No Man's Sky (2024)

The non-linear and randomized nature of No-Man's Sky makes a traditional Walkthrough less useful than in many other games. Therefore, this guide is structured as a series of helpful tutorials.

The Goal

The goal is to reach the center of the universe, but the player has immense freedom in where they go and what they do. Even after reaching the goal, players may continue to explore the universe. Developer Sean Murray has hinted that new items or mechanics may become available after reaching the Center, and that it would be something of a "New beginning" for players who wish to continue their adventure.

Like many open world games, reaching the goal isn't necessarily the only objective in the game, as players will largely come up with their own goals while playing the game - whether they wish to become explorers discovering never-before-seen worlds, traders making profits off rare resources scavenged from planets, or space pirates raiding cargo and fleets of their goods and engaging in space battles.

Planets and Discovery

No Man's Sky is an exploratory science fiction game that uses unique procedural-generation technology to create a near-limitless variety of planets inhabited by unique plants and animals. There are a near-infinite variety of planets, creatures, and fauna to discover - so much that no one person will ever see all the game has to offer. These elements are expanded and altered through math to create no two entities that are every exactly alike, even if they function fairly similar.

Planets, and the creatures that inhabit them, may become more diverse, bizarre, and dangerous the closer the player heads to the center of the galaxy. Eventually, players may discover hostile environments or entities that require elements of Survival to overcome - like extremely hot or cold planets.

Discovery

Players can choose to spend their time exploring individual planets and systems, or venture out among the stars to broaden their horizons. Every point of light on the galactic map indicates a solar system, with it's own planets and moons that can be discovered and explored. Should a player be the first person to discover a planet, moon or life form, they will be able to name their discovery. This information will transfer to all other players - for example, if a player discovers a creature and names it "Butt Dinosaur," from there on out that species will be known as a Butt Dinosaur to every other player in the game.

Everything that a player has encountered, or has been the first to discover, will likely be stored in the Discoveries section of the menu. Discovering new planets, fauna, and creatures will reward the player with currency (Units) when uploaded to The Atlas database.

Planetary Exploration

Before landing on a planet, a player can scan it to get an idea of what they might encounter.

Once on a planet's surface, players can opt to scan for points of interest. These locations can be anything from ancient relics, resource deposits, trading posts or Atlas beacons. Each planet has randomly-generated wildlife when it is first discovered, as well as a full day / night cycle that changes based on it's position to the system's sun.

Planets and their moons are sized to scale, meaning that an explorer could choose to navigate the object's entire surface - though this endeavor would take a considerable amount of time, given a planet's size.

Different planets also have different atmospheric composition, meaning that if a planet/moon has a toxic or radioactive atmosphere, players may need to upgrade their ship and suit before attempting to explore it.

Player Progression and Upgrades

Instead of the traditional leveling mechanics of most RPGs, No Man's Sky focuses on upgrading an explorers ship, gear and weapons to allow them to further explore the galaxy.

As players explore various planets and moons, they'll be able to earn Units (the in-game currency) for uploading new discoveries to the Atlas, and also mine for resources. Using Blueprints found throughout the game, players can use these Units and resources to craft or purchase various upgrades to their suit, weapons or ship that will aid them in their exploratory efforts.

Random upgrades and loot can be found by exploring, such as finding a shiny box underwater that contains an equipment upgrade.

Combat

While there is both aerial and ground combat present in No Man's Sky, it is far less prevalent than it might be in other games. The E3 2015 Gameplay Demo begins in the co*ckpit of spaceship, "at the boundary between two warring factions", where the player has the choice of taking sides or staying out of it. The player's ship is shown shooting at other spacecraft.

Alien Races and Factions

Besides different creatures that you can find on planets, there are also an unknown number of Alien Races and Factions. These alien people can be interacted with by the player in several ways, and have their own likes and dislikes that you can use to gain favor, or earn their displeasure and possible declarations of hostility.

When exploring planets or space stations, you may run into these aliens or their artifacts - giving you opportunities to learn more about them. For example, a certain alien race known as the Korvax may leave relics on planets that can be interacted with to learn their language and gain better standing. When meeting these aliens in person, acting in a way they deem acceptable may reward you with certain upgrades.

Peacekeepers and The Wanted Level System

If a player chooses to engage in nefarious activities, however, their actions will not be without consequence. No Man's Sky features a Wanted Level system that indicates how much trouble an explorer is causing in a given area. There are several defenses against these unsavory behaviors throughout the system:

Sentinels are a race of sentient, self-replicating machines designed to keep a planet's ecosystem in check. If a player over-mines an area's resources or attempt to harm the local wildlife, Sentinels will be dispatched to maintain the ecological balance.

Space Police, for lack of a better term, are a group of interstellar peacekeepers who will attempt to stop players from committing crimes against other spacecraft. If an explorer decides to destroy or raid a trading convoy, for example, the police will arrive to neutralize the threat.

Military ships will be dispatched should players decide to engage in combat with the police peacekeepers. These are quick ships with highly powerful weapons, capable of eliminating almost any threat with ease.

The Atlas

The Atlas is the giant mainframe where players upload all their discoveries, and where player progress is tracked. When new discoveries are uploaded, the player receives Units as a reward.

The Atlas is accessed through "Beacons", which are found on each planet. Discoveries uploaded to The Atlas may be shared with friends online.

If a player is killed before reaching an Atlas beacon, all of their discoveries and resources gathered since their last upload will be lost.