Alone in Public - A "No Man's Sky" Review

This is an exploration of the themes and meanings of the game No Man's Sky through a lens of both personal experience and the synthesis of mechanics with meaning. I do not use the word 'ludonarrative' even though it would be the correct word to use.
Written and performed by Dan Olson

[@1980rlquinn]

I'm a foreigner in a country in which I can only speak a few words and phrases of the native language, and barely anyone can speak mine. Dan's description of No Man's Sky could sum up much of my experience here. As I turn to games as a way to feel connected with a community and to engage in a shared activity with long-time friends back home, this sounds like exactly the kind of game I would avoid. Thank you for your critical assessment of No Man's Sky. While it does solidify my choice not to purchase the game, I can appreciate its artistic merit, and I understand why some would love it.

[@BlancheNeigefan]

Sorry for your situation, I hope it got better in the long run.

[@stratospheric37]

hope you're better now!

[@suadela87]

I’m a truck driver and when he was describing this game, I felt he was describing my job, with the exception of an environmental suit. I appreciate the video and thank you for convincing me not to get this game. My job is lonely enough.

[@Flowtail]

The game has changed quite a bit, apparently-check out Internet Historian’s coverage

[@forasquem]

My father is a truck driver. I did traveled with him some times. Its the same feeling. lonely and empty.

[@RichoRosai]

And piss jugs, right? I mean I assume NMS hasn't got piss jugs.

[@professordetective807]

Skip Elite: Dangerous, while you're at it. It's this but almost entirely on the ship and less cartoony.

[@JoejoeReference]

Looking back at this as well HBomberguy's video makes me wonder about how the game would have turned out today if it wasn't marketed the way it was. If they instead decided to follow this existential and nomadic experience rather than turn the game into what people expected it to be when it was being overhyped. The base building and multiplayer seem fun and all, but I can't help but imagine what it could have looked like if they had followed the initial spirit of the game as it was during launch

[@hjalfi]

I agree. There's one simple decision they made which I think highlights this: when you go through a teleporter, you always take your ship with you. There's no diagetic explanation for this --- it's always parked on the other side. Imagine if this wasn't the case. You could travel between space stations at will, but you'd be stuck at the destination. If you wanted to fly anywhere, you'd have to buy a new ship at the station, and they're expensive, so deciding where to build a base becomes important. The hyperspace drive would become much more useful. There'd always be this tension between moving on and returning to where you had sunk in resources --- or maybe you could go exploring, and periodically teleport home, on foot, to restock and wander around the base that you now can't reach in your ship.

[@tylerthunder2001]

I like No Man's Sky how it is now and it's always getting better it's a universe so they can pretty much add anything to it

[@bigboi8028]

Yeah, this gives me the same feeling as Outer Wilds, playing as a character who is so alone in universe that is going to end and they're one of the only people who are aware of it. There was just such an engaging sense of mystery and discover pushed forward solely by your own curiosity and making links

[@karenrobertsdottir4101]

The game as originally launched, for me, was interesting and then maddening. My *initial* take was like Dan's. Alone in public. A vast, tangible, oppressive emptiness, but in a beautiful aesthetic way. You're the only person to ever see the beauty and nobody will likely ever see the same thing. And then you jump to another system, and it was like... huh. This is kind of like the first system. Some new things, but a lot of things the same. And then you jump to another system... and another... and it's suddenly like you're in the Truman Show. These aren't new worlds, they're just cheaply cobbled together from the same building blocks. You encounter the same terrain features. Animals pieced together randomly from the same body parts. The same space stations with the same characters in them. And the more you look around, the more it looks like you're just in a movie set. Those stars around you aren't other worlds, stellar systems, they're just a texture map. That amazing stuff that was talked about at the centre of the galaxy, there's nothing there at all. The devs thought it would take so long to get there they'd have time to actually code something, but they were wrong, you get there, and it's just over - as though it's just mocking you. The purported multiplayer nature was a complete lie. Worlds and creatures can be named, but that's it; time and weather wasn't even synced between worlds, so two players could be at the same spot on the same planet at the same time, but see entirely different subjective things. Game hacks showed that there wasn't even a 3d model for a player to see. The devs thought that the world was so big that no players would be able to encounter each other, at least for long enough for them to code something. My initial reaction was so much like Dan's... until I traveled far enough that all of the sudden I realized I was just on a paper-thin movie set. And then my experienced turned from this "lonely explorer aesthetic going around and photographing beauty that no one else will see again" to "mad and wanting to burn down the whole hollow facade." Traveled to near the centre of the universe and started naming all the planets and systems with long rants, one sentence at a time, against the devs for carrying out such a fraud against buyers. Then traveled into the centre and never picked up the game again.

[@Chapy63]

Watching this video in 2020 is quite weird. The game has evolved a lot.

[@sunbleachedangel]

It has, I have it on my wishlist

[@ekki1993]

Yep. The video's interpretation is still valid, but the work the team did over the years makes it evident it wasn't their intent to release the game in the way they did.

