No Man's Sky Echoes update features its first new race, a bunch of robots

No Man's Sky Echoes is about to introduce a brand new race of robots in its update later this week.

Last week, No Man's Sky developer Hello Games teased the Echoes update, touting it as the big update to celebrate the game's seventh anniversary. Now, we have a better look at the new update, and it turns out it's boasting a brand new alien race of robots, populating the wider reaches of the galaxy.

Hello Games says its aim with Echoes is to "breathe new life into the universe," and it's doing this with a "long-hidden race of robots with rich new story content." You can earn robotic parts to create your very own robot avatar by engaging in assignments and mysterious "rituals" with these newcomers.

Elsewhere in the Echoes update, huge new Pirate freighters are descending on the galaxy, bringing with them gigantic new space battles. No Man's Sky is doing its best Star Wars impression here, as you'll need to fly through trenches on ships to destroy shields and bombard the Pirate freighters with your weapons.

There's also a weird staff of sorts on offer in Echoes. You can assemble this special staff with scavenged parts, and then use it to better both your mining and combat ventures, levelling up the staff as you go to acquire different attributes that change how the staff function.

Finally, rendering quality and stability has been improved in Echoes. In particular, PSVR 2 and Nintendo Switch players will see big visual quality boosts, making everything "crisper" on both platforms. 

No Man's Sky: Echoes launches this week on Thursday, August 24 across all platforms, commemorating the seventh anniversary of the gargantuan game. 

Check out our guide to all the best games like No Man's Sky if you're after a different sort of spacefaring adventure.