I will never forget the first time I saw Carl Sagan’s ‘Cosmos’. When I was a little boy, I think I was about 7 years, the contents of this epic documentary series represented the greatest adventure imaginable to me: to explore the universe.

So long, world!

To travel into the to the unknown. To reach for the stars. ‘Cosmos’ got me obsessed with the concept of space exploration. It manifested itself in my drawings, my LEGO creations and most importantly: my dreams. I would imagine owning a small but capable spacecraft that could travel anywhere I wanted to go, allowing me to explore strange worlds, meet alien lifeforms and discover faraway miracles on distant worlds, lightyears from home. I never stopped dreaming. Even today now that I have children myself I still fantasize about what it would be like to be able to just leave. To just leave this planet with all of it’s problems and dangers ahead behind and become a galactic citizen. It won’t happen in my lifetime. But the dream became a lot more real as soon as I heard of this game called No Man’s Sky that was being in development. I was mesmerized by the trailers and the prospect of a near-infinite universe, waiting for me to explore.

The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself. - Carl Sagan

The release of No Man’s Sky was not without it’s controversies. These controversies however have been talked about more than enough. I have enjoyed the game for what it is since day 1 and I’m only enjoying it more with every new release. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve been playing video games ever since ‘Space Invaders’ machines were the coolest thing ever? Maybe it’s because of the age that comes with that fact? Maybe it’s because it’s something else for a change? No. It’s because No Man’s Sky is the closest thing to the stuff I started dreaming of when I was the same age my son is right now. It’s how I imagined it. Maybe it’s even better than I imagined it.

The universe is a lonely place

No Man’s Sky is a lonely game. The sheer scale of the universe is as mind blowing as that of it’s real life counterpart. It was a whole new experience to me to know that it’s impossible to ever see every world in this game. In fact, it’s impossible for all players combined to visit every planet in No Man’s Sky. And I’m just talking about one galaxy. Reach the center of the Euclid galaxy and there’ll be a whole new one waiting for you. Some crazy stuff.

Interstellar tranquility

The sense of scale and beauty No Man’s Sky provides is a truly meditative experience. This game has absolutely no agenda. To some this feels pointless. To me it feels calming. I’ve heard it many times in guided meditation sessions: “You are completely at peace and you don’t have to do anything right now. Just take it all in and just be present. Right here, right now.”

“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” - Carl Sagan

Of course there are things to do. There are things to gather, technology to build, ships to acquire, discoveries to be logged, battles to be fought, and much more. There is however no requirement whatsoever to do any of these things if you don’t want to. Some consider this lack of objective boring or pointless. I consider it the most exciting thing I’ve ever seen in video gaming. I’m setting my own objectives. I’m writing my own story. I’m dreaming my own dream.

Taking a moment to capture this beautiful scene on a lush planet in the universe of No Man’s Sky

Turning a lonely experience a social one

A week or so ago I found out about the No Man’s Sky Galactic Hub. As soon as I learned about it I wanted to join. This was going to make an already mesmerizing experience even better. The NMS Galactic Hub is an effort of a small group of players to categorize one region of No Man’s Sky’s Euclid galaxy. It’s extremely rare to cross another player’s path in the vast universe of No Man’s Sky. I think I’ve found something discovered by someone else once or twice during several hundreds of hours in the game but other than that I’ve been alone. The Hub project changes all that dramatically. Once you travel to the “Rentocniijik Expanse” your star map will start lighting up like a Christmas tree. At this point every star in this galactic region has been discovered and players have already started to chart adjacent regions. It took me an entire day to reach the “Rentocniijik Expanse” which is actually fairly quick. Some people need hundreds of hyperspace jumps to get there. I got lucky finding myself on a black hole ring nearly touching the region. By a stroke of luck I ended up only 25 jumps away.

One of the two planets in the hub’s capital star system ‘Lennon’, named Drogradur contains a lovely surprise: several different Diplodocus-like creatures. These creatures were a part of the controversies surrounding the game at launch. Many thought these were not in the game and the trailers were misleading people in that department. They were wrong. The creatures exist. They’re just extremely rare.

The hype is real!

I’m now on a world littered with messages and bases created by other players, situated in a region packed with systems that have been discovered by other explorers. Joining the Galactic Hub has turned a lonely experience into a social one. And I feel this is just the beginning of yet another chapter in my adventures in No Man’s Sky. Recently, Hello Games added exciting new features such as base building, the ability to own giant freighters and more recently, planetary exploration vehicles. The universe of No Man’s Sky, as large as it already is, keeps expanding and keeps getting richer and more beautiful. Besides a huge list of new features the game also received a significant graphics boost and the ability to take absolutely breathtaking snapshots through it’s new photo mode.

My new base in the mountains of planet Drogradur in the Lennon system.

While certainly not without controversy, No Man’s Sky is amazing to some. It’s absolutely amazing to me. There’s really nothing like it. The game feels like a new chapter in 30+ years of gaming. My childhood dreams have come true, albeit in video game form. Escapism at it’s finest. A truly meditative experience. A lucid dream of galactic adventure and exploration. It might not be for everyone but it sure as hell is for me. Hello Games has quite literally made my childhood fantasies a reality. And the Galactic Hub has made it more fun than ever. If you’re a player and you’re reading this, consider joining me. It’s nice out here. We have dinosaurs!

Greetings, Interlopers. Your universe awaits.