No Man’s Sky Aquarius: Best New Features

As open-world exploration games go, few can match the depth and breadth of No Man’s Sky. The game has had 34 major updates so far, all of which were released as free DLC by the developers, Hello Games. The latest major update is Aquarius, which is primarily focused on the new fishing mechanics.

The Aquarius update for No Man’s Sky also adds a number of other new gameplay features, such as additional food recipes, a new exocraft, more things to discover, and an excellent new community expedition that shares the same name as the update. Overall, the Aquarius update and associated expedition give a lot to No Man’s Sky fans and extend the survival gameplay as well.

7 Tentacled Figurine

A New Ship Bobblehead

• Looks like a comedy squid.
• Does not give any bonuses.

Hello Games began adding ship cockpit bobbleheads to the game back in 2020 and has continued to give away the blueprints for additional bobbleheads with each update and expedition. The latest addition is the Tentacled Figurine.

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This bobblehead doesn’t give any passive bonuses as many of the previous bobbleheads have, it is purely cosmetic. However, it does fit with the theme of the Aquarius update very well, being a strange squid-looking creature. For players who enjoy collecting bobbleheads in No Man’s Sky, this is a great new addition for them. It looks great in the cockpit of exotic class ships as well.

6 Fishing Focused Discoveries

With Catches Tracked

• Keep a record of the fish you catch.
• Compete with yourself to set new records.

With the addition of fishing to No Man’s Sky, players have also been given a way to track their catches in the Aquarius update. A whole new section has been added to the discoveries catalog to facilitate this.

Fishing records show each type of fish that can be caught, giving details on where they can be located and the type of environment they prefer, and the weather they can be caught in. Fish that a player has never caught are grayed out. Fish the player has caught are colored in, and show additional details such as the largest specimen a player has caught.

5 New Cooking Recipes

Fish And Seafood Recipes

• Turn raw fish into cooked food.
• Every player gains these recipes.

As part of the Aquarius update for No Man’s Sky, a number of new cooking recipes have been added. Each of these uses some form of raw fish as one of the basic ingredients needed to cook the food.

Recipes that have been added to the game include fried fish, grilled fish fillets, pickled fish, and fish steaks among others. Overall, this adds a fun new gameplay loop to the game. Players can now go on fishing trips, and then come back and cook all of the fish they catch to make useful food.

4 Automated Fish Traps

Catches Fish Over Time

• Can only be placed in shallow water.
• Has a 1 hour cycle.

Some No Man’s Sky players may not enjoy fishing for the raw ingredients to cook the food mentioned in the previous section. The good news for these players is that the Aquarius update added automated fish traps to the game, which solves the problem.

The automated fish trap can be constructed and placed in shallow water and will float on the surface trying to hook fish. The trap takes an hour to cycle completely, after which time it should be completely full. The trap has 4 separate hooks, each of which will catch stacks of different species of fish. It is a shame there is no similar automated way to milk animals as well.

3 New Exo Vehicle

The Exo-Skiff

• Can be used as a deep-water fishing platform.
• Cannot move under its own power.

Many of the species of fish that have been added in the No Man’s Sky Aquarius update can only be found in deep water, out in the ocean. This means the player cannot fish from the shore and catch them, they need some form of platform to fish from in deep water.

There are a couple of solutions to this problem. Firstly, a player can use their ship to stand on and fish from, with the ship hovering on its jets over the water. Secondly, a specialized Exo-Skiff was added to the game in this update, which can be deployed straight from the player’s exosuit. The Exo-Skiff also has plenty of cold storage to keep fish in.

2 Aquarius Expedition

• Revolves around the new fishing feature.
• Has some great rewards.

Every major update to No Man’s Sky comes with a new community expedition, and the Aquarius update has an expedition of the same name. This new expedition is entirely focused on the new fishing mechanics, with the player completing milestones and phases that involve tracking down and catching specific fish.

Some of the rewards are excellent, and include a complete deep-sea diver armor set and the Lost Angler’s Fishing Rig. It takes around 10 hours to complete the expedition from a cold start, or even quicker if a player pays the cost in nanites to bring their main ship and multitool into the expedition.

1 Fishing

A long Awaited Addition

• Basic fishing mechanics more luck than skill.
• Many different species of fish to catch.

One of the most commonly requested gameplay features to be added to No Man’s Sky has been fishing. Finally, in the Aquarius update, Hello Games has finally fulfilled this wish. However, it must be said that the fishing mechanics are somewhat basic in practice.

That being said, where the new fishing mechanic in No Man’s Sky shines, is in the massive number of species that can be caught. Many of these are only catchable on specific planets, or in specific weather for example. Overall, a fun new addition to the game.