New Video! No Man's Sky and the Toxicity of Hype (Patreon)

First off, this isn't a review, even though by the time you see this you'll be playing this on PS4, most likely. I'm still waiting for the PC version, so I thought I would do something a little different here. Review will be coming once I've had a chance to play and get used to the game.

Instead, here's a video analysing the process by which No Man's Sky has become one of the most hyped games of all time - from announcement right up until now, so many different elements at play have led to speculation of untold levels. There is little middle ground here - either the internet thinks it's the greatest thing ever conceived by mortal hands, or the exact opposite. The problem is that many have taken to the internet in order to attack and harass the small team at Hello Games - a horrible thing to do in any circumstance, but particularly egregious here due to the fact that the ire is being pointed in the wrong direction.

By evaluating the steps from the game's announcement right up until its release by which it became so hyped, I want to figure out how the game became so hyped, why hype can only lead to disappointment and hostility, and what people can learn from this debacle going forward.

Thanks so much for your continued support! As I stated yesterday, if you've pledged to the channel at all, you'll find your name at the end of the video here :)

Hamish

Writing on Games