There’s a lot to be excited for No Man’s Sky, which is releasing on June 21st this year in North America and June 24th in Europe. The prospect of exploring a galaxy, naming planets that you explore, discovering exotic wildlife, trading in space and so on is enticing, to say the least. Thanks to a recent press event, journalists have now taken a look at what the game is made of.
Ryan McCaffrey of IGN was one such journalist at the press event, and he reports seeing a progression of increasingly mathematically complex planets, ending up on a fully fleshed-out planet featuring fish, sea flora, palm trees, tall red grass, weird creatures and mysterious buildings, all accompanied by a ’70s-esque sci-fi movie soundtrack.
Among the things McCaffrey sees is the extremely cold planet of Balari V, where his character ends up slowly dying due to his suit having limited thermal protection. The game’s creative designer Sean Murray describes challenge as a critical element to the game. Among the things you can do in the game, Murray includes trading, fighting, exploration and pure survival.
An interesting new bit of information is that you must also learn the aliens’ language, which you can do by interacting with certain ‘Standing Stones’. Murray explains that there are several alien races, and you will have separate relationships with each. He also describes the game as a “non-linear RPG” in the context of upgrading the player character. Upgrades require resources, and harvesting resources from the planets you visit will be a necessity.
There are also, interestingly, no loading times in the game. Players can travel into space and onto planets with absolutely no breaks in-between. Up in space, there are pirate ships, military ships and more, and players are free to engage them at any point.
For more detail, check out the full IGN preview here.
Are you hyped for No Man’s Sky? What do you plan on doing in the game? Let us know in the comments below.