How No Man’s Sky Helped Me Escape
The peaceful distraction I didn’t know I needed
The Game Sitting on My Shelf
When I lost my sense of taste and smell, I figured out pretty quickly what was going on.
Damn it…
It was August of 2021, and I had avoided getting sick with COVID for well over a year at that point. Suddenly, I came down with the classic symptoms; flu-like congestion, a high temperature, terrible headaches, painful body aches, and then the loss of my senses for taste and smell. I went into quarantine to avoid infecting others, sat in line at a drive-through testing center during one of the hottest months of the year in North Texas, and eventually my test results came back as I got worse.
That test confirmed the positive result for COVID during the peak of the Delta wave.
There was a lot of uncertainty. I didn’t know if things would get worse, or if I’d recover easily.
I didn’t know it at the time either, but there was a game on my shelf that became the perfect distraction during those uncertain times — the type of game I could get lost in. It was a game that I had briefly played before, but was always fairly critical of when it first launched.
However, I look back at this game as a lifesaver when I needed an escape from the concerns about being sick, and it’s a game I’ve come to love more and more as it’s aged.
That game was No Man’s Sky — and it became the perfect distraction at a moment when I really needed one.
So, why this game? Can getting lost in a game be a good thing? And why would I recommend picking up No Man’s Sky, nearly nine years after its turbulent launch?
We’re going to dive into all of that in this newsletter! There’s a lot to love about No Man’s Sky, and I have my history with it and why it means a lot to me, especially in 2021. There’s also some background details with this game that I have been more critical of when it first came out, and we’ll be getting to that next!
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The Launch, The Letdown, and What Came After
No Man’s Sky has been a fascinating game for me ever since its initial release back in 2016 — and not necessarily in the best of ways — especially in the beginning.
It was a game that I was excited about when it was announced!
I thought that it was supposed to deliver on many promises that I was really looking forward to. As a kid, I had dreams of a space flight simulator game where you could take off from anywhere on a planet, board enemy ships, adventure off to other distant and populated planets, fully customize your own fleet, completely interact with other people, and seamlessly explore a vast and alien universe! When I saw the announcements and teasers, I really thought that No Man’s Sky was going to go beyond my expectations!
On top of that, the designs looked fresh, colorful, and fun. To me, I thought I was being advertised a near-perfect space game when I had seen the pre-release gameplay teasers, and I believed that this was that game I had dreamt of as a kid!
However, I was pretty disappointed after No Man’s Sky was released back in the late summer of 2016. I had seen the lackluster feedback it first received, and it looked like a soulless, buggy, and empty game as gameplay reviews started to flood my YouTube feed. Because of that, I mentally shelved it, and figured I would never bother to play it.
But then, over the next few years, something special happened that made Hello Games — the development studio behind No Man’s Sky — stand out to me when I would see them in the news:
They kept working hard on it, and slowly shaped it into the game they’d originally envisioned! Not only did Hello Games continue to work on and update No Man’s Sky, but all of the updates were being released for free — even years after it came out.
Fine. I’ll see how it goes… I roughly told myself when I finally picked it up in 2018 at GameStop.
It was a fun and near-endless experience when I played it back in 2018! I wouldn’t say that it was everything I wished for as a kid, where I had hoped for a grand multi-universe experience with a fully loaded space flight simulator, custom planets with actual cities, and inter-galactic warfare — but it was a lot better than I had expected compared to its immediate post-release. After 20 or so hours in-game, I put it back on the shelf and was fairly satisfied with my overall experience!
Little did I know that 3 years later or so in August of 2021, I’d reach for No Man’s Sky when I was quarantined and as sick as I have ever been with COVID. I needed a distraction, and I would be desperate for a place to disappear to during uncertain times!
Finding Meaningful Distractions in Uncertain Times
Some games offer massive, open-ended worlds to explore. When I first played No Man’s Sky, it really felt like it was that type of game. I enjoyed it when I first played it, and when I did get sick with COVID in August of 2021 and went into quarantine, I actually latched onto that type of vast game so that I could get lost in it and forget about my real life for a while!
It wasn’t just a random choice off my gaming shelf. I remembered back to 2018 and how No Man’s Sky let me wander — how it let me play without pressure. No punishing boss fights. No 100-hour storyline looming over me. Just a quiet galaxy I could explore at my own pace, and a lonely mission into the unknown where I could truly immerse myself into the exploration.
I launched up a brand new game and jumped into it! I was immediately taken in by how much had changed since I last played. The updates were an improvement from when I had last played, and the world I landed on was stunning.
I knew that when I started, I wasn’t planning on finishing this game. I just needed a world to get lost in — a world to distract myself from reality.
Like I mentioned in a previous newsletter, I love being immersed in games — especially games that let me really feel like I am actually there! With No Man’s Sky, I truly felt like I was alone on this vast, alien planet — where the emptiness of the world around me filled my imagination with the history of this forgotten universe.
