No Man’s Sky
What kind of game is No Man’s Sky? The open-world game is a journey of discovery through space and features light survival elements. What is special is that players explore a procedurally generated game world.
There are 18 trillion planets that have different flora and fauna. On the planets, players gather various resources, discover new technologies, trade, or hunt animals to improve their equipment. The game comes from indie developer Hello Games.
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Year of Turn: 2018
What was No Man’s Sky’s problem?
Before its release, No Man’s Sky was seen as THE next big thing. When Hello Games unveiled the game in 2013, such a huge hype erupted around No Man’s Sky that disappointment was almost predetermined.
The sheer size of the procedurally generated world was seen as a breakthrough for the entire gaming landscape. With No Man’s Sky, they were already talking about a “next-gen MMO”.
The reveal trailer from VGX 2013:
In the magazine Wired UK, it was stated that No Man’s Sky was probably the most hyped indie game in the entire video game history. With each appearance of the studio and shown trailer, the hype was only further fueled.
Upon release in 2016 came the big awakening and the even bigger disappointment. No Man’s Sky was not what players had dreamed of:
- At launch, numerous features were missing, such as multiplayer or space battles.
- No Man’s Sky could not deliver graphically what was shown in the trailers.
- The algorithm generated beautiful planets, but these were hardly filled with life.
- Players quickly fell into a repetitive grind, where they only collected resources. There was little else to do.
After the initial hype, a shitstorm broke out in 2016, followed by numerous memes about the not-so “breathtaking world”:
Thanks to the hype, No Man’s Sky achieved the biggest Steam launch in 2016. Over 200,000 players were online simultaneously to play it. However, due to the harsh disappointment, they quickly disappeared again.
It is hard to say today whether Hello Games would have had a better launch with No Man’s Sky if the hype had never been so big.
How could No Man’s Sky solve its problems?
After the release disaster in 2016, things were pretty quiet around No Man’s Sky. Hello Games itself made no more noise about its game. In social networks and media, No Man’s Sky received little attention.
No Man’s Sky was supposed to make a big comeback in 2018 with its expansion NEXT.
NEXT finally brought the long-awaited multiplayer and other features that No Man’s Sky should have had at release. These include:
- a larger multiplayer
- Weekly new content for No Man’s Sky – Including community events
- base building has been significantly expanded and improved
- the third-person view
- a quirky character editor with aliens
- a graphical overhaul
- a user interface redesign
- the release on Xbox One (previously only PC and PS4)
No Man’s Sky became the game that everyone always expected from Hello Games thanks to NEXT.
How does No Man’s Sky stand today?
No Man’s Sky is now considered the perfect evening game for relaxation. There is hardly any action; exploring alien worlds is the focus. Since the game received a graphical update, the planets exude a surreal, dreamy atmosphere.
A stable fan base has formed. On PS4, No Man’s Sky recently reached the same player count as The Elder Scrolls Online.
No Man’s Sky continues to receive updates that bring events and new content to the game. In summer 2019, the major update “Beyond” will come, bringing new multiplayer features.
The update will further steer No Man’s Sky towards an MMO, even though the developers see it differently:
