Updated Title Publisher
Updated Title Publisher
Updated Title
Published Title Score Editor's Choice Publisher
Published Title Publisher

No Man's Sky

How to use the Quick Menu

By
Paul McNally

Even after playing a lot (and I mean a lot) of No Man’s Sky I still find myself clunking around the menu system. Even hundreds of hours of gameplay in, there is still a nanosecond where I have to process what I need to do to get where I need to be. That moment when you are hailed while in Pulse Drive always causes me panic as I fumble around for the correct button quickly enough so as not to miss the incoming event.

What is the Quick Menu in No Man’s Sky?

There are a plethora of options in NMS’s Quick Menu system.

Besides the inventory and the crafting menu, which then also have their subsystems and various tabs there is also the Quick Menu - but the Quick Menu is only Quick if you know how to use it - otherwise, it’s just another confused game mechanics that you have to click around trying to find what you need.

The Quick Menu contains access to things like the Galaxy Map, Summoning the Anomaly, and your Starship Communicator among other things. Perhaps even more importantly there is an option to Quick Charge your equipment without going into the menus so you can quickly sort out your ship’s shields of Excosuit’s Life Support system with the minimum of fuss

How to Access the Quick Menu in NMS

Here are the following default key binds in No Man’s Sky to access the Quick Menu. So if you have not changed your control settings these should work for you out of the box.

System Binding
PC X-Key-Filled
Xbox Xbox-Dpad-Down
PlayStation DualShock4-DPad-Down
Switch TBC

Here you can change your secondary weapon or even your multi-tool

How to use the Quick Menu in NMS

Access the Quick Menu using the control above, depending on what system you are playing No Man’s Sky on.

From there a small taskbar will appear at the bottom of the screen containing icons you can horizontally scroll through - if you have ever used an Apple Mac, you will be instantly familiar with the process.

Some of the options only require a single click, such as Summoning the Anomaly, but others like recharging equipment or the Communicator need a further choice.

Other useful items can be activated from the Quick Menu too. Things like your torch can be turned on and off here, and that’s something that has no obvious way of doing so otherwise.

Also if you get to the point where you have purchased more than one multi-tool and are wondering how on earth to switch between them, as there is certainly no obvious option elsewhere in the game, this is also achieved via the Quick Menu.

No Comments
No Upvotes
User profile pic

Comment submission error:

The comment must be at least 1 character in length.

Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Hello Games
  • Platforms,
    PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, XB One, XB X|S
  • Guide Release
    27 April 2022
  • Last Updated
    11 January 2023
    Version History
  • Guide Author

Share this free guide:

This ongoing guide for the amazing No Man’s Sky includes the following:

  • Tips and Tricks to get started
  • Technology Upgrades
  • Building a Base guides
  • Crafting Guides
  • Mission Guides
  • Encounters
    As well as this there is also information on the game’s numerous updates, as well as the forthcoming Nintendo Switch version of No Man’s Sky.

Get a Gamer Guides Premium account:

Quick sign up

Already have an account?

Quick log in

Don’t have an account?