No Man's Sky photo diary: My first 20 hours

This was the first big creature I saw, and I haven’t seen many others since. I’ve yet to encounter the giant, majestic dinosaurs from the trailers, but this weird dinosaur/insect thing was pretty cool to see stomping around. So far, moons have been much more filled with life than planets for me. 

I was setting up a shot of this brilliantly vivid sunset, when a trio of starships flew by at just the right moment and angle. Thanks, guys. This happens a lot, actually, almost as if there’s a race of aliens out there who arrange coordinated flybys especially for people taking screenshots. 

Here’s my ship stuck up a tree. Anyone who’s played No Man’s Sky will have landed in a weird place at least once. Luckily I had enough power in my jetpack to reach it, otherwise I would have been forced to live out the rest of my days on this snowy world. Or, er, reloaded my previous save. 

I love how colourful everything is in No Man’s Sky, even in the depths of space. The colour palette in this system was particularly pleasant, and it made the night sky on its planets look incredible. After playing a lot of Elite, it’s nice to be able to fly to the next planet or station in thirty seconds. 

I stumbled into this magnificent-looking battle when I warped into a system, but I don’t know who was fighting or why. And I’d rather not, because I’m playing No Man’s Sky as a pacifist. I’ve only killed in self defence, and I even felt bad about that. I’m an explorer, not a fighter. 

Moons are great because the planet looming in the sky always makes for great screenshots. I like this one because the two ships flying in the distance look tiny, giving you a real sense of scale. Anyone who’s into virtual photography will get an extra kick out of No Man’s Sky.

Yet another example of random starships flying past at just the right moment. I don’t bother with these monoliths much because I’m not that focused on learning the game’s alien languages, but I stop at them occasionally for screenshots. They look really cool and mysterious. 

This is the first barren planet I found, after about fifteen hours of play, and it was actually a nice change of scenery. It was lifeless, but rich with rare materials. There was a strange serenity to the place, and I enjoyed the isolation and silence for a while before blasting off.

Behold, a giant space arse. Seeing planets this close together would make Neil deGrasse Tyson sweat, but I’m cool with them playing fast and loose with astrophysics if it means a wondrous cosmic butt like this is possible. If you want a more scientifically accurate galaxy, play Elite.

While most of the systems in No Man’s Sky are dazzlingly colourful, this one I travelled through looked a lot more familiar. It still looks pretty, but it gives you an idea of what the game might have looked like if they didn’t go so far with that brilliant 1970s sci-fi book cover aesthetic.

This guy is officially the biggest creature I’ve seen in No Man’s Sky so far. It was rambling around on a moon with a few smaller ones, but luckily it was passive. I spent a while feeding its baby brothers iron, hoping they’d poop out some exceedingly rare Omegon. Videogames are silly.

This is the most lush, colourful planet I’ve encountered so far. There wasn’t much life on it, but it was covered in striking flora. I’ve seen some really cool landscapes on my travels, but I wish they’d make the procedural generation just a little crazier, to make its worlds feel more alien.

I’m a big fan of these floating island planets. I’ve only seen a few, but this was the prettiest. Is there any reason why big chunks of land would be hovering in place like this? Probably not, but it doesn't matter. It looks awesome. Just don’t land on top of one and fall off, otherwise you’re screwed.

Another moon. I can’t get enough of them. But for every planet with a nice colour palette like this, I’ve landed on a lot of dull brown ones. I like that, though, because it would be boring if every planet looked good. Wondering what lies on the next planet is what keeps me playing.

A nice sunset on some barren desert planet. If you see a sunset in a game you gotta take a screenshot. That’s the law. It’s cool how the time of day changing can really transform a planet’s atmosphere, although the rapid shift to day/night can be quite jarringly sudden sometimes.

The first and only crashed ship I’ve found. I switched to it because it had a bigger hold, not realising I didn’t have enough zinc to repair it. After fruitlessly scouring the planet for some, I realised I could break down tech to get just enough. Good thing, otherwise I would have been stranded.

And that’s my first twenty hours in No Man’s Sky. I’m enjoying it, and have been lucky enough to avoid the technical issues plaguing some people. I don’t think I love it, but I’ve had fun aimlessly roaming the stars and taking screenshots of weird space stuff. And that’s enough for me.