[HTML1]

Ever since its official unveiling at the Spike Video Game Awards last year, Hello Games' No Man's Sky has been a title to watch. Built on the very simple premise of procedurally based space exploration, No Man's Sky is a game that's easy to explain, but hard to truly encompass; it offers a journey so grand that even the developers have no idea how far it will go.

Now that some time has passed since that initial unveiling, Hello Games was ready to show off more of No Man's Sky, and they did so at Sony's E3 2014 Press Conference on Monday night. The developer showed a little more of what gamers can expect from the title, which still doesn't have a release date, both in terms of gameplay and discovery…and boy was it impressive.

As you can see in the trailer above, most of No Man's Sky's ambitious promise appears to be intact. Players can traverse a unique landscape that feels brimming with life, and at any time they can take to the stars and head to a completely different planet in search of completely different experiences. And each planet they visit will carry the name of its original discoverer, which in and of itself is a driving force behind the exploration.

Ambitious ideas aside, No Man's Sky still has some familiar mechanics as well, principally a space combat mechanic. Said mechanic is only lightly touched upon in the trailer, but it certainly seems like there will be opportunities for players to do more than just explore. Perhaps they will be capable of eliminating an entire planet's wildlife or conquering the stars through dogfighting?

On the flip side, it's not entirely clear what exactly is the "game" of No Man's Sky, or if there is even a central driving force beyond curiousity. Simply asking players to chart the unknown universe has its appeals, but at a certain point players are likely to want objectives…things to do. Still, with those concerns very far from our minds, No Man's Sky continues to gain momentum as an ambitious project that has yet to pull any punches. Clearly a little setback like their whole office flooding was not enough to keep Hello Games from keeping No Man's Sky on the right path.

What do you think of No Man's Sky now that you have seen more of the game in action? How would you like to see Hello Games expand on their initial concept?

-

Follow Anthony on Twitter @ANTaormina