One of my favorite games of all time is No Man’s Sky. I’ve been playing and enjoying it since its initial release, and have watched with excitement as it’s gotten better and better over the years.
My son has been fascinated with it for years, too. It was only within the last few years that he started playing it on his own, and only since last Christmas that he and I have begun playing it together (there was no cross-platform play available on the Switch version we initially got for him).
Some dads have sports or games of catch with their son, I have No Man’s Sky. But, like all things, he began to switch his interest to other games and our playtime in space began to become less and less frequent.
The most recent update, Voyagers, has not only reignited his interest but allowed us to play together in ways we hadn’t previously been able to. My son, who loves building things, is overjoyed at the new addition of ship-building and the option to have other players join him on his ship! I, of course, have flown with him many times since the update went live. I also watch him skydive down to my location from the upper atmosphere every time we meet up in the game, which is another new feature he’s crazy about.
I was beginning to think our time in space together was coming to an end, a mirror to middle school’s transitions as he becomes more independent with each passing school day. But Voyagers has given us reason to travel into space together for a while longer, and I’m going to hold on to every launch for as long as I can.