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No Man's Sky Review Thread: The Scores Have Arrived (read OP)
- Thread starter Nirolak
- Start date
JayWood2010
Member
Hype at the Game Awards Show in i believe 2014. The Game Awards show that year was beyond terrible with an asshole of a host. No Man's Sky was the bright point of the show, and the way Sean Murray talked about it left a lot of us waiting for more, me included.
Thing was they showed so little for the next two years that many of us no longer cared, and wondered what do you even do in this game.....me included.
I think sometime last year when i saw a demo of No Man's Sky for what felt like the 10th time showing the exact same thing, and still not showing new and exciting stuff I felt like it would end up being a meh game and decided to wait on the reviews.
It honestly doesnt shock me that No Man's Sky is ultimately dissapointing with a $60 price tag, procedurally generated worlds, and about as surprising as a superhero movie with a superhero winnning the fight at the end.
nckillthegrimace
Member
On the bright side, that's an amazing average score for a game about shooting rocks.
loganclaws
Plane Escape Torment
It bothers me because it means many people are willing to pay $60 for absolute worthless mediocrity. And in turn, this will have an impact on what publishers think they can charge for shitty games.
bigdaddygamebot
Member
"A mile wide and an inch deep..."
Ouch...that's often how I describe Skyrim...
Ouch...that's often how I describe Skyrim...
How can you not understand that a 'professional review by a journalist' is literally a personal opinion.
TheCanisDirus
Member
And a MUCH better game IMHO. Though i'm enjoying NMS a lot at the moment.
people have been paying $60 for mediocrity since video games were created.
Sun Bather
Member
So when is it coming for a humble bundle?
Heh people like what they like you dont get to pick what they spend their money on.
ZombieSupaStar
Member
Coffee Dog
Banned
You could probably compare it to the hundreds of games that play extremely similarly to it.
No Man's Sky is a game that's in an incredibly popular genre and doesn't do much of anything to differentiate itself from the competition (aside from its gorgeous aesthetics of course)
Netherscourge
Banned
I hope we see LOTS of No Man's Sky clones with different types of features added actually.
If this game does that, I'm pleased.
It is LITERALLY (as in, the old dictionary definition of the word) the only truly valid opinion.
Trying to pretend that your review is 'objective' or 'factual' when giving something a rating is an absurdity.
Dr. Zoidberg
Member
I'm interested in trying this game but only for a discounted price. It sounds like it turned out exactly how I thought it would from the preview footage. Definitely worth playing but not at these prices because I'll def get bored quicker than some. Maybe if the PC version hits $20 during the Winter Steam sale, or if the PS4 version is one of the $25 Black Friday deals at Best Buy which seems possible, I'll pick it up.
One thing that kind of annoys me in reviews is when they bring up the small size of the developer in their summary as though it's part of the justification for their score or feelings on the game. "It's amazing what this tiny team was able to do", etc. etc. I'm sure that matters to some people but the size of the team or it's budget don't determine my valuation of a game or it's review score. It may not mean that in these cases but it often comes off that way.
One thing that kind of annoys me in reviews is when they bring up the small size of the developer in their summary as though it's part of the justification for their score or feelings on the game. "It's amazing what this tiny team was able to do", etc. etc. I'm sure that matters to some people but the size of the team or it's budget don't determine my valuation of a game or it's review score. It may not mean that in these cases but it often comes off that way.
loganclaws
Plane Escape Torment
I think something is bad, therefore everyone should think something is bad.
Yeah OK buddy...
Kowashitai
Banned
Except it is. That is a valuable perspective because if someone who is known to not like X genre enjoys a game in X genre, then it must be doing something different and anyone who doesn't like X genre as well might want to check it out. You can't just discount someone's honest opinion, these reviewers aren't driveby shitposters on metacritic's user reviews.
loganclaws
Plane Escape Torment
Yes! Thank you! What a crock of shit.
..... so if someone like's No Man's Sky, they aren't rational?
I try to be as objective as possible, so I evaluate the game roughly on how well it executes these design tenants:
Controls, Visuals, Game Design, Audio Design (this includes voice acting, sound effects, and musical score), and Narrative (if applicable). Not every game needs to be A+ in all of those categories for me to enjoy a game. I just hope that they handle those mechanics competently and enjoyably.
Some of my favorite games of all time don't always succeed in all of those categories. For example, Shadow of the Colossus excels at audio design, visual design, and game design, but fumbles in the controls category (the controls aren't perfect, but they work). Narrative is handled very well as well.
One of my other favorite games is Shadow of Destiny. The graphics are so/so, the controls are okay, and the voice acting is atrocious, but the Narrative, and game design is really, really good. Or maybe I just like games with "shadow" in the title...(well, not YOU, Shadow the Hedgehog...shudder).
Wide as an ocean but shallow as a shower.
The universe of NMS may seem vast at first but you quickly realise the limits of its creation through procedural generation. Nothing feels truly unique or hand crafted by the developer when everything is running on a variation of a seed algorithm.
Imagine a giant endless dungeon in Diablo, but without the fun gameplay, diverse enemies or interesting loot. That's No Man's Sky. And it's $60.
The universe of NMS may seem vast at first but you quickly realise the limits of its creation through procedural generation. Nothing feels truly unique or hand crafted by the developer when everything is running on a variation of a seed algorithm.
Imagine a giant endless dungeon in Diablo, but without the fun gameplay, diverse enemies or interesting loot. That's No Man's Sky. And it's $60.
This is one of the best games I played this gen and I'm addicted already. This has nothing to do with your likes and preferences. Why cant people pay for and enjoy something you don't like when I'm sure you pay for and enjoy tons of shit others would call worthless and mediocre?