[@sunbleachedangel]

@@ekki1993 Poor Shaun (really)

[@ekki1993]

@@sunbleachedangel I mean, on one hand, yeah. Sucks all of what happened to him and his team. Even in the parts where they were called out for stuff they did wrong, the hate they got was rarely deserved. On the other hand, it would have been refreshing if the game actually was aiming for a different narrative than the one present in every other open world game.

[@8Rincewind]

What's it like now?

[@xrotarebil]

I wonder how basebuilding and other updates factor in or counter the point of this video. You now have an incentive to find a beautiful planet with a stable weather system and build a base and stay. This becomes your home.

[@xrotarebil]

a1wingedeagle Yes. Did you understand a single thing I said? 19 likes suggests everyone else did. This video was uploades 2 months before a major update that allows a home base to be built meaning you can stay in the one system building stuff.

[@xrotarebil]

a1wingedeagle I never said it was bad. I love the game. I just meant that the update counters some of his points but not all of them. Base building stops the mindless drift / homelessness feel in space.

[@collin6691]

A new viable play style adds a new possible player experience that can be talked about, it would be interesting to see a follow up

[@xrotarebil]

Collin Horn That's what I am saying.

[@natkatmac]

Unless you buy a freight ship, which allows your base to become more mobile. Like a ship version of an RV.

[@SimsMusicals]

my favourite video of yours so far - "an unsolved world, plagued by melancholy", I really loved that line.

[@conkshellthegeek7]

Dan, do you need a hug?

[@gublinchscrivener7891]

I do enjoy games where a seemingly blank slate protagonist gradually takes on or implies aspects of a personal story you don't know. It's why I think Chell is such an effective character.

[@gublinchscrivener7891]

Someday, I really want to do some sort of series on my thoughts on Portal. I'd love to hear your analysis of it.

[@ethanshaw8393]

@@gublinchscrivener7891 did you ever get around to talking about it?

[@scottydog6713]

"alone but in public" is actually the perfect descriptor for what my favorite places and activities are to destress. going to a restaurant or movie, mall or park, by myself. alone, but in public.

[@iprobablyforgotsomething]

Similar for me. I focus on tedious or repetative deskwork type tasks better outside of my house, so I like to go to a library or park or cafe. It's safe, and I can people watch for a bit if I hit a mental wall and need to reboot. But also no one knows me, and the people wandering by don't expect or usually initiate random spontaneous conversations with strangers, so I'm not distracted by the temptation to chit-chat. Alone in public.

[@ShockedLogic]

I've seen some comments here how people kinda wished NMS had kept those more existential, lonely elements after all the updates its gotten over the years. All I can really do is suggest Outer Wilds. It's a beautiful game about exploring a solar system to piece together its history, and it's an incredible experience of a game.

[@bigboi8028]

Literally one of the best games I've played. I loved it

[@wastelanderone]

Outer Wilds is fantastic and beautiful, completely not a similar experience to me sadly. I didn't feel I was piecing anything together in No Man's Sky. I just appreciated the everything discussed in this video.

[@AmaranthOriginal]

Death of the programmer?

[@TooFatTooFurious]

Game Deathsigner

[@TooFatTooFurious]

or GameDeathign

[@AmaranthOriginal]

Арсений Брилёв I went for the phrasing to specifically reference the concept of "Death of the Author," a term which signifies the relative insignificance of the author's view of the media they create in the scope of things.

[@TooFatTooFurious]

Amaranth I know, I know, I just tried to make it more unique by turning it into a bad pun

[@AmaranthOriginal]

Арсений Брилёв Ah. Wasn't sure.

[@leftybefty9766]

I'd love to see your viewpoint on the game now that so much has changed, especially in the loneliness area. The game has since become a lot more populated, as well as adding the ability to make your own home. There's a Reddit post that proposes that morale of No Man's Sky is evolving, turning from a game about loneliness to game about being connected in an infinite universe. I know you probably won't make a video on it, but I'd still love to here what you have to say about the game now.

[@zzmoonz]

wait thats actually really smart and connects with the narrative about rebooting the universe a ton damn, I may actually get the 'fixed' version now

[@TheSeriousPain]

I don't really see anything in this video that I personally disagree on despite the fact that it didn't convince me that NMS is not a good game. Like with many other arguments on the internet I feel like this comment section is just a bunch of people screaming at a wall instead of actually talking to each other.

[@Crazy_Diamond_75]

That's the thing. To you it's not a good game, while to him it is, and both can be true. There's no such thing as an objectively good... anything, really, because it's all subject to opinion anyway. I mean, I watch people on YT who bash Skyrim endlessly and I love Skyrim. That doesn't mean they don't have valid points. Anyway, preaching to the choir here, obviously, since I'm just sorta restating what you already said. I'm just glad I saw this comment and wanted to contribute my own 2 cents.

