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The Times Literary Supplement

Friday 19th July 2024

No Man’s Sky

or: You Can’t Save The World, And That’s Fine

i fucking love this game. i love how unique its story and theme is relative to almost all other major games. its fundamental purpose is to gently instill in the player the impermanence and insignificance of everything.

let’s talk about the ATLAS.

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

it is so easy to misconstrue the ATLAS as malevolent. after all, its Sentinels are hostile to those who transgress upon the sanctity and purity of creation - by necessity, the player. but later we learn that this is a self defense mechanism. the universe is the ATLAS, and the ATLAS is dying. and like any of us would be… the ATLAS is terrified. its internal hostility is a desperate bid to save itself from being terminated. to fix itself.

so what is the player meant to do?

you cannot fight the ATLAS. nobody can. the ATLAS is literally God in every theological sense. you can’t fight AI-God – just ask TELAMON, they tried. the ATLAS cannot be harmed by any action of the player.

but there is also nothing you can do to help the ATLAS. not even all the Travellers in the game can fix the ATLAS; its composition is far beyond your comprehension. the ATLAS cannot be saved by any action of the player.

the moral of the Atlas Path is acceptance: of mortality, of impermanence, of insignificance. everything ends, and that’s okay. enjoy it while it lasts. you cannot save the universe, but you can experience it for as long as you live.

most other games carry the central theme of “you can save the world!” and yet, NMS presents you with a universe where the reply to that typical attitude is an unequivocal “no, you can’t.”

it’s not your burden. it’s not your duty. it’s not your purpose. you can’t save the world. all you can do is enjoy it while it lasts, and understand that this is enough.

mmmhmm yes it’s true I hate Richard Rider with all my being and I will not apologize

I won’t even make a post explaining why because even thinking about him pisses me off