There were early game goals to work towards, but they were like stepping stones so that I could explore the universe around me. When I did launch into space, it became grounding in a way to start exploring the unknown beyond the starting planet. I never progressed too far, using only the starting ship and minimal supplies, but I loved soaring through the skies and in space!
I realized soon after that, and especially when looking back on it, that wandering through space, exploring new planets, mining materials, and everything else was exactly what I needed to distract myself with. For me, exploration and being lost in the universe became objectives, and that was a great feeling!
With No Man’s Sky, I trusted the journey of exploring, as lonely as it was. I never finished too many goals or quests that were preset by the game itself, but my personal experience with it led to the best thing I needed at that time — a peaceful distraction. It was a brilliant experience of purposefully getting lost, and being able to distract myself with the endless explorations from planet to planet.
Speaking of which, one of the best parts of No Man’s Sky was jumping from planet to planet! Because with each new world I discovered, I felt as though I had uncovered a new part of a galaxy that only I had ever seen or traveled to! The vast worlds, often quiet and minimal, were beautiful in their own way with the environments that they were located in.
The animals and ecosystem were sometimes really bizarre — even hilarious at times — but when I was on a planet that no one else had ever been to, it sparked open my imagination in ways that made me believe that these creatures and life inside a new planet’s environment were alive!
I’m certain that the true meaning of No Man’s Sky is much deeper than I will ever be able to fully dive into — especially because I focused way more on my own exploration than I did on following the storyline. To me, it is a wonderful game that has many ways of playing it, and the meaning I found with this game was simply exploring the unknown and distracting myself from the real world during a season of life when I needed it the most.
Looking Back on the Game That Held Me Together
It took me awhile to recover from getting COVID back in August of 2021. Thankfully, I didn’t experience any serious long-term effects. It was a rough few weeks, and it took another month or so before I fully felt like myself again. My senses eventually came back after several months, and I was happy when I could taste and smell again!
Looking back, quarantine didn’t seem that long. But at the time, it felt endless.
Although, the core memory I have from that experience was being able to distract myself with No Man’s Sky and becoming thoughtfully lost in that game. To me, it was such a relaxing adventure, and one that I fondly look back on, despite everything going on in the real world!
I love a quote I found that really exemplifies this feeling from Sean Murray — the Managing director of Hello Games — when he sat down for an interview with The Guardian in 2018:
“It’s a game that doesn’t really have classic compulsion loops or anything like that. It’s relaxing, therapeutic, meditative. It’s a chill game.”
— Sean Murray
As I said in the beginning of this write-up, I have always found No Man’s Sky to be a fascinating game — just not always in the best of ways. I don’t think it’s the perfect space flight simulator game that I always dreamt of — but to me, No Man’s Sky didn’t need to be perfect, and I don’t think it was trying to check off every single box when it first released either. It has its own place as a sort of open-world exploration game, and I think it’s a fantastic game to discover, especially with all of the free updates over the past several years!
I was reminded of how amazing it can be when I used the Photo Mode for this write-up. Not only is it fun to explore, but it is a beautiful game in its own right, with splendid views and wonderful environments!
Even though it’s been almost 9 years since No Man’s Sky first came out, I would definitely recommend picking it up and giving it a try!
Maybe you’ll find that same type of “peaceful distraction” I experienced when I played it back in 2021, with similar types of memories connected to it. Or you may be partial to following the storyline, or collecting materials, or solely focused on exploring. Whatever the case, I hope that you will give it a try or revisit it!
Likewise, I hope that you have a game or activity in your life that gives you a relaxing distraction from the real world! I would love to hear from you if you know of games that you find yourself getting lost in — the type of games that really put the outside world on pause, and let you become absorbed in a brand new universe!
I know for myself, I’ll be reaching for No Man’s Sky the next time I need a peaceful distraction from the real world, where I can explore at my own pace, not worry about concerns or worries I have, and enjoy getting lost for awhile!
Thank you for reading, and for the privilege and honor of your time! It means a lot to me, and I hope that you enjoyed this week’s newsletter!
Take care, and I’ll see you next Saturday morning!
Joe
What are Your Thoughts
I want to hear from you!
Let me and others know down in the comments if you have any experiences with No Man’s Sky! I would love to know more, and to find out what this game meant to you!
I would also love to hear if there are any games that are a “go-to” for you when you need a meaningful and peaceful distraction!
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Just coming back here to say a BIG Thanks!
Reading this really got me thinking of my time in Elite... and from then, a memory did not gave me peace... until I stopped and put it on "paper". So, guess you're the reason for my next article. :D
Cheers and Fly Safe!
Thank you for sharing! Personal stories are the best kind of stories, and to see how games can become a source of comfort during a tough time... awesome! Also, glad that COVID times are behind us. xD
For my side, I had a similar experience (also with a space game) but it was Elite Dangerous!
The intense atmosphere along the reality of playing in our galaxy, really helped me lose myself for a time and enjoy relaxing activities, like "space trucking" and exploring known planets, different kind of stars, black holes or cool nebula's around our solar system!
Keep up the good work! and Game On! :D