[@Fawstah]

Ur right, nobody is talking to each other, they aren’t here to make friends, they’re just passing through. hello games could make this comment section have 60$ access and folding ideas would praise it for its glimpse into the mundane and banal

[@jairusstrunk94]

@@Crazy_Diamond_75 You tried, you really did. but lemme translate for you. since you obviously missed the double negative. "despite the fact that it didn't convince me that NMS is not a good game" i think no mans sky is a good game and this video did not make me think otherwise.

[@Karma20XX]

If only people's problems were the actual game itself. It's the hype machine and blame on the dev for broken promises that overshadow all the good parts. A game like this will only be enjoyed long after release for what it truly is. In the meantime, I'll be playing Starbound.

[@jonahdrake5885]

It reminds me of what happened to Fable. Nowadays, people seems to look at the first game with some fond remembrance, but at the time of release, it was hyped up to be something it totally wasn't, and that was a major deal breaker for many (and for good reason). I'm sure No Man's Sky is a fine game. It's just not what people were promised.

[@Razermund]

To be fair though, it's a REALLY boring game. Every planet is the same and has the same rocks, buildings, and aliens on it, but they might be a slightly different color. The only real gameplay is micromanaging the resource bars on your equipment so you don't keel over and die.

[@peddazz2365]

gameplay is broken and plain bad there is no story or any good characters *the game is bad*

[@samuelshafik2778]

There's a difference between hype (showing people pre-rendered cut scenes and visuals for games that aren't in the final product) and outright lying (where Sean Murray would give interviews and answer direct questions about gameplay which never existed). In the game, you go to a terminal on a planet and are given 3 choices to pick. If you pick the right one, you get a prize (some trinket for your inventory). Soon you realize that every Alien you encounter is pretty much just another terminal with 3 choices to pick. Zero real interaction. Everything you interact with (except mining) is like some sort of vending machine. That's just lazy. Yes, the game is bad. Obviously, you -can- have fun playing it for the first time and exploring for a few hours. After that you soon realize you've seen everything. It's like getting excited for a film after watching a trailer and then when you see the actual movie, you notice that all the good bits were in the trailer.

[@peddazz2365]

***** funny that you are talking about unpolished core mechanics when terraria is build around an shitty grinding system farming tose colorfull stones and everytime you get to the next best stone all older stones are made worthless so you basically searching for X color stone in a pile of dirt compare that to the grinding of Monster Hunter where you get better stuff but still need/use the old stuff you farmed soit never turns to search for the one usefull resource in a pile of dirt

[@TiredTransbian]

This is a good breakdown of the game, it just makes the game sound IMMENSELY depressing. And I neither want nor need more depression.

[@Poopmannn]

Well luckily for you, the game is barely like this anymore

[@alex_roivas333]

damn, that road to calgary looks beautiful

[@TooFatTooFurious]

It looks like something from Under The Skin to me.

[@129das]

roads in Canada are pretty nice.

[@Karma20XX]

Yeah, if I were him i'd pull over at the side of the road and paint.

[@lillykoroluk6620]

The roads on the outside of calgary are nice, the city usually looks like shit (I'm from calgary).

[@gabrielhill8635]

This is a fun and reasonable comment section.

[@deanmorgan3093]

I haven't played NMS (I don't have the right console), but based on what you and Hbomberguy have said about the game, I'm starting to see some parallels between it and Splendor & Misery, the new Afrofuturist concept album by experimental hip-hop group clipping. Both on the album itself and in interviews promoting it, the group has made a really interesting critique of Lovecraft: cosmic horror "is only horrifying to those who thought they were the center of everything to begin with." They're making this point within the specific context of white supremacy (the album's narrative centers around the sole survivor of a slave uprising commandeering an interstellar cargo ship and piloting it into the unknown rather than returning to a system that oppresses him), but I think the themes of No Man's Sky are nonetheless in the same ballpark, subverting the idea that being tiny and insignificant is necessarily scary. When you expect your games to be power fantasies, a game that leaves you as adrift as NMS does is bound to be off-putting. But to certain people, that kind of inconsequentiality could be liberating. I really hope this makes sense.

[@isaacm.9476]

I am absolutely finding this album now. Thanks. I would never have come across it otherwise.

[@samuelshafik2778]

Unfortunately, that's not it. It's not that people expect games to be power fantasies that made people angry at NMS. I'll give you 1 example: During demos, the president of the company claimed that there were three types of spaceships (warrior, explorer and scientific) and depending on the type of ship you picked, you could taylor your gameplay towards spacefights, deep exploration or scientific studies and discovery. Furthermore, the ships would handle differently. None of that is in the game. None of it. And that's just 1 example. Even the end game was a lie: we were told that the goal of the game was to reach the centre of the universe and when we got there there would be this amazing surprise. In an interview which you can find on youtube, a journalist suggest hat it will be just a black screen like the Sopranos and Sean Murray tells him "no, that would be stupid" and that NMS has this amazing thing to discover that he won't be spoiling. Guess what? when you reach the centre, you get a black screen and there is NOTHING there. No surprise. No big revelation. Nothing. There are 142 examples (on reddit) of missing features that were promised by the developers. So this isn't a case of having power fantasies not being fulfilled, this is a case of being sold a product we were lied to and only discovered it was a scam after they got our money.

