the ocean, through the eerie corridors of desolate freighters, and on expeditions that span the universe, Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky is set to send players to Sentinel worlds to face challenging new foes, learn the secrets of their technology, claim ships as your own and take on their capital ships in its latest update, Interceptor.

No Man's Sky Interceptor corrupted Sentinel planet — (Image credit: Hello Games / No Man's Sky)

Strange new worlds

Interceptor brings a slew of content with it, most of which is centered around a universe-wide threat corrupting the Sentinels and their worlds. Think The Last of Us in space, as crystals sprout like cordyceps from the twisted and bizarre new forms of the Sentinel forces.

Keep an eye out for enormous semi-arachnid machines and swarms of corrupted Sentinel spawns ready to relentlessly track down and hunt any traveler they come across.

Combat improvements

These changes aren’t simply cosmetic, as the Interceptor update also brings with it an overhaul of the game’s combat. Enemy movement, aggression, pathfinding, and animations have all been updated, giving each type of enemy you’ll encounter new ways of behaving. Some of which will now lay cloaked in waiting, ready to attack players without warning.

No Man's Sky Interceptor Corrupted Quadrupeds — (Image credit: Hello Games / No Man's Sky)

A new ship, and cockpit

The interceptor ship class is one of the most varied to date and makes use of No Man’s Sky’s procedural generation to ensure no two are alike. Players will also be able to hijack and abscond with Sentinel interceptors, granting them an up close and personal view of their vestigial technology in an all-new cockpit.

Capital ship battles

What better way to break in your new interceptor than taking to the stars for No Man’s Sky’s large-scale ship battles? Here players can open fire on Sentinel capital ships sent to counter troublesome travelers for a chance at scoring some high-value rewards amidst a pulse-racing array of laser fire.

No Man's Sky Interceptor Sentinel ship — (Image credit: Hello Games / No Man's Sky)

VR improvements

Alongside a number of bug fixes, Hello Games have included new ways to customize the VR experience of No Man’s Sky. Some of these include inverting flight stick controls, adding more options for precision when base building, and customizing the position and size of the Multi-Tool projector menus.

No Man's Sky Interceptor robotic curiosities — (Image credit: Hello Games / No Man's Sky)

Outlook

This is just a hint of the content included in the Interceptor update, with a ton of new content still left for players to find during their time in the stars. Keep an eye out for a new Sentinel Jetpack and Multi-Tools, new customization options, and a new Nexus mission to fight back the corruption spreading across the universe.

Head over to the No Man’s Sky website for a breakdown of everything new in the Interceptor expansion, along with the full patch notes for update 4.2.

Rael Hornby, potentially influenced by far too many LucasArts titles at an early age, once thought he’d grow up to be a mighty pirate. However, after several interventions with close friends and family members, you’re now much more likely to see his name attached to the bylines of tech articles. While not maintaining a double life as an aspiring writer by day and indie game dev by night, you’ll find him sat in a corner somewhere muttering to himself about microtransactions or hunting down promising indie games on Twitter.