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Films, Books, Comics, TV, Music and Games all have one thing in common. The ability to transport you to different worlds, get in the heads of different characters. It's all about escapism. In my opinion the medium that offers the highest level of escapism are games.

So, if games offer the biggest opportunity to escape the real world, it is open world games that sit in the top spot of this category. Games such as Skyrim, Fallout and The Witcher have all been so successful because of the clever world building and lore that is poured into their very makeup. The process of adventure and discovering things that feels entirely unique to you is what sells these titles, well to me at least. That's what I find so interesting about 'No Man's Sky'. It's a game all about exploring an uncharted universe. It's that sense of wonder and amazement of seeing new worlds that you could be the first one to lay eyes upon.

With No Man's Sky, Hello Games are giving you the opportunity to make your own stories and live your own adventures in an immensely vast universe. Your friends may be all playing the same game as you but you'll have completely different experiences. It makes your journey that much more personal.

I've Seen Things

At Paris Games Week, PlayStation revealed a new trailer for No Man's Sky. It revealed a number of new elements to the gameplay. But what truly struck me is the use of Rutger Hauer's narration. His speech riffed heavily on (In my opinion) one of the greatest Sci-Fi films ever made, Blade Runner. While No Man's Sky probably doesn't have a too much in common with the futuristic noir tale, it has definitely been influence by the classic era of Science Fiction.

When you look at any of screenshots of No Man's Sky, you're met with vibrant striking colours that look like they could be adorned on any number of Sci-Fi novels. But rather than deal with some of the deeper issues that the genre explores, Hello Games have focused on our sense of wonder and adventure. So rather than a more pessimistic outlook on what the future may hold, we see a more optimistic view on space travel.

If we're going for pure spectacle, No Man's Sky visual appearance is striking and gorgeous. The environments look unique and the cel-shaded graphics create an incredibly vibrant feel. Each planet's unique look and feel adds to that level of exploration. Everything you seen on a planet you can travel to, if there's an icy mountain on the horizon you can get there. But it goes further than that, every single star you see in the night's sky is somewhere you can get to. The scope of that is unreal. This colourful universe is a real living and breathing place.

Galaxies Waiting to be Found

The key feature in No Man's Sky is the universe itself. Touted as the largest game ever made, the games engine procedurally generates different solar systems and planets that you are able to explore. Each planet is unique, you won't see two the same.

Whilst there's not many details to go on at the moment, your main objective has been revealed. That objective? Get to the centre of the universe and discover its mysteries. How you do it, what detours you take, that's all up to you.

Detours make any adventure. Now, I've mentioned that the universe is procedurally generated, well so is the wildlife. In the same way that no two planets are the same, no two animals are either. So, if you are the first to visit a planet and scan the wildlife, you'll be listed as the one that discovered a new species. All of these species are then catalogued in an atlas and shared with other explorers.

Battles to be Fought

It wouldn't be a space game if you couldn't engage in dogfights. A lot of the game is about exploration, but there's also bigger things going on in the universe. There are several different faction in No Man's Sky and your actions will have consequences. These factions are also procedurally generated. Some will even be at war with each other.

So if you help a particular faction against a pirate attack, they will be friendly towards you and you may reap rewards from that alliance. But if that faction are at war with another and you help them fight, the opposing faction will act aggressively towards you.

While not much is known about how this dynamic works, it shows that rather than just having a universe that's full of different planets and life, there are also a number of different NPC's embarking on their own adventures.

A Universe you Wouldn't Believe

As well as NPC's, real players will populate No Man's Sky. This game isn't an MMO so don't go in expecting to blast around space with your friends. They might be in the same universe as you, but the universe is a big place so the chances of crossing paths with someone you know is very slim.

Whilst it might be fun to be able to explore with friends, I actually prefer that you're on your own solo adventure. It seems to me that the multiplayer mechanic works a bit like Journey. In Journey you are a nameless wanderer who has to make a pilgrimage to a distant mountain. It's a stunning game, and an experience I'll never forgot. But what made that game interesting was that you could play it online. Sometimes on your travels you would bump into other wanderers on the same journey as you. The only way to communicate with them was though small whistle like sounds. Sometimes you'd just acknowledge another traveler and go your separate ways, but other times you may end up having a companion with you for part of your adventure.

Whilst a lot of what you'll do in No Man's Sky is still a mystery, I think that's the point. You have the freedom to do whatever you want in your quest across the cosmos. June 2016 can't come quick enough.

Written by Jon Davison

No Man's Sky