BY ALEX WAKEFORD

You may not be able to leave your house, but you can still visit over 18 quintillion planets in Hello Games’s No Man’s Sky…

In an infinite universe where you can pursue a thirty-hour story, explore alien worlds, build bases, go bounty hunting, play with your friends, and so on – my interstellar odyssey is all about taking pictures. No Man’s Sky has seen some huge updates lately. Just last year, we saw the ‘Beyond’ update bring an expansive multiplayer for up to 32 players alongside VR integration for Windows-compatible headsets.

Since then, we’ve notably seen the ‘Living Ship’ update in February where a new organic kind of vessel for the player was introduced alongside new story content, and released just yesterday was the ‘Exo Mech’ update where (as you might’ve guessed) you’ll be able to explore planetary surfaces safe from extreme conditions in your very own mech.

Mechs. With lasers. And jetpacks.

What more could one want?

Every update for No Man’s Sky has been free and each one has added a whole new level of value to the experience of the game. It hasn’t simply met, but far exceeded its original promises and Hello Games is showing no signs of stopping.

The sheer amount of freedom that the player has in No Man’s Sky is incredibly extensive, it’s very much become a game where you effectively get out what you put into it – not unlike Sea of Thieves (which we previously wrote about the other month).

Perhaps the best basis of comparison here is to say that it’s like a modern Freelancer.

But where I might’ve once felt inclined towards getting the biggest, baddest warship and a fleet of freighters, my ambitions have become a lot more humble over the years.

Now, I gather the resources needed to ensure movement across lots of worlds in different systems to travel and take screenshots using the game’s photo mode.

(Click image to enhance!)

Escape velocity Flyby Humble beginnings No time for caution Hope those clouds aren’t solid… Planetary descent ascension_test Dark planetoid rising A night’s rest On tides of light Wreckage on the horizon Hypersleep Parallax Blueprint for a slow machine

There’s a whole sub-community in No Man’s Sky’s playerbase dedicated to virtual photography and their content is absolutely stunning.

ResetEra has a thread for photography in No Man’s Sky, and the Twitter account ‘Pictures From No Man’s Sky’ has thousands of images from across the universe – if you’ve never played the game before, just a cursory glance at the passion and creativity of its community is enough to make you want it.

Back in 2016, Sean Murray said that he wants players to feel “as if they’ve stepped into an old sci-fi book cover” every time they pick up the game.

Not only has that been achieved by the look of the game itself, but you can effectively make your own cover with the tools Hello Games puts in our hands.

Should you be in need of a game to play during this quarantine which can spark some of your creative flair, there’s never been a better time to get into No Man’s Sky.

Did I mention that it has mech suits now?

Inspired by the adventure and imagination that we love from classic science-fiction, No Man’s Sky presents you with a galaxy to explore, filled with unique planets and lifeforms, and constant danger and action.

In No Man’s Sky, every star is the light of a distant sun, each orbited by planets filled with life, and you can go to any of them you choose. Fly smoothly from deep space to planetary surfaces, with no loading screens, and no limits.

In this infinite, procedurally-generated universe, you’ll discover places and creatures that no other players have seen before – and perhaps never will again.

No Man’s Sky is available (and, at the time of writing, on-sale for 50% off) on Xbox, PlayStation, Steam, Humble Bundle, and GOG.

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