Can Last Oasis become the next No Man's Sky after full-game rework?

Interestingly, there's a minor similarity between Last Oasis and No Man's Sky, barring a simple one that is something that every developer will want to avoid. The former has had a pretty poor launch, just like the latter, despite showing initial promise. However, the developers don't seem to be giving up on the game, having been one of their most prominent critics. What has now followed is a major shift in the game's end goal, which will indeed affect the playerbase.

When one considers the initial premise and setting of Last Oasis, it certainly looks quite promising. The Earth has stopped rotating, and the only habitable place is a small piece of land. So, naturally, that place is heavily contested by players who have to do anything to survive. In some ways, the base building and onus on survival are similar to that of No Man's Sky. While No Man's Sky focuses on exploration, Last Oasis takes on a more streamlined approach akin to games like Rust. However, the developers have made it quite clear in the past that they aren't happy with the overall product, and as a result, they have proceeded to make some fundamental changes.

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The changes made to Last Oasis could revive the game as it did for No Man's Sky

There has been no shortage of criticism for Last Oasis, and despite the initial promise, its reception has died down. Many players felt that the game wasn't engaging enough, despite calling itself an MMO. While many developers go against the tide to defend their product, this group did the opposite.

Earlier, chadz from Donkey Crew caught some headlines with a stunning criticism of their own game. The developer was vocal in his dislike and stated how things have turned out quite differently from how they had initially envisioned everything.

This will seem quite familiar to those who have been engaged with the development of No Man's Sky. It was supposed to be the grandest of space exploration games, but was quite a different experience upon release. There was barely anything that shouted quality, and the game's excited fans were thoroughly disappointed. However, Sean Murray and his team at Hello Games accepted the problems and shortcomings and continued working on the game to improve it.

One would find this a similarity to Last Oasis, which has now been relaunched. According to chadz, much of the work that has gone into it was to construct the game from the ground up. In many ways, the game now has completely new angles that weren't there before.

In terms of changes, Last Oasis has made some major ones from its previous direction. The game's main talking point was the Walkers, basically the mobile bases that players carried around. That will no longer be the case as players will now concentrate on static bases.

Earlier, the chances for a player's base to be destroyed were relatively high. However, it seems that the game is becoming more of a PvE than a PvP focused one now, with the environment offering harsher challenges. Of course, Walkers are still present, and players will have to use them in exploration, but their destruction will now cause far less damage compared to before.

Similar things happened in No Man's Sky when Hello Games realized some of their promises were farfetched. Back then, the team concentrated on fixing the bugs and adding feasible features. With technological advancements came better scope for innovation, and today's No Man's Sky is a far cry from what was released in 2016.

Whether Last Oasis can be another similar success story will only be revealed in the coming weeks. However, the future looks bright for a development team ready to accept criticism. Donkey Crew seems to have done just that and shifted the game's emphasis completely. It remains to be seen how most of the playerbase will respond to these changes.