With No Man’s Sky, everyone gets to be an intergalactic wildlife expert.
Out now for PlayStation 4 today (and August 12 for PC), indie developer Hello Games’s No Man’s Sky is one of the most anticipated games of the year. It’s an ambitious take on open-ended exploration set in a universe that has over 18 quintillion planets. The tech behind that eye-popping scale is why Sony’s been treating the console exclusive like a triple-A release. No Man’s Sky is the first big game of the fall, an important time in the industry where all the major publishers release their high-profile games and franchises.
And part of the fun in No Man’s Sky is getting to discover new species and naming them whatever you want.
Similar to the planets and galaxies, the computer procedurally generates the creatures using what art director Grant Duncan called “a big box of maths.” Because of these algorithms (and the hundreds of thousands of possible combinations they can produce), every player will encounter different types of animals. The only guarantee is that they’ll all look pretty weird.
Before No Man’s Sky’s PS4 launch, I spent a day playing with an early copy I bought from an independent retailer. During that time, I found a bunch of photo-worthy critters. You can check out some of my favorite zoological discoveries in the gallery below.