No Man's Sky: 10 Core Gameplay Features You Need To Know About
"What do you DO in No Man's Sky?" Well...
No matter which way you slice it, No Man's Sky is something of an enigma. First announced in 2013, indie devs Hello Games pioneered the idea of coding an entirely procedurally-generated galaxy, built 'simply' from hundreds of thousands of mathematical formulae all bouncing off one another.
Weather patterns, creatures you encounter, the sounds they make and even the colour of the plant life, everything is uniquely generated right in front of you, every time. However, we're less than a month from launch, and that begs the question: Why do we still know precious little about what gameplay will look and feel like?
A new trailer entitled EXPLORE - one of four, with 'Fight', 'Trade' and 'Survive' still to come - dropped recently, and you can tell Sony have quickly realised they need to expedite a promotional cycle to get everybody up to speed.
So, with what's out there both in trailer form, interview snippets and everything in between, let's break down precisely what you'll be doing in No Man's Sky...
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10. The Main Aim Of The Game
The answer to "What do you DO in No Man's Sky?" is "Travel to the centre of the universe".
No Man's Sky doesn't feature a story - at least, not in any traditional sense, although the universe will have an expansive lore. Like MMORPGs or a less rigid The Division/Destiny, you'll forge your own tales out of which planets you visit, what creatures you encounter, how you go about acquiring crafting components and whatever else happens along the way.
I'll break this down across the article, but know that amongst the game's 18 quintillion planets, you'll start somewhere on the fringe of the cosmos, gathering up resources to upgrade your ship, gain better equipment, seek out traders etc., all in the process of exploring deeper and deeper, further towards an eventual goal of hitting the centre.