No Man's Sky is, at long last, here. After years of trailers, buzz and hype, creator Sean Murray and developer Hello Games will have soon delivered No Man's Sky to gamers around the globe.

The only question remaining is this: is the game everything fans dreamed it would be?

Murray tackles that question head-on in a new blog post on the official No Man's Sky site just ahead of the game's official release. In the post, Murray outlines what exactly No Man's Sky is and isn't. Here's what he says the game is:

– Exploring a universe of pretty procedurally generated worlds, with beautiful creatures
– Trading with NPCs
– Combat against robots/mechs and cool space battles
– Survival/crafting in a universe sized sandbox
– An awesome procedural soundtrack from my genuine favorite band
– For one small moment, you might feel like you've stepped into a sci-fi book cover

As for what it isn't? According to Murray, it might not be the game all the various trailers released for the PS4 and PC exclusive made it out to be.

"That means this maybe isn't the game you imagined from those trailers," he writes. "If you hoped for things like PvP multiplayer or city building, piloting freighters, or building civilizations ... that isn't what NMS is. Over time it might become some of those things through updates."

Indeed, No Man's Sky will be receiving base-building and freighters in a future update, and already, the game's day-one patch has dramatically altered many of the game's core systems. In the future, the game has the potential to expand in numerous ways, and Hello Games has already outlined many of the features coming in the months ahead. However, for now, Murray goes on to describe No Man's Sky at launch as an "infinite procedural sci-fi-space-survival-sandbox unlike anything you have ever played before."

Murray also told fans on Twitter that those believing No Man's Sky to be a multiplayer game are sadly mistaken.

The chances of two players ever crossing paths in a universe this large is pretty much zero.

— Sean Murray (@NoMansSky) Aug. 8, 2016

Will No Man's Sky deliver on the lofty expectations of fans? We'll soon have our answer. No Man's Sky arrives Aug. 9 on PS4 and Aug. 12 on PC. You can check out our guide to the game's various preorder bonuses and special editions here.