No Man's Sky is a bit of a bizarre phenomena. There is an absolutely massive amount of excitement surrounding it, with plenty of people already claiming its going to be the best exploration focused game that ever existed, and yet we still have essentially no idea what the moment-to-moment gameplay is going to look like.
To hopefully clear out some of the confusion the developers have recently started posting a variety of videos as a part of the "Guide to the Galaxy" series, all with the intent to familiarize the players with No Man's Sky and its world ahead of lunch. The fourth and final video in this series was released today and its all about surviving in some of the harshest environments the universe can throw at you. Here's the video and a brief description that came along with it:
"While some planets are beautiful and serene, many have extreme conditions that make survival difficult. Some planets will have extreme temperatures – from freezing lows to scorching highs – while others are drenched in toxic rain, heavily irradiated or completely submerged.
For the unprepared, surviving on planets with extremes will be a challenge. Every second spent exposed in the elements will chip away at your protective shielding, which can be restored by taking shelter or expending resources to recharge it. By upgrading your suit’s technologies, you can survive harsh climates for longer, run faster, jump higher and explore for longer.
Whether you die under the claws of a creature, by the lasers of a space pirate or just succumb to the elements, death will have a real impact on your progress. Resources will be lost and technology damaged as your body is regenerated at your last save point, so make sure to put up a fight!"
Unfortunately, and much like the previous videos in the series, "Survive" does a rather poor job of explaining what exactly you're going to be doing throughout the majority of No Man's Sky. If I am to hazard a guess based on what I've seen so far, both in these trailers and in the various pieces of gameplay footage, No Man's Sky is going to be a game that heavily, heavily focuses on exploration and "finding your own fun" type of gameplay, with everything else being a slight diversion and a chance to refresh yourself before you dive into the next hostile planet in search of shiny ore.
Whether its going to be any good or not, I have no idea, but I certainly look forward to finding out once No Man's Sky finally releases on August 9 for the PS4 and August 10 for the PC.
No Man's Sky, much like this monolith, is currently a complete mystery