No Mans Sky - Review

My first game review, ever. Normally I try and stick with films or television but I think the game I've chosen is worth having a bit of a talk about. No Mans Sky is epic in its scope. A billed 18 Quintillion planets just waiting to be explored! To put that into perspective, if you were to visit every planet and spend one second on each, with no travel time between, it would still take you 5 billion years to do it!

So, with a game of that magnitude, where do you start? Well, you start on a random planet at the edge of the universe with a crashed ship and broken multi-tool (your multi-tool is like the swizz army knife of weaponry. You use it to scan, mine and kill things). Once you've fixed your ship and left your starter planet the universe is quite literally your oyster. You can pretty much do what you want although the central goal is to make your way to the centre of the universe. You can do this however you choose to. You can follow the coordinates of the in game galactic map or you can forge your own route through the stars. Along the way you can upgrade your suit, your ship and your multi-tool while coming into contact with a variety of different alien species.

The variety of wild life is extraordinary 

First and foremost, No Mans Sky is an exploration game. At least that's what I take it as. There's different elements like survival, combat and trading involved but exploration is what draws me in. The planets are procedurally generated using a complex system of numbers and equations. For this reason, each and every planet you land on is different. Some even have moons. Some are incredibly hot, others are ice cold. Others are toxic while some are dead wastelands. It is that wonder, when you first head to a planet that draws you in. Until you land you truly don't know what you will encounter. Of course, you do have clues as you approach. Red planets tend to be toxic or hot, white ones are generally covered in snow and ice. Seas and Oceans can also be made out from the depths of space.

Once you land on a planet, the wonder continues with the animals you encounter and the plant life.

Some of the scenery is the best I've seen in a game

The species of wildlife vary greatly with some being dangerous while others are docile and friendly. This, alongside the planets varying weather systems and climates is where the survival aspect of the game come in. Don't refuel your hazard suit and a toxic dust storm can kill you.

With all of this new discovery comes the opportunity to name your finds whether they be star systems, planets, planetary landmarks, flaura or fauna, all can be named and uploaded to the universe encyclopedia. For me, this did wear off quite quickly although not before I'd renamed one particularly hostile planet 'Hell Hole' and some of its creatures 'Evil Hell Spiders'. It is still a great idea though with your named discoveries being saved for others to find and see.

Some of the space stuff is great and offers a more action
packed alternative to the quieter planet stuff

Aside from the planetary exploration, you spend an awful lot of time in space. Whether it's making your way through an asteroid field back to a space station or fighting off space pirates, you'll rarely be bored. You can also attack trade freighters should you choose although this quickly attracts the attention of the in game police (referred to as sentinels these exist both in space and on planets and attack you based on a GTA style wanted level).

Personally, I'm really enjoying the game. There are repetitive moments, such as the mining aspect, but the sense of wonder when landing on a new planet or moon is great. Although there are no missions to speak of, you are directed to certain places which gives the game a sense of direction. While I don't think you could ever truly get bored with No Mans Sky (especially with Hello Games working on free updates constantly) I do think that it has a certain novelty value which could wear off. However, three days in and I'm still hooked and eager to visit yet another different planet. One thing I need to say before wrapping this up is that there are issues with the graphics and performance. On more than one occasion I've launched from a planet only to wind up in space almost instantly. Also, the graphics arent the best. However, with the pure magnitude of the game I can forgive these small problems. There are no load screens (apart from when you jump to a new star system) and you feel truly like you are in charge of your own destiny. Also, Hello Games have given us a whole universe to explore for gods sake!