No Man’s Sky free update deploys the Minotaur Exo Mech

This year might be taking a toll on many people around the globe, but 2020 is an exciting time to get off-world and into No Man’s Sky. Earlier this year, Hello Games introduced living spaceships that players could grow from an egg. Now, the second free No Man’s Sky update of 2020 is bringing a deployable Exo Mech, called the Minotaur, which players can use to roam planetside.

Of course, the Exo Mech doesn’t so much “roam” as it does stomp around, like a Minotaur would. Just from watching the trailer, you can tell Hello Games has done an excellent job with the feel of the mech. It can also leap tall buildings in a single bound. There aren’t usually buildings on the planets of No Man’s Sky, but you get the idea – it can jump far.

The Minotaur Exo Mech is immune to all planetary hazards, allowing players to explore the worlds of No Man’s Sky more easily. It can also directly collect valuable materials, which is very convenient. Plus, its mining laser can be upgraded to a Terrain Manipulator, allowing you to bore directly into a planet’s surface.

That’s not a laser-shooting killer robot, it’s a Minotaur out doing some mining.

New Exocraft technologies

If you own a freighter, you can add an Orbital Exocraft Materialiser to it. This handy device will let you summon your Exocraft straight to you, provided your freighter is in the same star system as you.

Speaking of Exocraft, you can now equip them with solar panels to recharge their engines during daylight. Plus, scans performed by an Exocraft with a Signal Booster will now reveal all nearby points of interest. This will save you whipping out your Analysis Visor to find these objects. Lastly, if you’ve unlocked decals from the Quicksilver Companion Robot, you can now slap them all over your Exocraft.

You can check out the complete free update patch notes, including some nice quality of life changes to base building, graphical updates, and bug fixes, on the No Man’s Sky website. You can also pick up No Man’s Sky for PC through Steam for 50% off until April 13.