No Man's Sky is a space exploration and survival game where the player explores a vast, nearly-infinite universe. Starting out on one of over 18 quintillion planets, the player is first tasked with gathering the necessary materials to repair and launch their ship into space. From there, the game is entirely open ended, though the ultimate goal is to reach the center of the galaxy. Along the way, players can mine for rare and valuable elements, catalog animal and plant life, search for ruins and alien artifacts, and converse and trade items and resources with several alien factions which inhabit the universe. They can also engage in piracy by destroying other ships. Players use the resources they earn from these activities to craft upgrades for their suit, ship, and multitools.
The game features procedurally generated planets, each with its own environmental conditions, elements, and animal and plant life. Players must upgrade and configure their suit to adapt to the sometimes hostile environments. For example, cold planets require a heating mechanism in the player's suit. When visiting an unvisited planet or cataloguing a new species, players can name them whatever they like - these names will be seen by other players if they reach the same location, though the chances of this are very low.
Multiplayer was added later, allowing up to 32 players to play together in the same instance of a star system, and 2-4 players can form parties. This feature adds a new layer of excitement and challenge to the game.