No Man's Sky Hype?

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Since the release of No Man’s Sky, there have been countless critiques and criticisms of it on the internet. There have been issues to how the multiplayer aspect of the game was described by creator, Sean Murray. Many people were under the assumption it would be like Minecraft. As a result, many players were let down by what the game ended up being. This of course led to getting mixed reviews and people shitposting about how disappointing it was to them. I decided that I would play this game finally, and see what all the commotion was about. I wouldn’t have been able to do it if it wasn’t for my friend, Dylan. He just recently moved to my house in Tempe and of course, he brought his copy of No Man’s Sky with him. Thankfully, I didn’t have to pay the ridiculous sum of sixty dollars to get a chance to take No Man’s Sky for a spin. I was so glad that I got the the opportunity to write about such a controversial game.

(The first thing I saw when I started playing)

The game starts with your character stranded near your crashed ship. There isn’t much of a tutorial beyond telling you to make a few parts to get your ship up and running again. Luckily, my friend Dylan guided me along as I searched for iron, plutonium, and several other elements that I needed. Going into my journey through No Man’s Sky I kept an open mind. I wanted to understand, as well as hopefully appreciate what it had to offer. Unfortunately it began with tedious resource foraging, as well as the intricate and confusing inventory system. As you play it gets easier and gathering resources becomes more simple once you know what resources you need and how to identify them. Most people coming into it really wanted it to be something like Minecraft. However, after playing it, I can honestly say they are not comparable games at all.

(A base on the planet I named Karnpenetrated)

No Man’s SkyPawn Stars A crucial element of legend, Big Hoss. I also named a planet Karnpenetrated because of my affection of the Magic The Gathering card Karn, Liberated. To me, this was one of the coolest features of the game. I know that there was controversy early on about players both being on the same planet and not seeing each other. However, I don’t think that detracts from from the value of exploring, as well as naming things you see along the way. On the off chance someone comes across a planet that I’ve been to and sees a Big Hoss, I would hope that they laugh about that. Taking this idea further, the concept that someone else has been to this far away place as well, and even before you have, is mind blowing. is the idea of exploration. Discovering new worlds, plants, animals, sentient beings, and cultures. You are given the ability to name the plants, animals, and planets you encounter on your adventure as well. I of course could not resist this at all. I ended up naming an animal after

(A Big Hoss I fed carbon to)

As you progress, you’re making your mark on the universe when you trek on from planet to planet. You’re a pioneer out in space, discovering cool new forms of life, and possibly seeing the things others have found. This is just how I would play the game. Although there aren't any strict guidelines to it, there are several ways you can play. To someone who is interested in exploring, and discovering new places and creatures along the way it’s fantastic. You can go about it however you want, but I really like to focus on the aspect of discovery.

(A sentinel keeping watch over the planet I was on)

One main portion I found fascinating was the discovery of knowledge. This generally was regarding the three main sentient alien races, the Gek, Korvax, and Vy’Keen. Most of the knowledge you gather is on the languages of these alien races. The benefit of learning the languages can lead you to get better things, access to better trade goods, improved trade prices, resources etc. For myself, I would want to learn the languages to know more about each of them, as well as master the languages. According to Sean Murray, you really only need to learn enough to trade and understand roughly what they are saying. But honestly, this is the first time in a game that I have played where discovering and learning a language of another species is possible. So for me, if I were to grind No Man’s Sky and have a large goal, it would definitely be to learn the entirety of a language.

(A Korvax that tried to poke me with needles)

No Man’s Sky is a game that got a ton of attention in the short time that it’s been out. Mostly negative, but also some positive. I’m not sold on the game mainly because of it’s price. I think that if it was say, twenty or thirty dollars, that would be much more reasonable. For me personally to spend that much on a game, it has to be something like The Witcher 3. If the price had been lower, I think people would’ve been much less disappointed in it. It’s still incredibly controversial and awesome to me. Of course, I didn’t spend sixty dollars on it, which has a substantial effect on how I feel about it. So as someone who got to play the game, explore the massive and breathtaking universe it takes you to for free, it’s fantastic. I think that this is a great game that has so much potential. I don’t think No Man’s Sky was what it was made out to be, but nonetheless, it’s innovative and fun and I’m excited to keep playing it.