The YouTube video “The Engoodening of No Man’s Sky” is a tribute to the poorly launched survival and exploration game No Man’s Sky (PC, PS4, Xbox One). The video has over 3 million views and has increased sales on Steam, but Sean Murray would prefer to delete the last minutes of the video from the Internet.
What kind of video is this? “The Engoodening of No Man’s Sky” was released on January 8 on YouTube and has already garnered 3.26 million views. It is by “Internet Historian” and lasts just under 54 minutes.
The video humorously and in detail describes how No Man’s Sky has recovered and improved over the years after its terrible release:
- there was a huge hype around No Man’s Sky and the charismatic head of the studio, Sean Murray, who was even invited to talk shows
- Murray promoted a fantastic game that would provide essentially infinite possibilities and simulate everything
- the release came for PS4 and PC in August 2016 and the game fell far short of expectations
- an enormous backlash brewed, claiming the developers were frauds. The game was ripped apart, and buyers were really angry with the team: This went as far as death threats
- but then No Man’s Sky was gradually improved and expanded with major updates, until it became a really good game
- these improvements take up the main part of the video – more and more new features are shown, even entirely new ones that were not promised before. The video highlights, for instance, that No Man’s Sky received a VR version for free, while other major games sold this as an extra
The video shows happy fans of No Man’s Sky who even rented a billboard via crowdfunding to thank Hello Games for maintaining and nurturing the game. No Man’s Sky is awarded prizes.
It is a “redemption” story, a tale of restitution and rising after a fall. People love the video.
Homoerotic Fan Fiction with Sean Murray
What bothers Sean Murray? The YouTube video ends with a fan fiction from the time before the release. A fan fantasized about being invited to a private audience at Hello Games. There, he gets to play No Man’s Sky first and engages in gay sex with Sean Murray.
This fantasy continues to expand, leading to a virtual reality version of No Man’s Sky, where there are many Sean Murrays with procedurally generated genitals.
Murray apparently experienced a whirlwind of emotions regarding the video on January 9:
- First, he said “Definitely don’t look past the 45-minute mark” – he links the video, a sign that the outrage may not be that significant.
- Then “Oh my God, that’s trending”
- Finally, Murray asked how to delete things from the internet
- Ultimately, however, Murray posted a screenshot showing No Man’s Sky suddenly back on the top seller list on Steam and appears reconciled
In the comments of the YouTube video, recognition prevails for what No Man’s Sky has achieved in recent years. The studio and Sean Murray have proven resilient: they had to endure so much criticism but learned the right lessons from it. This commands a lot of respect.