[@TheSupercool19]

but developer intention doesn't really matter when just judging the game as it is.

[@Blockistium]

man, my usage of the term "Lovecraftian" is so different i always use it to discuss psychological horror of forces beyond one's control that compromise one's internal autonomy. the idea that maybe, beyond your own ability to know or recollect, you've done something terrible. that you can't know for sure what thoughts are safe to think, in your desperate attempt to control your situation. that there is something horrible happening, like you "losing your mind" (an antiquated notion with no place in modern psychology, but bear with me), but your attempts to reciprocate only further jeopardize your situation in your arrogance. it's a set of themes adjacent to thoughts of the hopelessness of depression

[@Humorless_Wokescold]

TheSupercool19 which is why Donnie Darko is still great movie even if its makers sorta stumbled into it blind.

[@fehmit160]

so are you suggesting that this game tries to make us a happy Sisyphus?

[@CensoredHarbor]

Maybe not a happy Sisyphus, but maybe the intention was something akin to enlightening us to his experience

[@duckheadbob]

This is one of the most 2016 video essays I've seen.

[@aturchomicz821]

Well it sure is unique too, like who else had this oopinion back when, Hbomb I guess?

[@supermanlypunch]

I would LOVE to see a follow up to see how the multitudinous updates have changed his appraisal of NMS.

[@maverickmak]

I'd never even heard the term 'nu-male' before looking at this comments section. An entertaining read. A lot of angry people with little to say. Never played the game itself, but I find everything else happening outside of the game quite interesting. This video was an interesting perspective on game and its themes, though I wouldn't really call it a review. I recently discovered the channel, and I'm enjoying your back-catalogue.

[@cashnelson2306]

no numbered score = not a review amirite

[@TheKoobon]

oh, how I loved vanilla No Man's Sky

[@user-nr1qv4sc5j]

so how is the game now? I know about the updates, but do these updates destroy the described idea in this video?

[@TheKoobon]

@@user-nr1qv4sc5j yes, that feeling of being alone with myself, being a passerby, is gone; it's probably better game now, but it lost its magic

[@AdaptiveReasoning]

So, they made a game that wasn't fun (in the classical gamey sense), felt empty, and that kind of works for it if you go in with a certain perspective eh? Sounds like they made an unintentional 'artsy' game. I think I like that.

[@FoldingIdeas]

I don't think it's at all unintentional. I mean, they called their game "No Man's Sky"

[@jonbenge2383]

Yes it was unintentional. How do I know this? THEY ADVERTISED A "AAA" GAME WITH AMAZING "AAA" FEATURES. Fuck you for defending these crooks.

[@Karma20XX]

He didn't say much about Hello Games. He was just sharing his own experiences with the game. Just because someone liked something that's unpopular doesn't make them a white knight.

[@dakusouru5491]

Yeah - only problem is they slapped Giant Space Battles, and Multiplayer on it for marketing and sold it full price. Hence, why it tanked so hard.

[@The5lacker]

I don't even think it was unintentional. I think Sony just pushed them away from that initial goal and all the hype built this... expectation in people as to what a space exploration game should be, which NMS simply... isn't. It's one of the reasons that with every update to the game I sigh forlornly as people get what they keep asking for... none of which will ever make the game they want, because the game they want isn't the one the bought, because the game they bought isn't the one that was sold to them.

[@thiagobravo]

I loved the loneliness aspect of this game. Remember that I played it from beginning to end in a few sittings. Loved the fact that you don't need to engage in battles without end and the exploration. Some people don't like loneliness because they don't feel well by themselves, a problem that I never had. Nice review.

[@zanec14]

Solitude, to express the joy of being alone. Loneliness, to express the pain of being alone.

[@pacunha89]

Would love a 2022 follow-up to see how the updates affect your view of the gaming experience

[@soppdrake]

Nice! A very poetic and genuine thought-provoking piece. Well done.//Someone just "passing through" in public.

[@Blue-om9xn]

It’s funny how, seven years later, despite all of the updates and new features, this theme is still there. Pulsing gently under the glitz and glam of space colony’s and pirate battles, the sense of not belonging is still present, pressing. You can meet other travelers, but they are simply illusions of a parallel world. You can populate a base full of “friends” but you corrupt and ruin the lives of everyone you touch. You are no longer alone- but you are never understood. You do not belong here, you don’t belong anywhere

[@sharkbaitmaster1052]

wtf I love No Man's Sky now

[@spam_1224]

don't get too attached

[@EchoLeader11]

This is fascinating. I had a lot of the same thoughts while playing No Man's Sky, but couldn't articulate them as well as you did here. Thanks for making this!

[@Solinaru]

It's been 3 years and this is the video that got me started playing so many years ago. NMS has changed so much and yet the the feeling is still the same. I'm alwayus finding something new, always traveling, always alone in the stars.

