It's Been A Decade Since No Man's Sky Changed Gaming Forever

Ten Years Later, I Still Have A Soft Spot For The Original No Man's Sky Published Aug 7, 2026, 11:00 AM EDT Jade King is Lead Features Editor at The Gamer and University of Sussex journalism graduate with 10+ years covering the video game industry. She has been seen in outlets such as Trusted Reviews, Kotaku UK, VICE, and more over the years covering everything from the latest releases to major events to in-depth interviews. She loves nothing more than speaking with devs, creatives, voice actors, and so many others about the passion behind their craft and bringing that into the hearts of readers everywhere. When No Man’s Sky was first revealed by Geoff Keighley at the final installment of The Spike Video Game Awards before it underwent a comprehensive rebrand a year later, it seemed as if this passion project from Hello Games was destined to take over the world. It promised an endless universe brought to life by procedural generation that would in theory offer an infinite number of adventures among the stars. The reveal was so well received that this little game was thrust into the spotlight and marketed as a major PS4 exclusive in the lead up to release while everyone was hoping to learn exactly what you did in this game beyond simply exploring the emptiness of space. Turns out it was a survival crafting game where you gathered resources and managed your hunger and thirst, while also picking a planet to settle down upon at the end of it all. In its initial form, it’s easy to understand why people were so disappointed after this game: it promised everything and didn’t deliver. But let’s be real, it was never going to be what you wanted it to be back then. Despite everything though, I still thought it was pretty special. I Will Never Forget The Utter Loneliness Of No Man’s Sky No Man’s Sky first launched when I was in the middle of my university studies, a time when sometimes I just wanted to shut myself away and not worry about looming assignments and suffocating social obligations. Loads of great games were coming out around this time, but very few of them offered the breadth and possibility of No Man’s Sky. While its original form was mechanically limited, and you inevitably ended up doing the same thing after a handful of planets, it was the adventures conjured up by your imagination that made it so special. When you start a new game, the entire planet you spawn on is a mystery. It could be a comforting mixture of soft blues and greens with endless oceans as far as the eye can see, while the animals roaming its surface want to approach you and become friends. Or you could emerge from the cockpit into an acidic atmosphere where standing outside for too long will melt your insides into nothing. Each new planet is either a paradise or purgatory, and I enjoyed this coin toss dozens of times over as I roamed the emptiness of space hoping to find another living creature that wasn’t a buttplug-shaped elephant or a random alien eager to teach me the extraterrestrial phrase for docking. Whatever floats your boat, buddy... Once the incredibly long tutorial and mandatory crafting commitments are over and done with, you are free to jump back inside your ship and leave the starting system behind. I will never forget engaging hyperspeed and viewing the star map for the first time knowing I am the only person in the world to see this permutation of it. Whatever I decide to do next will shape this universe forevermore, even if the procedural nature of the vanilla version only took a few dozen hours to unveil its limits. But everything before that was loneliness of the finest order. A healthy dose of Milky Way melancholy where I could sit back in my ship and watch the space debris drift on by, waiting patiently for a large freighter to jump in nearby. I wonder if you can still enjoy No Man’s Sky in its original form using a physical copy of the game? There’s only one way to find out... Nobody Expected No Man's Sky To Make Such A Comeback Maybe it was due to my state of mind at the time, but I didn’t pull myself away from it for days because I was so infatuated with exploring different planets, naming creatures, and letting it take over my leisure time even if there was nothing of ‘worth’ to be found. I had to shape the experience myself as I stumbled upon merchants or ran away from evil animals eager to bite my head off. During a time when No Man’s Sky didn’t have enough depth to keep average players around, those with an imagination like mine were enraptured. Cruising through the universe as the masterful soundtrack by 65DaysofStatic played out in the background will always be one of my defining video game memories. But adoring what the game used to be has convinced me that I need to give its renewed form a chance. Few games have achieved a comeback of its magnitude with an endless number of expansions and updates that completely transform the game into something grander than anyone ever expected. A passionate community surrounds it as well, waiting eagerly for new updates to drop and add much-requested features to the experience. But even if you aren’t a fan of building bases, riding vehicles, or playing with other people, there is still an option to go it alone and spend hours getting lost, just like I did ten years ago. Put on some music, sit back, and let the stars take you wherever they please. No Man’s Sky is one-of-a-kind — or it will be until Light No Fire comes along and changes the game all over again. Released August 9, 2016 ESRB T for Teen: Fantasy Violence, Animated Blood Developer(s) Hello Games Publisher(s) Hello Games