Mihael Mello Keehl
Banned
That one thread was made after vga or gdc and sony saw it
What is it to you?
loganclaws
Plane Escape Torment
So according to you, there is no way to determine that something is bad? Because all these reviews still haven't convinced you? Ok buddy!
One man's trash is another man's gold I guess.
Hopefully there are patches and updates scheduled for the coming months. This game needs improvements and hopefully it'll be like Minecraft in terms of quality over time.
But yeah for now it feels like there's a couple of activities to do, and you just repeat ad infinitum on new planets. I'll keep busy with some other space exploration games until new content arrives.
But yeah for now it feels like there's a couple of activities to do, and you just repeat ad infinitum on new planets. I'll keep busy with some other space exploration games until new content arrives.
SirClinksAlot
Member
Dude I don't think people buying and enjoying this game will have any effect on what is created in the future. And people can charge what ever the fuck they want to. Its up to you to decide ultimately what is or isn't worth the money.
jmaine_ph
Member
7 is good to me. Context is key of course. But yes on the surface a 7 is a good score for me. Maybe good and mediocre are the same for some people. Not me.
NeededSleep
Member
Can't remember the last time a hyped game delivered for me.
Now I'm extremely cautious on hyped games. If anything I've been more pleasantly surprised by non hyped games delivering great gameplay or story than most other overly advertised games or hyped up games.
Or maybe I'm just getting old and more cautious with money.
Now I'm extremely cautious on hyped games. If anything I've been more pleasantly surprised by non hyped games delivering great gameplay or story than most other overly advertised games or hyped up games.
Or maybe I'm just getting old and more cautious with money.
More_Badass
Member
Quite a few of the comments in this thread are literally variations on "If I don't like/ don't enjoy this/think this is good, how can anyone else enjoy this or think this is good?"
I kind of hoped people were past that kind of mindset
I kind of hoped people were past that kind of mindset
I don't think I've ever seen someone say 7 is good, so that's different
Dr_LucienSanchez
Banned
you forgot "I don't want other people to enjoy this because then we might get more games like this"
For a $60 game? Yes. And it doesn't deserve a 7 in its current state, either. Not with all of these crashes.
Yes. Review scores average around 7/10 for games, so a game sitting at 7/10 would be pretty much the definition of mediocre.
Nameless
Member
This thread is on the same trajectory as the last one with people highlighting the negative impressions as some weird form of validation, or trying really hard to project them as the consensus despite it being more in the middle.
Anyway, Hello Games should have either leaned in to the survival stuff more or taken it out all together. Right now that game is in that weird no man's land where fans of the survival/strategy/RPG genres who are used to managing inventories and juggling systems will likely find it piss easy to the point that it becomes inconsequential, while those who aren't will might just that stuff tedious or frustrating or uninteresting. And for those people I can totally see how finding those 1/10 or 2/10 truly awesome fucking worlds could be a major slog.
Anyway, Hello Games should have either leaned in to the survival stuff more or taken it out all together. Right now that game is in that weird no man's land where fans of the survival/strategy/RPG genres who are used to managing inventories and juggling systems will likely find it piss easy to the point that it becomes inconsequential, while those who aren't will might just that stuff tedious or frustrating or uninteresting. And for those people I can totally see how finding those 1/10 or 2/10 truly awesome fucking worlds could be a major slog.
jmaine_ph
Member
Really? I'm pretty sure I can find many sites that define a 7-7.9 as good.
Guess it depends on if the whole 10 point scale is used or not.
loganclaws
Plane Escape Torment
Should we charge $60 for every procedural game on steam early access? You vote with your wallet, our collective purchases have an influence and consequence on the game industry as a whole.
Some people enjoy eating shit, doesn't mean that it tastes good! Anyway, glad you enjoy it (playing NMS not eating shit)!
Robert at Zeboyd Games
Banned
I have no particular desire to play NMS (survival genre isn't one I'm a fan of), but I find this whole thing fascinating from the widely differing reviews and the whole need for people to feel like their particular viewpoint is the true one.
I think the big problem with No Man's Sky is that it's a thoroughly modern game (small indie team, survival genre, niche audience, designed for youtubers and virality, will most likely become a drastically better game as it gets updated over time) and yet it's being presented and sold as an old-fashioned AAA video game. If it had come out without the full marketing might of Sony as a $20 early access game, I think the conversation around the game would be overwhelmingly positive.
Because reviews are subjective, not objective. Because different people place greater value on different things. Because even the statement that the mechanics are weak and thin is a subjective value statement that not everyone agrees with.
I think the big problem with No Man's Sky is that it's a thoroughly modern game (small indie team, survival genre, niche audience, designed for youtubers and virality, will most likely become a drastically better game as it gets updated over time) and yet it's being presented and sold as an old-fashioned AAA video game. If it had come out without the full marketing might of Sony as a $20 early access game, I think the conversation around the game would be overwhelmingly positive.
Because reviews are subjective, not objective. Because different people place greater value on different things. Because even the statement that the mechanics are weak and thin is a subjective value statement that not everyone agrees with.
Gonna be honest I prefer reading those comments than rehashing the worst argument of the last decade: The idea that game reviews should be FACT BASED and OBJECTIVE in nature.
I'm leaving before I end up banned or something over bad reviews for a game I don't even particularly care for.
batman2million
Member
I laughed too much at this.
Sadly, that's exactly what I was thinking.
Devilgunman
Member
I'm on my 10th planet now and the magic starts to wear of. The terrains and climates might be different between planets but there are just too many other similarities. Floras, for example, are always the same with some tweaks. The shelters and ruins are identical between the planets I explored. Now I'm just do the same chores - find shelters, unlock waypoints, mine gold/plutonium/mats, sell for profit, upgrade suite/ship - over and over on every planet and it gets boring really quickly. I think I need another game to play in between NMS sessions.