[@calebeno]

Thanks friend. You were able to put to words what I found so captivating about No Man's Sky.

[@allnaturalfigjam310]

Is it possible to somehow get this version of the game, from before it was "fixed"?

[@snmn1238]

5:00 "a constant gentle forward pressure" 5:53 "alone but not unique" 10:32 "you're just passing through, alone in public"

[@-fragile-]

does anyone know the name of the song at 10:00? I cant find it anywhere

[@goncharov000]

Beautiful analysis. I wonder what your thoughts are on the game now, in 2019, after all the changes it has gone through since launch...

[@heatherrausch6085]

No man's sky: the existential lonely one man road trip to an event that gets cancelled so you have to drive back and you end up contemplating all of your life choices that led you here.

[@Bird.droppings]

Thank you for sharing this perspective and sharing your thoughts. This was absolutely fascinating and gives me something to reflect on.

[@ChamberACR]

I really enjoy your videos; they're always very well thought out.

[@stevenmillett]

This video made me excited about this game again. Bumping it up on my wish list

[@johnathan5252]

Wait till they do the first content adding update In about a few weeks or a month

[@twistedwell9568]

Man, I haven't even seen half of the movies or games you talk about but your videos are wonderful. You are a true artist!

[@prabhdeepsingh5642]

Man you are good with words. This is like the most beautiful and poetic game review somebody has ever made. I dont know about the game but this review is a philosophical treatise on its own merit. Keep making such videos. You are quite an artist.

[@dem160d]

I didn't think anyone 'got' this game like I did. And....I am now going to listen to Modest Mouse every time I play it. I knew there was a reason I subscribed, not only for your intelligent views on many many MANY subjects, but the fact that we share similar views.

[@MaebyBaeby]

All the points made are true, but for me, No Man's Sky is a cluster of cool ideas brought to ruin by a lack of meaningful gameplay. Yes, there is value to be found in the game, but the fact its mechanics are an endless loop of filling bars to go to a new place so you can keep your bars filled takes a lot away from the atmosphere of it. There's no real driving motivation behind things. I think the main reason NMS is so hated lies mostly in the blatant lies leading up to the release. There's a long list of features the devs literally said would be in the game, and aren't. People bought it based on lies, and it doesn't really matter what actually is there; the buyer was spurned and insulted. Additionally, on PC there's already a shit-ton of games in the genre, so NMS' minimal feature list leaves the whole thing low on the list of games in the genre. If you love it, that's awesome and I'm glad the pre-release bullshit didn't ruin things. It's both a-ok and wonderful to enjoy things, regardless of if they're good or bad.

[@joemomma3648]

From what I've played, The Flame In The Flood has a lot of similar themes and mechanics going for it. Your raft is the closest thing to a home, your dog the closest thing to a friend, everyone you meet is half-mad. Scattered quilts each tell a strange disjointed fragment of some larger story never to be completed. Scavenging is the only way to survive so you have to be constantly mobile, always drifting down the river towards... something. Maybe. Aside from the conceptual multiplayer and entirely mundane survival tasks, it's right on the money.

[@8Rincewind]

Just to save you a very short Google, the specific song played at 9:53 is Dramamine by Modest Mouse. I know Dan literally just said that name, I just wasn't sure if it was _Dramamine, The Stars are Projectors_ or _It's A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing to Think About._

[@ExitStatement]

Interesting video. I've only watched two of your videos so far, but it's clear that you've studied these fields and I enjoy seeing you apply them to video games. The points you made gave me a new appreciation for a game that I've heard so much negative feedback about. Interested in seeing what other analyses you have of other games!

[@aturchomicz821]

Aaaand after like one and a half years the fans of Folding Ideas finally got an actual Episode after so much time, Epic- 4:30 6 years later and the game is more connected then ever, but this perspective is good to have next to most who said "Its Boring" back in launch year.

[@c.k.g.]

I really enjoy your analyses, sometimes they sound more like poetry than reviews. When someone can describe something so thoughtfully and articulately it feels like someone found the words I've been looking for all this time. Love putting on a film analysis and diving deep into the concepts, structures, techniques, and all the other good stuff.

[@haruruben]

Subnautica is a similar concept but more engaging in a game-ish sort of way

[@Desi-qw9fc]

I'm pretty disappointed by the domestic direction that NMS has taken for all of its updates. At the launch of Vanilla I recognised that the pull of NMS was about moving and seeing new things, being compelled to find sights that others have never seen. I made a walking sim mod (basically a cheat mod that let me ignore or speed-up resource collecting and the need to invest in environmental protection), installed other mods that made the world gen more wild and varied, and had a great time floating around taking photos of nice things. I was hoping that the devs would see ideas like this and run with it, but the only thing they've done for this kind of gameplay is add Creative mode.

[@warheroqgaming3643]

Thank you for summarizing my love for this game in the most perfect way.

[@dimentoplexitronum4923]

The vast, inarticulate hate toward this game, with the occasional thoughtful praise makes me want to buy it

[@daaaah_whoosh]

I had a good time playing No Man's Sky near the beginning. I think the updates added a lot of complexity where it wasn't needed. But whatever, it seems to appeal to a wider audience now.

