No Man's Sky just added Pokemon battles to its ever expanding universe. The Xeno Arena update (which I'm still convinced must have started life as an elaborate April Fool's joke) lets you take the animal companions you've registered and use them in turn-based battles. At first, I figured this wouldn't really be that cup of tea; I can't say the battles have ever been my favourite part of the Pokemon games. Then I remembered that every new No Man's Sky update is immediately available in VR, and curiosity got the best of me.
The companion system in No Man's Sky has always been a neat, if somewhat trivial part of the game, but now I'm able to take my beasties and square off with intergalactic rivals, adding depth and a reason to recruit and register more creatures in my compendium. It's all particularly brilliant in VR, allowing you to oversee the battles as if you're standing there at the holographic table where the showdowns take place. Honestly, I don't think I'd ever considered how the turn-based Pokemon formula would work in VR, and while No Man's Sky's version is a pretty straightforward one, there is something great about physically being in the space where the sparks are flying.
