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

If you’ve ever fantasized about diving into No Man’s Sky and embodying someone who not only loves dinosaurs but has also somehow found themselves in the enviable position of bedding Jennifer Aniston, today is your day to celebrate. The team at Hello Games just launched the Relics update, and its headline feature is the ability to unearth massive alien fossils.

This update comes hot on the heels of the second massive Worlds update from January, which introduced “billions of new stars and planets.” Among these celestial wonders are enormous gas giants and some truly bizarre flying squid creatures that will give you a hard time if you try your hand at interstellar fishing.

The latest blog post and accompanying video about the Relics update spotlight its main attraction: space paleontology. It’s a nod to Ross Geller from Friends and his paleontology career—the one he pursued when he wasn’t having a meltdown over a sandwich or donning a holiday armadillo costume.

With this update, you can mirror David Schwimmer’s character by scouring the galaxy for “hundreds of unique bones,” which you can then piece together in your museum. As you reconstruct these ancient relics, you might find yourself wondering if you could rearrange them humorously or bizarrely, perhaps convincing NMS’s diverse alien populace that they descended from a technologically advanced but aesthetically challenged race known as the Fartongueians. It’s worth a try, right?

Actually, on second thought, maybe such antics aren’t advisable. The update also introduces Reanimated Guardians—massive stone beings who lie dormant near planetary fossil beds. Their sole purpose is to protect these ancient sites from any intrusive Travelers. Instead of resembling bum-faced entities, they look like impressive stone robots, putting a dent in my earlier theory. You will also encounter Living Stone Sentries and Colossal Stone Effigies, which are like guardian statues standing silent watch over relic worlds.

On your travels, you might even bump into living fossils. Titanic Boneworms and other “skeletal fauna” roam the planets rich with bones and lurk within certain purple star systems. While exploring, you can visit Fossil Collectors on Space Stations to sell your crafted fossil exhibits or exchange some bones for a wide variety of fossils. And yes, you can even try some culinary experiments with bones.

Don’t forget to enlist in the Galactic Palaeology Society and embark on the new expedition that Relics introduces. As a reward, you’ll get a jetpack made of sentient rock, the ability to change your appearance to resemble a sentient rock, and a skeletal animal companion.

Have you secretly always wanted to be a space-themed version of Ross? Share your thoughts with us below!