No Man’s Sky looks great, but easy on the hype

Yes, No Man’s Sky looks impressive. Yes, the trailer was outstanding. Yes, the possibilities are endless. But this is far from the first time we’ve been shown an impressive trailer. In this year of all years, considering how things began with Aliens: Colonial Marines, we as gamers should know better to get our hopes up over a two minute premiere. What we saw, heard, and read following Spike’s VGX show was impressive, but we haven’t played it yet. We don’t know how it’ll work out.

 I was going to talk about why we should be cautiously optimistic, but I caught myself. I was going to go down a road I didn’t want to go down: the road of pessimism.

See, it’s okay to be excited. We’re gamers. We’re fans of video games. By nature, that makes us video game fanatics. Fanatics get excited, fanatics get pumped, fanatics get hyped. It’s this excitement that fuels the industry. What’s a show like E3 without excitement? Just lots of noise, walking, and work.

Does that make No Man’s Sky an exception to criticism? Absolutely not. I still want to see it played. More importantly, I want to actually play it myself. I want to see how the ideas come together, how many of the dreams become a reality. Having lofty goals doesn’t excuse poor execution. Still, there’s something that’s preventing me from looking at the game’s debut through the eyes of a pessimist: the fact that a four person indie team stole the show from the big boys.

For the second consecutive year, Spike’s annual Video Game show was dominated by the little guys. Last year it was Journey and The Walking Dead, stealing the spotlight from the Mass Effects and Halos of the world. This year, No Man’s Sky took attention away from Grand Theft Auto V winning Game of the Year.

Oh yeah, that’s right, they gave out awards. Nobody is talking about those awards, though. Nobody is talking about The Division, Metal Gear Solid, or any other big name publisher reveal. They’re talking about No Man Sky. Okay, maybe people are talking about those previously mentioned games, but can you believe a game from a 4-person studio is commanding this much attention?

While I’d still like to actually play the thing before forming any type of opinion on how awesome it’s going to be, its ability to steal the spotlight speaks volumes.

I hope it’s great. I’m not assuming it will be, though. Not buy a long shot.