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No Man’s Sky, Hello Games’ ambitious interplanetary adventure game, might be the greatest game ever made. It could also be terrible. I’m hoping for something close to the former, but chances are it’ll end up being ‘good’. We’ve already talked about hype affecting people’s ideas of what a game will be, those ideas working directly against the game those people are excited about. Yet I don’t think No Man’s Sky needs to be good to be a success. It’s already been more interesting than the majority of ‘big’ games.
Don’t get me wrong. I love ‘big’ games. I spend most of my free-time playing blockbuster releases. And yes, I know Hello Games is a small studio, and is still considered indie, but there’s no way you can say No Man’s Sky is a small release. This is a game with the might of Sony behind it, coming to the PS4 as a console exclusive. It’s a ‘big game’ no matter where it’s coming from.
The majority of games, at least the ones that occupy the AAA space, are fairly predictable. Some might be better than others, but it’s usually pretty clear what kind of experience you’re going to get. I feel differently about No Man’s Sky. I’m not just excited to play it, like I am with all new games; I’m excited to discover what it really is.
There’s been a lot of online chatter about how little of No Man’s Sky we’ve seen since it was revealed way back in December 2013 during VGX. This has lead some to believe No Man’s Sky will be a big disappointment. Not for me. Even with the recent trailers showcasing different aspects of the game, I still feel like I’ll be playing something genuinely new come August 9. And that’s exciting.
Obviously I’ll be happier if the game turns out to be a fun adventure full of discovery and cool secrets, but at this point I’m just happy it exists. In a couple of months we’ll be well into the season of sequels and yearly iterations, yet in just one week we’ll all have access to a game that seems to be ignoring the tried and tested AAA formula and quite literally aiming for the stars.
I wish Hello Games all the best and hope No Man’s Sky is a critical success, but even if it’s not I can’t see it being anything other than a commercial hit. Games excel at presenting worlds to explore, places to discover, and No Man’s Sky has the potential to produce some of the best adventure stories yet. Sometimes the destination doesn’t need to tick every box. It just needs to offer the prospect of being unique, not yet another package holiday.
