No Man's Sky is now one of the lowest rated games on Steam with 'overwhelmingly negative' reviews

Despite being one of the most highly-anticipated games of 2016, Hello Games' indie space exploration title No Man's Sky is now one of the lowest rated games on Steam. According to No Man's Sky's Steam page, the sci-fi sim now has an average rating of "Mostly Negative" overall.

However, recent reviews are "overwhelmingly negative" with just 11% of the 5,609 user reviews in the last 30 days being positive. The overall rating for the game is "mostly negative" with 32% of players of the 71,943 reviews in total giving the much-hyped game a positive review.

The PS4 version of No Man's Sky is also currently on sale for its lowest-ever price of $35 (£28) on Amazon, down from its original retail price of $60. The title is now being sold for $40 with an additional $5 savings for Amazon Prime members.

After four years in development, multiple delays, vicious death threats and legal disputes, Hello Games' sci-fi adventure was voted the most anticipated game of 2016 by Amazon UK customers, edging out other notable titles including Battlefield 1, Mafia 3 and Fifa 17.

Touting a near-infinite, procedurally generated world filled with stunning 18 quintillion planets, Hello Games' ambitious game had a bumpy launch in August, marred by a spate of technical issues and performance problems that left many excited fans disappointed.

The game also drew sharp criticism from underwhelmed fans citing a lack of features and allegedly misleading marketing with many demanding refunds for No Man's Sky.

After soaring to the top of the UK charts in its first week of release as Sony's biggest PS4 launch ever after Naughty Dog's Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, sales soon began to plummet, dropping by 81% in its second week on sale in the UK and continued to do so.

In September, the president of Sony's Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, said he understood some of the complaints from players who felt the game's final build failed to deliver on what its marketing campaign promised prior to its release.

"I understand some of the criticisms especially Sean Murray is getting, because he sounded like he was promising more features in the game from day one," Yoshida said, referring to Hello Games' founder and creative director Sean Murray.

The UK's Advertising Standards Authority confirmed last month that it had launched an investigation into the British studio's controversial game for alleged misleading advertising in response to "several complaints" from irked players.

The development team's lack of communication since the release of No Man's Sky has also concerned fans for weeks with gamers waiting for a response from Murray and the team regarding the game's current issues, promised post-launch content and other updates.

No Man's Sky audio chief, sound director and composer Paul Weir offered a small update on the game earlier this week in response to a fan inquiry.

"Sean is fine and we're all busy on the next patch," Weir tweeted.

Regarding the team's sporadic updates, he said: "I'm afraid I have nothing useful to say. It's entirely up to Hello or Sean as to when they want to talk publicly."

In August, Murray promised that the team would eventually add multiple new features including the ability to build bases and own space freighters through post-launch content updates.

According to their last development update published in early September, the team is currently working through the feedback and discussion from fans, assuring them that "you have been head and we are listening carefully".

"Our focus is first on resolving any issues people have with the game as it is, then on future free updates which will improve, expand and build on the No Man's Sky universe," the team wrote. "This is a labour of love for us, and it's just the beginning."

No Man's Sky is available now for PS4 and PC.