No Man’s Sky Sentinel Update Brings New Enemies, Improved AI, Additional Missions And More, Out Now

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Publisher: Hello Games
Developer: Hello Games
Release: August 9, 2016 (PlayStation 4, PC), July 24, 2018 (Xbox One), November 10, 2020 (Xbox Series X/S), November 12, 2020 (PlayStation 5), 2022 (Switch)
Rating: Teen

Hello Games has released a new update for No Man’s Sky called Sentinel and it brings with it a complete combat overhaul, new enemies, improved AI, new lore and missions, active camo, a Sentinel headquarters, and so much more. 

The update is now live on all platforms where you can play No Man’s Sky and Hello Games has released a new trailer to showcase all that awaits you in Sentinel. One of the biggest highlights of the update is that a mech can now accompany you on your galactic journey – it’s like having a dog except your dog is a massive mech that you can also ride in. Neat. You can see that and much more in the Sentinel update trailer below: 

Click here to watch embedded media

“The Sentinel update brings an overhaul of the combat systems in-game and enemies you meet, to create something much more challenging and exciting,” Hello Games founder Sean Murray writes in a new blog post. “No Man’s Sky is a game about exploration, but our universe has always been one filled with hazards and danger. Sentinels police the planets you explore, and have long been an element of the game we wanted to make more interesting, deep, and fun – whilst also allowing players to defeat and overcome them in a more meaningful way Fortunately, this update comes with a huge array of combat improvements and enhancements for the battle-scarred Traveller. You have access to new weapons and upgrades, like the high-energy Neutron Cannon, an active camo cloaking device, and a new electrifying stun grenade. You can even install an AI in your own Minotaur Exomech and have it protect you in combat.” 

Sentinels across the game are more formidable now, too, Murray writes. You’ll need to fight against new elite classes of drones, including heavies, summoners, repair units, and even Hardframe Exomechs as well. Sentinels can deploy their own mobile energy shields to block incoming attacks and they’re equipped with new weaponry like terrain-destroying grenades and plasma-powered flamethrowers that make the fight against them all the more difficult. 

“And for the brave, the locations of mysterious Sentinel Pillars have been made known, with exclusive rewards and mysterious stories awaiting those who would breach its robotic archive,” Murray writes. “With this Sentinel update, players will learn about the lore of how Sentinels came into being. As you work through a substantial chain of new story-driven missions, you’ll have the chance to re-program and adopt your very own friendly AI drone, as well as salvaging parts to create defences of your own.”

Plus, the Sentinel update brings with it a new Exobiology Expedition that will launch next week, with a ton of exclusive rewards too. Here are some other new additions coming to No Man’s Sky with the Sentinel update:

• Sentinel Hardframe Mech: Battle against a brand new robotic enemy, the huge and heavily armored Hardframe Mech that’s equipped with lasers, terrain-destroying grenades, plasma-powered flamethrowers, and a high-powered jetpack that allows it to launch across the battlefield. 
• Total Visual Overhaul For Weapons: All Multi-Tool systems, from the Mining Laser to the Scatter Blaster, have received significant visual overhauls and retools including new and improved projectiles and beams, muzzle flashes, lighting effects, refraction, new impacts, and more. 
• Advanced Combat Upgrades: New upgrades add more depth to combat, such as the ability to stun or incinerate targets with existing weapons. Plus, the Multi-Tool can deal extra damage to previously-tagged foes and if things get too difficult, you can flee under the new Cloaking Device, which will make you invisible, as the name implies. 
• AI Robotic Companions: Players can now reassemble and reprogram their own friendly robotic drone companion or even their own Sentinel Hardframe mech. 
• New Stories And Missions: Players can work with the crew of the Space Anomaly on a substantial new story-driven mission, or raid the sinister Sentinel Pillars to access their archives and probe the secrets of the Atlas and the World of Glass. 
• Combat Flow And Feel Improvements: Hello Games has implemented a vast list of tweaks and refinements to No Man’s Sky’s weapon feel and flow, “making for a more dynamic and impactful combat experience.” 
• New Drone Enemies: Regular Senintels have been overhauled, according to Murray, with heavy combat and shield drones, dedicated repair drones, and even advanced summoning drones to join existing patrols. 

“Last year saw the No Man’s Sky team releasing a ton of updates (including Companions, Expeditions, Prisms, and Frontiers) and our first expeditions (like Beachhead, Emergence, Pioneers, and Cartographers),” Murray writes. “I don’t doubt that 2022 will be just as productive for our small team.” 

While waiting for the Sentinels update to download, read Game Informer’s No Man’s Sky review and then read about a September 2021 update that brought NPC settlements to No Man’s Sky. For more details about this update, be sure to read the full blog post for it. 

Are you excited for this Sentinels update? Let us know in the comments below!