[@hairohukosu433]

So, in the end, No Man's Sky is a simple metaphor for life. Brilliant, if you ignore all the dev issues.

[@shawnofdadead1805]

Thank you for making this video!

[@guspm9689]

Thanks for this vídeo man. Almost 200 hours in game and never thinked about that... now, i have a new perspective about it. Thanks.

[@thebailey67]

This is a very very well-thought-out review almost like a thought piece and I agree with most things you said even though I haven't played the game I almost picked it up yesterday at a game store and now I might just go ahead and get it just so that I can be a part of the lonely traveler in the universe quest for whatever Whateverness

[@fistsmcnasty]

That was... haunting. More please.

[@mequable]

Loved the analysis and loved the end shots both from the car and the game.

[@Babakifo]

"You're too small to do anything like that. You can't realign the world of 'No Man's Sky', any more than you could alter the course of the Earth by stomping on the ground really hard." So Deep.

[@DarinM1967]

Now that was a very deep and rich review of NMS. While I haven't played the game yet (still scrapping up for a PS4 Pro), I have watched over 120 hours of rants, raves, reviews and walkthroughs. Over that time I've grown rather fond of NMS and look forward to experiencing it myself. I have been playing video games for 42 years now (first was PONG) and even with this vast experience and knowledge of them, there is still so much left to be explored and learned from. Thanks again for sharing your perceptions and experiences with NMS. Take care now.

[@CabooseAzul]

Enjoy feeling buyers remorse. It is really easy to accept an opinion who spews personal abstract concepts like "oh it is magic, and there is something special and bla bla bla" till you actually get the game and realize there is nothing to contemplate or experience and all you have left is false feelings of positivity regarding the game because you want to either be contrarian and have a different opinion or because you don't want to accept you got played like a fool and pretend the game has more to it than what it is actually has to offer. "oh well, some people enjoyed it. You have to accept that" Yes, some people pretend to enjoy it. I find it hard to believe you can get anything for such a shallow and boring game. Some people found genuine pleasure of playing NMS? Some people enjoy drowning kittens. I dont know why. The same way some people enjoy NMS. I can't understand how you find any type of enjoyment but hey... crazy people amirite?

[@DarinM1967]

So what you are saying is that the people who disagree with you must be crazy? Hmm. Well if you look at it that way my rebuttal would be that the people who blindly follow advertisements no matter how extreme and preorder something based on those advertisements without waiting for honest reviews are equally crazy.

[@CabooseAzul]

+Darin Murphy First there is something called "common sense". I honestly cant understand how there are people who find NMS appealing and fun. People claim they enjoy the exploration. There is nothing to explore. Planets look all the same minus swapped color pallet. Same rocks formations, trees, fungus etc. Same abandoned installations, same alien ruins. Not to mention the alien species. They are random generated yes, poorly generated with awful animal pieces glued together but hey, they at least look different I guess.... even tho they all behave exactly the same. They walk around like brainless zombies. No interesting AI behavior, nothing interesting to see except awful generated body parts. So, exploration is awful. What is there left? Farming? Shooting at the same rocks with your laser to farm minerals to upgrade your stuff? Quests? You mean the two? Reaching the center of the galaxy (that gives you a laughable surprise) and the Atlas "go from point A to point B" side quest. There is nothing interesting to explore. There is nothing interesting to do. I can understand how there are people praising the game for no other reason but to justify their purchase, to try to cope with the fact they got tricked, that they wasted 60 dollars. It feel like people are forcing hype post game release. Trying to praise the game with abstract notions "oh there is something special about the game, can say why tho" either because they want to be contrarian or for buyers remorse. Save your 60 bucks. Go out with your loved one. Go watch a movie, pay for a nice dinner or buy another superior game. FF15 is almost here after 10 years of development. Nier Automata apparently has a 2016 release date. The last Guardian later this year. The money is yours. Buy NMS if you want but be prepared for disappointment.

[@tubaterry]

I picked up No Man's Sky after they added VR and the "Alone in Public" effect is such a great explanation for why I love it. And Elite Dangerous. And chatting briefly with the bartender whose name I'll never know, and solo road trips.

[@LeoFieTv]

I tried playing this game after watching your video, but I couldn't get into it. I started on a planet, needing a special yellow plant among many yellow plants. All I could do was run around trying to find it, die, reload, collect it if I found anything, rinse, repeat. I don't know if I did something wrong, because the game didn't tell me anything. Yes, I'm bad at video games, but I still want to play. People like me exist.

[@koboldcatgirl]

This comment reminds me a lot of Minecraft.

