No Man's Sky
Release date: June 21
Most modern open-world games seem like they stretch on forever; No Man’s Sky actually does. Created by small UK studio Hello Games, previously known for silly stunt game Joe Danger, this indie idea gone widescreen is really more of an open-universe game. The first-person survival sim is essentially infinite, as the game is procedurally generated. This means every single star anchors a solar system and the estimated 18 quintillion (!) planets — including their alien life forms, environmental dangers, exploitable resources and secret-revealing artefacts — are created on-the-fly by algorithms and random number generators. Alongside the core exploration, combat and trading gameplay, No Man’s Sky is also a shared universe. So you can work with other gamers, sharing planetary coordinates or uploading discoveries to the collective Atlas database, even if you never directly interact with them. The final frontier is really big after all. (Hello Games / SCEA, PS4)
Most modern open-world games seem like they stretch on forever; No Man’s Sky actually does. Created by small UK studio Hello Games, previously known for silly stunt game Joe Danger, this indie idea gone widescreen is really more of an open-universe game. The first-person survival sim is essentially infinite, as the game is procedurally generated. This means every single star anchors a solar system and the estimated 18 quintillion (!) planets — including their alien life forms, environmental dangers, exploitable resources and secret-revealing artefacts — are created on-the-fly by algorithms and random number generators. Alongside the core exploration, combat and trading gameplay, No Man’s Sky is also a shared universe. So you can work with other gamers, sharing planetary coordinates or uploading discoveries to the collective Atlas database, even if you never directly interact with them. The final frontier is really big after all. (Hello Games / SCEA, PS4)