Skip to main content

That crazy, open galaxy space sim No Man’s Sky got a fresh look at The Game Awards

Hello Games’ latest trailer for No Man’s Sky, a procedurally generated, multiplayer outer space wonderland coming to PlayStation 4 at some point in 2015, is all about travel. Take a stroll around on a planet’s surface (hey, check out that nifty mech-thing). Zip through spaceways at warp speed in your own, personal spaceship. Or step through an alien portal on an unexplored world because hey, that’s totally something a smart person would do, right?

No Man’s Sky‘s “Portal” trailer debuted at The Game Awards on December 5. Hello founder Sean Murray took to the stage to introduce the trailer, then went on to share the news that instrumental electronic rock band 65daysofstatic (think Boards of Canada) will be providing the soundtrack.

The big remaining question is that elusive release date. The vast, completely random galaxy in No Man’s Sky is no doubt filled with secrets, but only Murray and his team have a sense of when we’ll get to dig them out.

Adam Rosenberg
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…
No Man’s Sky’s new Prisms update lives up to the game’s original promises
no mans sky return beyond

Returning to a game you haven’t played in years is always a strange feeling. It's like seeing a childhood friend from your hometown after years apart. You can still see the child you spent so much time with in their eyes, but also the age and growth that you missed out on due to your separation. They still laugh the same and still have an intense love for movies, but now they walk a little differently and have an ostrich tattoo on their ankle that you feel too awkward to ask about.

Playing No Man’s Sky in 2021 feels like seeing that childhood friend again. I jumped into this quintillion planet galaxy at launch and thoroughly enjoyed it, zits and all. However, I bounced off from it after a while and only returned for a moment when the base-building patch arrived. For years it was out of my mind as I focused on other games, projects, and general life stuff. With the new Prisms update being released, it felt like the perfect excuse to don my exosuit and travel out into the stars once again.

Read more
No Man’s Sky base-building guide
No Man's Sky Base Building Guide

No Man’s Sky was changed forever by the launch of the Foundation Update in 2016, with maybe the most significant addition it introduced being the ability to build bases. Since then, the game has continued to evolve in plenty of ways, including adding the ability to play in VR, and one system that’s gotten a major overhaul is base building.

What was at first a slow, lengthy, sometimes frustrating process has been greatly simplified, with clear signposts to point the way toward your first base and a much quicker introduction to the system overall. In fact, putting down roots on a planet to start building your base in No Man’s Sky is now one of the first tasks that will be assigned to you in the game’s opening hours.

Read more
No Man’s Sky: How to raise, train, and breed companions
No Man's Sky

No Man's Sky has totally reinvented itself over the past few years. Originally, the game was a little bit of a disappointment. With lagging, bugs, and glitches, the game was often left on players' shelves. However, as time went on, Hello Games found new and creative ways to not only fix some of the problems but also give us new reasons to return to the stars.

The most recent patch for the game even introduced a new way to interact with the environment. We're now able to have alien animal companions to help us explore the universe in ways we haven't done before. Each animal friend will lend their different skills to help you explore the galaxy and find new materials. If you're having trouble figuring out how to manage your new, sweet alien friends, we have some tips!

Read more