To Infinity And Beyond: The Need for Space Exploration Games

Destiny, No Man's Sky, and Star Citizen. All very different games, but all have something in common. Space Exploration. With the urge for human beings to colonize mars and the revitalization of the Star Wars franchise saga, the hype for space exploration games could not be at a higher level.

Personally, the idea of jumping from planet to planet at FTL speeds and interacting with the uniqueness each planet has to offer is the ideal gaming experience for me. I don't even think the appeal for these games is the fact of the setting is in space, but rather that the player gets to discover something new. It's that, "oh look! I found a new planet and its mine and I get to explore every little detail it has to offer" feeling we all get when we play an exploration/adventure type game. These types of games fulfill that natural human curiosity each of us has that pushes us to discover and explore to our minds desire.

In recent years gaming companies have recognized the communities love for science fiction and the curiosity we humans have for space travel and exploration. We see developments like No Man's Sky that introduces an infinite universe of worlds to discover. On the opposite side of the spectrum we see games in development like Star Citizen that gives players the most realistic space exploration game to date. Lastly, we get a more science fiction view of the space genre in a game like Destiny. All of these very different in nature, but all contribute to the space genre of gaming.

We need more games like this. Developers need to explore these types of games with a more open mind. The rave right now is "Open World" environments, but why not expand that to "Open Universe"? Rather than have a huge open landscape, make it infinite so we can as players can fully envelope ourselves into a game with no borders that has endless opportunities for exploration and discovery.

I could definitely see a mass release of these types of exploration games especially with the progressiveness of the virtual reality technology coming into play. Imagine exploring a galaxy with virtual reality technology. Yeah. It would be incredible. You could be flying through an asteroid belt and physically look to your left to see your left wing nearly scrape the side of a hurdling asteroid. The possibilities are endless. Hopefully, we see these types of games make some great advances in the coming years!

Little Nightmares, The Weirdest Game Ever

Little Nightmares

So far this looks to be one of the strangest games I've ever seen and it hasn't even been released yet. The main character is a little girl who gets trapped in this weird fantastical world. The twist however is that it appears shes trapped in a very dark nightmare hence the name of the game. It has a perfect mix of strategy, puzzle solving, and horror mixed together giving the traditional game a run for its money. It is different, but should be praised for its creativity and imaginative plot.

Setting

The Maw is where the game takes place. As shown in the beginning of the trailer, it is an island in the middle of the ocean with a smoke stack on top. Yes that is boring but underneath the water is where the action is. Under the island is a deformed building that contains the monsters you will have to hide from.

The Lair is a place where... I really don't know what this room/place is. The only thing I can say is that it is in the Maw. On their website they call it The Liar of The Impossible Man which doesn't make much sense either. There is little info but I'm sure this place will be creepy as well.

The kitchen is where you will find the ugly Twin Chefs. This is where you will have to avoid these butchers and their kitchen utensils. You will also find them cooking meals which oddly enough leave blood and hanging meat everywhere. 

Characters

Six is the main character and she wears a signature yellow rain coat. She gets trapped in the Maw, an underwater facility in which her darkest fears reside. 

The Nomes are small creatures that look like they're made out of paper. They appear through out the trailer and don't really seem to have a purpose. They sound cute but if you see them up close they are pretty creepy too.

The Twin Chefs are by far the scariest characters so far. For one their faces are distorted making them the ugliest people (or creatures, not sure if they are human) in the Maw. When finding your way through the Maw and its puzzles, running into one of the Chefs is a definite death. 

Overview

This game looks and sounds beautiful but not a lot of information has been released yet. It is rather simple in that you have to find your way through the Maw avoiding the monsters that exist there. It has a childish storybook feel with extremely dark undertones. It's a playful horror game which is different but exciting. I hope since it is more of a puzzle game that it is somewhat difficult and doesn't take me one night to complete like so many other recent games. I want this to take me at least weeks to finish. I think if that component of the game is perfected then this has a chance to be one of my favorite games of the year. I already recommend purchasing the game (release date: April 28th) even if the story mode is short because how amazing it already looks. Be sure to check out the trailer to see for yourself!