No Man’s Sky Preview

Due to the increasingly instant-gratification nature of video games (and indeed, of all forms of entertainment), we’re losing our capability to appreciate more cerebral elements. The thrill of exploration and adventure isn’t rooted in shock and titillation. In fact, as a child searches for creepy-crawlies beneath rocks in the creek, the virtual traveler should be fascinated in what he finds. It’s not about constant battle or endless drama; it’s about creating a singular, memorable experience. And that’s precisely what Hello Games set out to do with the insanely ambitious No Man’s Sky .

The sheer size of the game environment is what will turn heads. In fact, it already has, as its procedurally generated approach creates an endless series of possibilities. And when we say “endless,” we’re almost being literal. Rather than utilizing the same basic approach all games use – i.e., a narrative wrapped around an adventure that is 99 percent action and about 1 percent story/drama – these developers have taken a big risk. There are no quests or missions in No Man’s Sky . There’s essentially no direction whatsoever. You’re given a few bare essentials and a basic life pod, in which you can putter around at the edge of space. How you progress is entirely up to you.

You can be a bounty hunter or even a freight security guard, or you can start out by mining resources on various exotic planets. There are more careers out there but in order to find them all, you’ll have to keep branching out. At first, it’s going to feel daunting and intimidating as there’s no hand-holding at all; there’s no “auto-travel;” there’s no quick portal that magically shoots you from one star to another. You have to manually pilot your little craft everywhere and while this may sound tedious, just imagine what you’ll see along the way… You won’t be seeing the same stuff over and over, that’s for sure. This particular virtual universe is unbelievably expansive.