‘No Man’s Sky’ a mesmerizing solitary odyssey unlike any other | Fresno Bee

Video game columnist Rory Appleton writes: "The mission appears clear: Drain the planet, collect the spoils and repeat on other worlds until all of the goals are met. But I felt this odd sting. Do I really want to take the Christopher Columbus approach? It isn’t the aliens’ fault I crashed onto their planet. And if I take all of their resources, they will surely die. No, I should take what I need and move on.

This led to an odd realization: I am concerned about the footprint I am leaving in the “No Man’s Sky” universe. But why? Yes, all of the millions playing share the same universe, but it’s unlikely I will ever see another player in my travels. I am not ruining these worlds for any fellow explorers. And I doubt I will ever return to any of the planets I have visited up to this point, so does it matter if some made-up computer dinosaurs survive?

To me it does. And I can only chalk this up to “No Man’s Sky” being a truly immersive experience. I am putting myself in the shoes of an explorer."