No Man’s Sky’s New Relics Update Turns You into a Space Paleontologist Collecting Alien Fossils

If you’ve ever dreamt of diving into No Man’s Sky and living out the fantasy of a dinosaur-loving archaeologist who’s also managed to get Jennifer Aniston’s attention, well, today is your day. The creators over at Hello Games have just rolled out the Relics update, introducing an enticing feature: the chance to collect some impressive alien fossils.

This exciting update follows closely on the heels of January’s Worlds update, which expanded the game’s universe with “billions of new stars and planets.” It brought in massive gas giants and bizarre flying squid creatures ready to slap you around if you fished a bit too enthusiastically.

The Relics update, as detailed in a recent blog post and video, introduces the thrilling concept of space paleontology. Think of it as what Ross Geller from Friends might be doing in space when he’s not brooding over the loss of a sandwich or showing off in his holiday armadillo costume.

Channel your inner David Schwimmer as you traverse the galaxy to “unearth hundreds of unique bones,” piecing them together in your museum to reconstruct what these ancient creatures might have looked like. And who knows? Maybe you can creatively misplace some bones to convince your alien neighbors that they’re descended from a technologically advanced yet rather unsightly race known as the Fartongueians. It sounds like a quirky challenge worth attempting.

However, before you get too carried away with these ideas, be prepared to encounter the Reanimated Guardians—massive stone beings that lie in wait near fossil beds, ensuring no Traveler disrupts their rest on these ancient burial grounds. These imposing figures resemble majestic stone robots rather than odd creatures with misplaced features, which somewhat disproves my earlier theory. You’ll also come across Living Stone Sentries and Colossal Stone Effigies, the latter being ancient stone sentinels from long-lost alien civilizations on relic worlds.

As you explore, keep an eye out for living fossils as well, like Titanic Boneworms and “skeletal fauna” that wander on planets where bones lie hidden and in certain purple star systems. In your travels, you can meet Fossil Collectors aboard Space Stations to either sell your crafted fossil exhibits or trade bones for their collection. You can even get creative and cook with bones.

Don’t forget to join the Galactic Paleontology Society and embark on the new expedition introduced in the Relics update. Completing it will reward you with a jetpack crafted from sentient rock, allow you to swap your character’s appearance to resemble a sentient rock, and you’ll gain a skeletal animal companion.

Been yearning to be a space Ross for some time? Share your thoughts in the comments below!