14 Most Polarising Video Games Of The Decade (So Far)

7. No Man's Sky

What Works?

Graphically and in terms of a pure technicality, No Man's Sky is an outstanding achievement. A 13 person dev team designing a crazy amount of "If X, then Y" algorithms so their game self-generates an entire galaxy? Outside of everything I'll get to in the negative paragraph, that really is amazing.

Of course, at launch there were too many pre-release lies told and not followed up on for the positive, explorative elements of No Man's Sky to shine through. As a discovery-focused indie experiment where you collect resources, level up ships and journey to the centre of the galaxy, No Man's Sky worked, though that wasn't remotely what we were sold.

What Doesn't?

Purpose and reward. Outside of being the sort of person who can get endless enjoyment from an interplanetary sunset or naming a small creature that looks like a sentient flan, NMS didn't ship with any discernible story.

You'd craft elements and explore so you could... craft elements and explore. Its purpose was the reward, and though various NPCs would explore this concept as a reflection on the human need to conquer mountains and plunder the depths of the oceans, this was sold as a bid budget space exploration game where your friends could posse up, and those features were nowhere to be seen.

Thankfully, one year later, Hello Games have finally made good on their promises and runaway hype expectations. The No Man's Sky of 2017 is one hell of a game, but damn if it wasn't a disastrously damaging ride getting here.