[@blokey8]

Does anyone know the title of the closing song? Been through the soundtrack and it doesn't appear to be on there

[@TooFatTooFurious]

Just two days ago I asked you about it in Twitch stream. And now you made a video about it. SO COOL! Also, sorry if I was a bit invasive with my question about angry manbaby reaction

[@forevererrol]

This video moved me and for that I am grateful. Having watched a number of your videos it is clear you know what you're doing, you understand the tools of your craft but I'm still in awe of the final... I'm loathe to say product, a term which diminishes things somehow. Let's say experience. The dashcam footage of your journey, the comments on how every person you pass is experiencing their own story, how you may meet and interact but it is a fleeting moment. The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows names this feeling sonder. I am feeling sonderous. I'm sorry, this comment is meandering meaninglessly. I wanted to say something but I can't find the words. Just... thank you.

[@hootie017]

this is so incredible, i spent 10 minutes searching my old "liked" video playlist to find it. thank you

[@270z]

First video of yours I've watched and yes, yes, yes I'm subscribed. Thanks for making me not feel like a weirdo for enjoying this game

[@lumen8341]

hey, bud. I pre-ordered NMS on PS4 and was addicted to it for the 3 days it took me to realize how shallow/broken it was. I was upset like a lot of other people. I've tried to come back for the updates, but I'm not feeling it. THAT SAID: you enjoy it if you enjoy it. there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I'm envious of people who can play it today and love it unconditionally but that doesn't mean I have to be bitter about it. you play it and you like it if it pleases you.

[@evanahearne1479]

I played 200+ hours of vanilla no man's sky, but it lost that magic no sooner than the first big update

[@Ratstick58]

Between this and your take on the last Jedi, I’m just finding it fascinating. I’ve never agreed with someone’s arguments so much and identified with their presentation while simultaneously just having wildly, nearly opposite tastes in media. I feel like you’re the only KZbin like this for me. Fascinating.

[@noboomtoday]

Your first twitch stream of pushing toward the galactic center convinced me to buy the game. From the game's announcement i wasn't sure if it would be something I would enjoy actually playing, but it has that sort of melancholic loneliness that I find weirdly comforting in games.

[@JustLost1030]

I keep watching this and it makes me the good sad every time.

[@Toksyuryel]

I wish the game had embraced its identity instead of caving to public pressure. It was a much more interesting game when it was actually doing something unique, now it just blends in with all the other sandbox survival games.

[@tylerthunder2001]

I like No Man's Sky how it is now and it's always getting better it's a universe so they can pretty much add anything to it

[@tylerthunder2001]

Their vision now is bigger

[@MidoriMushrooms]

I feel like this encompasses so well why I enjoyed the game when I started playing. It's gotten a lot of updates lately, even has proper multiplayer now, but I don't feel like it's lost this vibe. It still feels like a space road trip - albeit one you can now share with friends sometimes. I think that makes it unique in the space exploration genre.

[@roundishwhale]

I do like your interpretation of NMS very much. But I kinda feel like the newer updates ot the game did undermine your interpretation somehow^^

[@vulfpet3568]

you know this dosen't make the gameplay fun but it makes it understandable, i'm still not going to buy the game but I will apreciate from a distance so, thank you, for making me apreciate things on a new level.

[@NaumRusomarov]

I have spend multiple lifetimes in this game. It's something captivating about it that just makes me come back to it again and again. It's the ultimate solitude simulator.

[@albedoshader]

The protagonist in No Man’s Sky is all but alone. There is not a single planet in the whole universe that hasn’t been completely colonized before your arrival. There is nothing to discover because everything has been discovered before your arrival. Or better, the only thing to discover is the fact that you never are the discoverer of anything in the whole universe. That’s how I see it.

[@wendigo8204]

Love the lonely My main complaint is that there's always ships flying over gets rid of some lonely

[@Poulpc]

Best Review i seen so far of this game

[@Mier0blivious]

Not knowing the experience of the game and only going from reviews from what I've seen online, I just happened to come across this and it peaked my interest. After you gave the comparison with Modest's Mouse earlier work, you've captivated my attention. Being a fan of those two mentioned albums, I instantly understood your view.

[@richardeldridge5170]

I’d love to know the bands or songs that you mention or makes reference to towards the end of the video.. does anyone know who they are..? Thanks in advance :)

[@KarmaPaym3ntPlan]

65daysofstatic wrote the soundtrack Reason I found out about the game, way back (The Fall of Math is easily their best album, and maybe the only one I still have deep affection for) And he’s just listing Modest Mouse albums, and saying that certain tracks of theirs would sit well alongside some of 65’s contributions to the game

[@madguy228]

I always get chills whenever I hear the intro to Dramamine.

[@greenakutabi]

The "alone in public" feeling is one I enjoy. I like it better than my destinations most times. I've never played the game but I do admire the atheistic of the lonely. It's what I feel like most times and when I'm actually alone, my inside world and outside world align and it just feels... right.

[@unangbangkay]

It's really interesting to come back to this video in 2024 knowing more about what No Man's Sky is like *now* compared to its launch state (which I also played and appreciated much in the same way Dan does above), and it's like it's talking about an entirely different game that happens to use the same assets. I haven't given current NMS as much time as I'd like to, but by all accounts I'd like that quite a bit too, though perhaps not in the same way.

