10 Most Breathtaking Moments In Video Game History

7. The View - No Man's Sky

Controversy aside, No Man's Sky works - albeit briefly - in those few moments when the sheer scale of the universe is presented to you in a way that overwhelms the senses and makes you feel insignificant.

Say what you will about the myriad of issues surrounding the core game, but when you reach the peak of a hill or mountain and are met with a vast expanse of untouched landscape underneath a sky full of stars and orbiting planets, it's pretty visually spectacular. You feel urged to stop and admire the view for a minute or two, if only to escape the mind-numbing grind of mining for minerals.

It's too bad that these fleeting moments are buried under the rest of a fairly shallow game. Had No Man's Sky offered a more substantial experience, its resplendent sights and sounds would be all the more potent, which is saying something, because these moments are by themselves humbling and meditative. They are unquestionably the strongest element of a game whose reach truly exceeded its grasp.