So Just How Disappointing Is No Man’s Sky?
No Man’s Sky has been the subject of a lot of hype; the indie darling of the last three years in the gaming world. I know it’s not very original to start any article about No Man’s Sky in this way, but it’s important to remember this. We are, after all, finally able to play the thing for ourselves. And now that it’s out, the waiting for No Man’s Sky in and of itself is no longer the hot topic.
The hot topic right now is the fact that we weren’t delivered a masterpiece. If most reviews are to be believed, we weren’t even given that interesting or fascinating a game. At the time of writing, No Man’s Sky’s Metacritic score has been jumping back and forth between 68 and 70.
So just how many of those mixed reviews are the result of all the hype? And if, as many people are assuming, those sixes and sevens are a direct result of the hype? Then just what is it that people were expecting?
For the record, it’s worth stating a few things in defence of No Man’s Sky. People should remember that reviews that end up giving the game a six or a seven aren’t stating that it’s not worthy of your time. The fact is that some players may get a lot out of the game. Let’s say you’re someone who’s getting stressed a lot recently. If you want to just hang around a new planet for a bit after work, it may help calm you down. In terms of seeing what games are capable of on a technical level, it’s pretty impressive.
The argument that a lot of fans have when faced with a review that didn’t applaud the game as perfect? A lot of the time, it’s that we weren’t supposed to be expecting anything else. The argument is it was made clear from the beginning that all you do is explore and collect things in a procedurally-generated universe.
The problem is that that isn’t exactly true. That sentence does describe the game perfectly, it’s true. And it’s what the game was toted to be by Hello Games from the very beginning. But Sean Murray and co had always subtly implied that there was more too it. In fact, it seems that some of the very few features the game actually was supposed to have were, in fact, never in the game. The biggest example of this is the multiplayer. Many were hoping that the game may become one of the best games online. Hello Games stated that multiplayer would be a feature. It isn’t.
Not only did the team imply that there was more to the game; they actually flat-out stated that there was more to the game. The whole thing has caused many to accuse Sean Murray of lying.
So should reviewers be disappointed? Personally, it feels like they shouldn’t have assumed that the game was going to be any more than it is. The developers were vague about what was in the game because there’s barely anything in the game. Critics, commenters, and other gaming fans let their imaginations run wild. They expected the universe and more. All they got was a universe. And not a particularly interesting one.