[@TheLegendOZelda360]

The modest mouse reference just earned you a donation on your patrion sir

[@megaralph12345]

Would you re visit this video with the lattes update and story? just as a curiosity.

[@katenyeart]

This was deeply beautiful. I'd like to spend some time in that place.

[@samspunker]

Thank you for a very good viewpoint on NMS. I love the game and enjoy the solo aspect of it too!

[@sunainahussain]

I enjoyed the video and the points Dan made and I think a lot of the commentators either don't understand that he was able to enjoy the game and parse out this perspective despite its faults (in the same way that we have our guilty pleasures or 'bad movies') or don't care and feel that anyone enjoying No Man's Sky- even with acknowledging its clusterfuck of a production and its lackluster design- is a betrayal of integrity/ethics itself and advocating for Hello Games or their bad practices. (Which is obviously false) However, here's my perspective: when the first videos came out, showing the expansive scope and potential of this game, the expectation I had was that this was a game that would allow you to have a million adventures in a similar manner to 'Breath of the Wild': you wander around for a bit, looking for something to do or just decide to chat up an NPC and before you know it you're sledding down an icy slope with seal like creatures wearing an impractical pink dress. Except this time, there would be *so much* content that unlike 'Breath of the Wild', you could potentially keep doing this _forever_. Every play session would be like an episode of Cowboy Bebop or Space Dandy and everyone at the water cooler would have their own fanfiction-worthy series of stories to tell. Instead what actually came out was something that was empty and only now are they trying to patch it up, after the game has been released and demanded $60 for something that was just...unfinished and unengaging. Not just that everything was repetitive or its tendency to crash but that none of that isolation or mundanity actually made a deliberate point the way 'Gone Home' or 'Firewatch' did. NMS was empty because it was unpolished and rushed, the product of what can be best described as 'A Series of Everything Wrong With the Videogame Industry and its Customers'. I personally want to believe that this game is a middle finger to all of us for all the selfish toxicity we spewed over a bad marketing campaign about a few lines of code. That we deserve this empty and unfun experience on some level. But I know that narrative isn't true and that even if I were to like the game from that mindset it would still be a narrative I imposed over the game regardless of what actually happened and how bad it actually is. And the thing is...there's nothing wrong with either of those things. You really can impose whatever you want about this game. And as long as no one is actually hurt in the process and you even manage to take enjoyment from a product that shouldn't be enjoyed? Then I think that's fantastic. Because you've taken a trainwreck and made a sculpture out of it, even if you're the only person who likes it.

[@Retrostar619]

I'm in the weird position now of appreciating the additional options and modes the free updates have provided, but I still prefer the original game mode because its sense of loneliness and gentle exploration allows me to relax and unwind at the end of a day all too full of other people's voices.

[@XX-sp3tt]

Will you make a new review once "NEXT" update is released along with the Xbox version?

[@LucGendrot]

I love this review because it avoids all the typical talk of delays, PR overhypedness, and gamer fury. That said, I also think a lot of the language used in this review sort of implies the features of the game that Dan likes are purposeful in their design which, if you trust the accepted story behind the game's development, they weren't? I find that odd. Not bad...just odd.

[@leadsharp]

Curious, do you still play and if so what do you think of the games evolution?

[@ces4621]

I'm interested in NMS but it needs more work or a 10 buck pricetag to make me buy it.

[@mcossack8267]

you could always pirate it on pc doe

[@ces4621]

FaZe Dank I could but would prefer to wait for a more refined version to come out... Assuming it ever does.

[@mcossack8267]

Ebon Shadow yea ik

[@TheEpcotman]

Beautiful essay! The atmosphere the game creates is brilliant and it's why I play it everyday.

[@jackmaney4276]

I'm so glad that Hello Games didn't just abandon this game and genuinely tried to fix and improve it.

[@WorstPoppyEu]

Can you recommend some books?

[@romankov3682]

Yes, I would also like a recommended reading list from Folding Ideas. I am 100% serious on this front.

[@FoldingIdeas]

What kinds of books?

[@romankov3682]

Books that are thematically similar to piece of media you comment on, or books that have themes that mirror themes you are preoccupied with. The word I would use for this books is companion pieces. For instance, you've been making videos about desolate traveling and detached post-modernism. You could recommend books you've read that deal with this. Alternatively, you could just recommend good books that you believe to be essential in one way or another. I think you could introduce ppl, including myself, to material that is didactic to the reader in more than object knowledge/static information. Honestly, I've been following your channel since season 2 on blip, and I have enjoy all your content. Your analytical criticism of pulp friction and popular culture at large has helped train my literary perceptions to see intent and antitheses that I would not have otherwise. Thanks, man.

[@D3mi4n]

simple answer? "more of this please"

[@WorstPoppyEu]

Anything

[@casono]

In 40 years Star Citizen will be what No Man's Sky is now.

[@SxKirbyxG]

its cool to find content creators living in the same city. its not common to see anyone from calgary so I'm glad I stumbled upon this