No Man’s Sky is launching on PS4 on Aug. 9 and on PC on Aug. 12. It’s probably the most hyped game of the year, even though the game’s actual release has been marred by rather mild controversy and confusion: The game was delayed, and Hello Games didn’t send out review copies in advance of the game’s release—instead waiting until the launch of the major day one patch. Moreover, numerous independent retailers broke street date on the title and sold it before its release date and before the release of that patch. In normal circumstances, it might make you want to wait for reviews of No Man’s Sky. But this game is unique—and you’ll really be better served by buying it on day one.
Why You Should Buy No Man’s Sky On Day One
Most of the time, when a game’s reviews are going to be a little late, it makes sense to wait to buy it until they come out. But No Man’s Sky is an unusual game. The fundamental focus of No Man’s Sky is on exploration and discovery. Its ostensible goal is to reach the center of the galaxy, naming planets, plants and animals and entire solar systems along the way.
Much of the joy of No Man’s Sky will come from discovery—from plopping down on a planet knowing next to nothing, and finding out the game’s secrets and mechanics for yourself. It’s the only way to preserve that sense of wonder. It’s not a matter of spoilers per se. It’s a hard game to spoil story-wise, but there’s a great deal of joy in simply seeing what’s out there for the first time and having no idea what to make of it. There’s a reason Hello Games only showed off short clips of gameplay, and it wasn’t to deceive players. It was to preserve the sense of mystery.
There’s a more practical reason to buy No Man’s Sky on day one as well: the initial land grab. Players can name every planet and solar system in No Man’s Sky. Now, don’t worry, there isn’t going to be any shortage of them—with eighteen quintillion planets, we definitely won’t run out. That’s around two and a half billion planets per person on Earth. Seriously. What we might run out of is interesting names. If you want to name your planets something in particular, the good names are going to go fast. Sure, you can add numbers on at the end, but that’s no fun. Want to name a planet something dirty like Uranus? You’d better hurry the heck up and be ready to register that immediately. If you think registering a cool website name or email address is difficult, No Man’s Sky will really challenge us all.
So if you have more than a passing interest in No Man’s Sky, you should buy it on day one… even though there aren’t reviews out yet. Trust in Hello Games… and get to name your planets what you want before it’s too late.
