No Man’s Sky’s New “Relics” Update Turns Players into Intergalactic Paleontologists as They Hunt Alien Fossils

If you’ve ever dreamed of jumping into No Man’s Sky and living out a fantasy where you’re both a dinosaur enthusiast and find yourself somehow romantically linked to Jennifer Aniston, you’re in luck. The team at Hello Games has just launched the Relics update, with its standout feature being the ability to unearth and collect massive alien fossils.

This update is a follow-up to the significant Worlds update which dropped earlier this year in January. That update added “billions of new stars and planets,” including some massive gas giants and bizarre flying squid creatures that might just give you a slap for overfishing.

For more details about the Relics update, the latest blog post along with an accompanying video highlights its main feature: space palaeontology. If you’re a fan of Ross Geller from Friends and his paleontologist antics, this update is right up your alley, minus the sandwiches and armadillo costumes, of course.

In this galactic adventure, you’ll have the chance to channel your inner David Schwimmer, venturing across the cosmos to discover and assemble “hundreds of unique bones.” Piecing together these fossils in your museum will be a fascinating challenge. Who knows, you might even get cheeky and rearrange a few bones to prank the game’s fun, quirky aliens into thinking they’re descended from a race of technologically-savvy, albeit not-so-attractive beings called the Fartongueians. It sounds like a fun experiment, though the outcome is anyone’s guess.

But wait, there’s more! The update introduces Reanimated Guardians, which are colossal stone creatures standing guard by fossil beds, ensuring Travelers don’t mess with these ancient sites. Rather than sporting bizarre features, these Guardians resemble stoic stone robots. Additionally, you’ll encounter Living Stone Sentries and colossal but dormant Stone Effigies, relics that serve as silent sentinels over ancient alien worlds.

Exploring these fossil-rich planets, you might come across living fossils too—think Titanic Boneworms and ghostly “skeletal fauna” inhabiting purple star systems. On space stations, aspiring fossil collectors can sell their creations or trade bones for an array of fossils and even cook with them.

If you’re keen on joining the Galactic Palaeology Society, the new expedition introduced in Relics is a must. It offers enticing rewards like a jetpack made from sentient rock, the ability to transform your appearance into a living rock, and even a skeletal animal companion.

Ever wished you could be space Ross? We’d love to hear your thoughts below!