8 Things You Need To Know Before Buying No Man's Sky

3. There Is A 'Story', But It's Vague As Hell

If you like looking at any form of literature and reading further into it - like say for gaming, the end of Firewatch or the themes of Metal Gear Solid V's exploration of language - you'll be more than okay with how No Man's Sky handles its narrative.

That is to say, you can completely miss the driving force if you're not visiting the 'Space Anomaly' pointers that appear on your HUD, or going out your way to visit a force known as 'Atlas' on the Galactic Map. Doing so fleshes out (but only a bit) the characters of Nada and Polo, two other space-faring explorers who ask questions as to the idea of this reality being a simulation, or about how the nefarious sentinels seem to be everywhere, yet have no origin.

Atlas itself appears to be some allegory for God; an all-knowing entity that requires the constant feeding of information to appease. It's by following the 'Atlas path' ('Paths' are connecting lines of planets across the cosmos) that you'll reach the centre of the galaxy fastest - and the 'end of the game' - but it's also entirely possible to miss everything entirely.