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  1. Games
  2. Action
  3. No Man's Sky

The weirdest, coolest No Man's Sky aliens and planets we've seen so far

Features
By Wes Fenlon published 11 August 2016

Weird aliens, breathtaking vistas, and a planet named Kotaku.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

If there’s one thing I learned from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, it’s that an infinite universe is going to be filled with some very weird shit. With 18 quintillion procedurally generated planets, each with its own unique life forms, No Man’s Sky may as well be infinite. And players are already finding some weird, weird shit out there in the universe. We’re out there exploring, too, even though the PC version doesn’t arrive until Friday, and have found some pretty cool creatures.

Here’s a collection of our favorite animal and plant life we’ve seen posted on reddit, forums and social media so far, with a few of our own discoveries thrown in, too.

Page 1 of 26
Page 1 of 26

Several of our favorite NMS curios so far have come from redditor halfdeafmusic. First up: these space cacti are ready for a rave.

Page 2 of 26
Page 2 of 26

Redditor halfdeafmusic calls this one "Falkor's people," which brought back some Neverending Story warm and fuzzies. 

Page 3 of 26
Page 3 of 26

Redditor TheSilverCoyote found Big Bird. Well, he thinks it's Big Bird. His screenshot titled "Acid Big Bird" either refers to the planet's acid rain or what Big Bird would look like after a particularly nasty space bender. Stay hydrated, BB.

Page 4 of 26
Page 4 of 26

NeoGAF poster Betty has some of the best discoveries so far in the photo thread, including this tentacle snail alien with a wicked lobotomy. Or are those ears?

Page 5 of 26
Page 5 of 26

Our own stellar explorer Chris Livingston found this golden formation during his travels. No comment.

Page 6 of 26
Page 6 of 26

A space station at the mouth of a black hole sent the needle on my Cool Sci-Fi Shit detector spiking into the red. Dear god, this is cool. Props to Neogaf poster idonteven.

Page 7 of 26
Page 7 of 26

Another idonteven joint, this sunset(?) on a barren planet is absolutely beautiful. 

Page 8 of 26
Page 8 of 26

Our own Tyler Wilde found this bird...bear...thing, which stands precariously upon the axis of cute and blood-curdling.

Page 9 of 26
Page 9 of 26

There's nothing too unusual going on in this shot from redditor shdw44, but I love the variety of vegetation and the environment in this shot. It feels like a perfect window into the excitement of exploration: coming out of a lush valley to discover a settlement and new types of life.

Page 10 of 26
Page 10 of 26

Oh hey, NeoGAFfer Betty found that lady from Assassin's Creed Unity who didn't have any skin. She seems to be doing well.

Page 11 of 26
Page 11 of 26

Redditor TheTarg found an abandoned ship that looks like a cross between an X-Wing and a Battlestar Galactica Raptor. In other words: sweet.

Page 12 of 26
Page 12 of 26

Kirk, was that you? NeoGAF member freeman76 is on your trail.

Page 13 of 26
Page 13 of 26

NeoGAF member DoctorWho met a pretty awesome monster on his starting planet. He's got kind of a doggy dinosaur look going on. Who's a good alien? You are!

Page 14 of 26
Page 14 of 26

NeoGAF member FigBoy79 found this environmental oddity. We're christening it the Half-Eaten Taco Bowl.

Page 15 of 26
Page 15 of 26

Betty from NeoGAF found one of the best aliens we've seen yet: the big-eared stoner slug with a fu manchu.

Page 16 of 26
Page 16 of 26

Redditor JohnTravoltasBox took this screenshot, which I'd describe as sci-fi as hell. Look at that sweet telescope-lookin' thing! And that floating island! And the planet in the background! Yes, yes, yes.

Page 17 of 26
Page 17 of 26

MyAnacondaDoess posted this one on reddit, calling it the "most gorgeous screenshot of the game I've seen so far." Agreed.

Page 18 of 26
Page 18 of 26

Redditor sillykawaii found a big bouncing pineapple which is apparently not that uncommon. But I'm pretty into big bouncing pineapples, so it gets a pass.

Page 19 of 26
Page 19 of 26

Awesome space ruins, via NeoGAF member UpDownLeftRight.

Page 20 of 26
Page 20 of 26

"And I shall call him Watermelonface," posts redditor keyree.

Page 21 of 26
Page 21 of 26

Did you like those last catci? Well these cacti have hats. Hats on their hands and their heads. What a wonderful galaxy.

Page 22 of 26
Page 22 of 26

I honestly don't know what to say about this one, except: I am afraid. Thanks, redditor Rsuff.

Page 23 of 26
Page 23 of 26

This seemingly adorable little guy has been all over twitter thanks to user space_mannequin. Watch as innocence turns to horror.

Page 24 of 26
Page 24 of 26

Via this anonymous gfycat post, a truly majestic creature: all dinosaur, but with some itty bitty butterfly wings. Actually, those are pretty huge butterfly wings, but, y'know, in context.

Page 25 of 26
Page 25 of 26

And we end where we begin, with halfdeafmusic's great shot of cool telescopes on a beautiful alien planet.

Make sure to read our first impressions of No Man's Sky and our editorial on the journey through space in games like No Man's Sky and Elite Dangerous, and what they could learn from Kerbal Space Program.

Page 26 of 26
Page 26 of 26
Wes Fenlon
Wes Fenlon
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Senior Editor

Wes has been covering games and hardware for more than 10 years, first at tech sites like The Wirecutter and Tested before joining the PC Gamer team in 2014. Wes plays a little bit of everything, but he'll always jump at the chance to cover emulation and Japanese games.

When he's not obsessively optimizing and re-optimizing a tangle of conveyor belts in Satisfactory (it's really becoming a problem), he's probably playing a 20-year-old Final Fantasy or some opaque ASCII roguelike. With a focus on writing and editing features, he seeks out personal stories and in-depth histories from the corners of PC gaming and its niche communities. 50% pizza by volume (deep dish, to be specific).

Read more
An image of an explorer from Hello Games' No Man's Sky, standing over a vast and verdant planet.
Sean Murray pours one out for No Man's Sky permadeath player who stranded himself in bittersweet space purgatory: 'All I can do is sit in my ship, watch the lightning storms, and wait for my oxygen to run out'
Best space games on PC
The best space games on PC
Revenge of the Savage Planet screenshot
Revenge of the Savage Planet review: A refreshingly cheerful dystopian metroidvania that just wants you and your co-op friend to have some laughs
A red ape-man struts across the surface of an alien world.
No Man's Sky just got another mondo update and I think it's a management game now?
This 'tediously accurate' map of our solar system with the moon scaled to a single pixel would still take 665 monitors laid end-to-end to show all at once
A Helldiver from Helldivers 2 seeing the ruination of Super Earth in the visor of their helmet.
Helldivers 2 player embraces their inner Lisan al-Gaib, discovering a way to surf on the back of the game's giant floating Leviathans: 'I spent longer than I would like to admit setting this up'
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