No Man's Sky's The Cursed is a spooky expedition for Halloween set in a collapsing reality
Out today, with a new flying saucer ship.
We've only just said farewell to No Man's Sky's fishing-themed Aquarius expedition, but already there's another here to take its place - and this time it's a special, spooky themed event straddling the boundary between one reality and the next.
No Man's Sky's The Cursed expedition starts today and runs for a comparatively brisk three weeks, taking space explorers on an adventure that'll see them navigating a collapsing reality where time can shift unexpectedly, "day spinning to night at a vertigo inducing rate".
And that's not the worst of it; as players journey across this twilight universe and the boundaries of reality weaken, they'll be haunted by visions, voices, and spectral entities - some benign, others considerably less so - from another dimension. Developer Hello Games teases "enemies and boss battles at a scale not seen before in No Man's Sky."
To survive this spectral onslaught, players must maintain their Anomaly Suppressor - which replaces their Exosuit's usual hazard protection - and stay safe in their Boundary Starship, a new Giger-inspired flying saucer. And with no hyperdrive technology to rely on, they'll also need to traverse the cosmos using No Man's Sky's ancient portal network.
"Haunting voices leak through from another dimension, providing guidance, information, strange blueprints... and mystery," Hello Games teases. "Players will have to decide who these voices belong to, where they are coming from, and if they are to be trusted..."
By completing The Cursed expedition's various milestone objectives, players can unlock a range of exclusive rewards, including a Cthulhu-esque Horror Exosuit customisation, bioluminescent pets, and their very own UFO-like Boundary Herald Starship. Full patch notes for today's update can be found on Hello Games' website.
Additionally, the studio confirms there's still more in store for No Man's Sky, including "several more surprises" due "in the coming weeks". One of those is an update specifically designed to take advantage of PlayStation 5 Pro at launch in November, but we've also yet to hear more about the Worlds Part 2 release teased alongside the massive Worlds Part 1 update back in July, so perhaps that'll also rear its head before the year is through.