New No Man's Sky update lets you become a galactic mayor

It still blows me away, as someone who was initially burned by its dismal launch state, that No Man's Sky is in the position it's in today. It's now one of the best space games ever made, and it's still delivering massive new features every few months, all these years later. The latest No Man's Sky update has now arrived, and it makes settlement discovery and management a much deeper part of the game. Oh, and you can now run the show and become the ultimate diplomat as your settlements' very own galactic mayor.

Building bases and communities on any one of No Man's Sky's bazillions of planets is a joyous experience. Just picking your perfect, scenic spot is fun enough, but then all the resource gathering, crafting, power generation, and construction needed to get things up and running is just as satisfying. However, stumbling across existing, inhabited settlements and claiming them as your own is pretty exciting too. With this new update, titled Beacon, No Man's Sky has overhauled and improved settlements, giving you new ways to interact with them and manage them in the space game.

Aside from simply being an overseer, players can now become a "town mayor" and "take ownership of multiple settlements," according to Hello Games. You'll be responsible for constructing new buildings and upgrading them over time to expand and improve each settlement under your leadership. Your citizens can all be interacted with, and each have their own abilities and attributes to manage. You can also welcome new residents, and diffuse any tensions between them.

If you're a prosperous mayor that can get your network of settlements in order, then you will of course be rewarded by way of heaps of rare and desirable resources. However, that'll also attract the attention of pirates that want to pillage your blossoming townships, so as mayor you'll be able to recruit squadrons of combat pilots that will loyally defend your hamlets should they come under siege.

As well as the existing settlement types, you'll now also be able to find new robotic villages scattered around No Man's Sky's endless galaxy. Featuring robot citizens and new sci-fi buildings, they'll make for a cool addition to your network.

The Beacon update for No Man's Sky is live right now and is a free update for all players across all platforms.

If the theme of this update has you in the mood for some similar thrills elsewhere, check out our lists of the best city building games and best management games. It's not just in the depths of space where mayors and overseers are needed, after all.

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