The month in games: No Man’s Sky goes where no gamer has gone before

The much-hyped sci-fi sandbox game proved to be as massive as expected, while Poki(C)mon Go continued to prove inescapable

Related: 'I've never walked my dog so much': readers review Poki(C)mon Go

In a month traditionally reserved for cider and overpriced family holidays, there were two games so massive they were effectively inescapable: one encouraged you to explore your neighbourhood with a smartphone; the other gave you a space ship and let you loose in an entire simulated universe. The first was, of course, Poki(C)mon Go (iOS and Android), a title that's achieved worldwide ubiquity. Based on the framework of older game Ingress, which also encourages players to visit real world locations, the addition of Poki(C)mon turned a modest sideshow into a global phenomenon. Its fame has grown exponentially, with nostalgic monsters recognisable from youthful summers spent collecting them on Game Boy popping up in Instagram pictures of children, pets and picnics.