Survive in No Man’s Sky

Stay alive long enough to discover the galaxy’s secrets

STEP 1 ADAPT… THEN LOOT THE PLACE RIGHT UP

Nothing spoils a nice triple sunset like vomiting up a lung. No, I’m not recounting one of my moonshine-addled dating escapades, but No Man’s Sky. It’s often as brutal as it is beautiful. (Hello rain that looks like pink lemonade but is actually acid!) Look for save pods nearby. Your shield will wear out quickly, and pods can provide respite from the elements. No time? Blast a hole in the ground with your multitool for an impromptu shelter. Then, once you’ve mastered not instantly dying, resources are key. Your space suit takes priority. Hit your scanner on L3 to flag up mineable resources that’ll recharge your shield. Rummage through wrecked ships and crates, and use your multitool to extract useful elements from plants and rocks. They’ll keep your shield topped up on the go, leaving you more time to explore/pillage.

STEP 2 BRUSH UP ON YOUR LANGUAGE SKILLS

Hope you’re feeling bookish after your poison-vaping sesh. NPCs are a valuable source of survival gear, and you’ll need to do your research to get the best stuff from them. Hunt about for monoliths – shouldn’t be too hard, seeing as they’re MASSIVE CREEPY ALTARS – to furnish yourself with new words of the local procedurally generated language. Once you’ve learnt the Korvakian for “bazooka,” head to a space station and instantly demand one. Er, I mean, use tact and caution. Pick a dialogue option to choose from in response to an alien’s question of “[unintelligible gibberish] bazooka [unintelligible gibberish]?” and pray to Murray that you haven’t said: “Yes, I’d love for one of those to be inserted inside me.” With some consistent word-learning, you’ll be able to reliably wangle weapons and useful items for free.

STEP 3 MAKE EXTRA SMART USE OF RESOURCES

Certain resources and elements are precious, so focus on one particular playstyle early on. Got wanderlust? Pour your spoils into your suit’s shield and your ship’s jump-drives and warp-drives to get from planet to planet faster. Fancy getting in on trading? Pick mining-based perks for your multitool to increase product yield. Want to sail the seven bajillion solar systems as a space pirate? Upgrade your laser, shooting down Sentinels and breaking into factories to nab crafting blueprints. Character building is fluid: you’re not stuck as a raging sociopath forever if you have a change of heart. When you’re wiser and richer later on, you can spend resources on buffing more neglected kit. You’ll need all the upgrades you can muster for the universe’s centre, which holds horrors even the Doc’s surgery is a stranger to.