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No Man’s Sky is a unique game that combines space travel, flying, engineering, mining, roleplaying, science, and adventure in a story that’s so big it’s reduced to… 16 16 16? Well, that’s part of the plot at least. I won’t spoil too much of the story in this actual article, but let’s just say that things can get a bit strange in No Man’s Sky. That’s not to say it’s not an adventure! No, on the contrary, this is probably one of the most fun games I have ever played, and I will tell you a little bit about why.

This game is very unique for many reasons, but one of the main is that it is procedurally generated. That is, the nearly infinite universe it is contained in really is practically infinite. If you build a warp drive for your starship and go to a new solar system, then do that again, and again, and again, and well, you get the picture. That is why in this article, I’ll make the argument that No Man’s Sky is the space game that everyone has wanted.

What is No Man’s Sky All About?

When you first start No Man’s Sky, you will be asked to select from a series of gameplay styles. It’s very similar to the game Minecraft in that you choose from options like normal mode, survival mode, creative mode, multiplayer, custom mode, etc. Ideally, you want to start on something like normal mode as it’s the most stable representation of the game.

Once you have started after very little preliminary steps, you’ll find yourself trapped on an alien planet with nothing but your space suit and a broken space ship. A HUD display built into your space suit will give you clues on what to do next. To summarize, you will need to harvest resources from your surrounding environment to repair your suit and ship and escape the planet’s gravity.

Once you are off the planet, that is the beginning of the story of No Man’s Sky, mostly involving a space traveler named Artemis. And man, is this universe big!

Getting Around in No Man’s Sky

Exploring No Man’s Sky is a little bit like really being in space with a few creative liberties. For example, each planet in the universe is completely unique with unique biomes, flora, fauna, and minerals. You won’t discover any advanced civilizations that I know of, but you will find their marks everywhere you go. Eventually, you will start to uncover larger plotlines and more things to explore.

You are not totally alone in this universe though. Every solar system has a space station where you can interact with sentient humanoid aliens and do things like trade, missions, get clues for the various storylines in the game, and upgrade your ship (or corvette as it is called once you are able to upgrade it.)

The world (or universe) is sort of your oyster as the saying goes. Just explore, get lost, go scuba diving on a hostile ice planet, dig a cave in a poison planet and mine rare minerals, research strange spring like birds on a moon made of lead, customize your space suit, make a sweet spaceship, do a space walk above a giant volcano planet and skydive to your doom. It’s totally up to you.

And it looks beautiful doing it.

Expedition Mode in No Man’s Sky

Additionally, there is something in No Man’s Sky called “Expedition Mode.” This is basically the developer’s way of providing new content and quests to keep you on your toes and provide you with a challenge. One of the interesting things about Expedition Mode is that it’s actually multiplayer, sort of like an MMORPG. There are also multiplayer aspects of the base game to begin with in a space station called the Anomaly; or if you want friends, you can have them drop into your lobby. But in Expedition Mode you can see other players darting around the stars with a nameplate above their head and literally run into them and co-op with them on missions.

Generally Expedition mode follows the same quirky anomalies and glitch universe storyline as the main game, but with more riddles and weird objectives that are quite specific and fun. Doing so unlocks epic rewards in the main game like corvettes, character customization, and resources.

Also, it’s worth noting that expeditions are timed. So, you may have a few weeks to a couple of months to complete every mission in the expedition before the server is reset and either there is a new a expedition or a gap before the next one.

One thing helpful for some folks that I have found with expeditions is that there is a No Man’s Sky discord server if you run a quick google search. It’s a great way to either drop into a voice chat, or type up some convo with other players and either collaborate or get help if you are stuck on a mission in either the expedition or the base game. It’s a great way to make new friends too.

Final Thoughts on the Game

This truly is the space game we’ve always wanted. A literal infinite universe that looks amazing, and real things to achieve in the game. I think there could be a little more development in the social mechanics of the game or perhaps even the storyline, but as far as a standard game experience, it’s quite good. If you are looking for a new game to check out that’s cross platform on almost every system, whether you’re using Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, or PC, it’s a fantastic way to take your typical mining, crafting, and survival gameplay to the next level.

And yes, this game is fairly suitable for most gamers. It’s rated T for Teen by the ESRB, but that’s only due to some of hostile robots and gnarly creatures in the cosmos.

Overall, I’d totally recommend this game and give it a 9/10 as my rating.

Anyway, that pretty much sums up my review. Definitely check this game out if you’re looking for a fancy new game to try. I am generally starting to veer away from indie games into either retro games or mainstream games on my platforms. Not because I’m not into indie games anymore, but that’s just what I’m playing at the moment. And I am selling games too, which you can find in my store link, so be sure to check that out. And anyway, thanks for reading Mr. Dave Pizza, and I’ll see you in the cosmos! 🙂 🪐