E270: Infinite. Epic. Indie. The inside story of No Man’s Sky

Infinite. Epic. Indie. Three words that sum up No Man’s Sky, Hello Games’ seemingly impossible endeavour and cover star of our new issue, out now in print, on iPad, Google Play and Zinio. We spend some time at the studio for our definitive 12-page feature on the game which promises to deliver a never-ending universe to explore. We speak to the team behind it and take a detailed look at its procedurally generated flora and fauna.

Another indie developer looking to redefine the expectations of what games can be is The Chinese Room, whose latest project, Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture opens our Hype section. We also play Forza Horizon 2, Ori And The Blind Forest, Titan Souls and Mario Maker, among others.

Beyond No Man’s Sky, the rest of our features include a look at the dedicated hacking culture whose members reconfigure old games to make them do things their creators never imagined. We speak to Evolution Studios and Digital Image Design founder Martin Kenwright about DriveClub, MotorStorm and returning to E3 after a seven-year hiatus. In New Horizons we investigate the growing trend for firstperson adventures that trade action for discovery, while our Making Of this month features Yakuza. We visit RedLynx for our latest Studio Profile and revisit the inspirational, yet punishingly difficult rhythm-action classic Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan.

While we were in Helsinki to see RedLynx, we also spent some time seeing how Finnish education is making programming a central part of the curriculum. You can read about what we saw in this month’s Knowledge section, which also asks whether Kinect has finally had its day as a viable gaming device, takes an early look at The Last Guardian and Battlefield developers’ new puzzle-adventure Vane and sports an interview with the creators of hardcore mud-driving sim Spintires. Our Get Into Games Challenge 2014 winners are also featured here, of course, and Megadeth’s Marty Friedman talks about his favourite game.

Our regular columnists Steven Poole, Ian Bogost, Nathan Brown and James Leach all approach the game industry from their unique perspectives, and our review section this month includes Valiant Heats: The Great War, Divinity: Original Sin and Shovel Knight.

There’s plenty more besides, of course, all of which you can get hold of now in print, on iPad, Google Play and Zinio. Browse the subscription offers here to get your copy of Edge before anyone else every month.

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