No Man’s Sky Controversy – Did Hello Games Lie?


No Man’s Sky has been out for a while and while Hello Games is trying its best to fix its performance and bug issues – on both the PC and the PS4 – it has been accused of misleading them. According to reports, the final game is nowhere close to what was advertised prior to its release, and some gamers describe its E3 material as misleading as the one for Aliens: Colonial Marines.

There is currently a HUGE post on Reddit with all the features that were advertised and yet are not in the final version of No Man’s Sky. We strongly suggest reading it as it’s a pretty HUGE list.

Hello Games did lie about the game’s online functionalities. Right now, there is no multiplayer support and players can see each other. Sean Murray claimed that such a thing was possible, however it has been proven – multiple times – that this feature is not present in the final game. Yes, you can name planets and animals that will be stored on the game’s servers, however you cannot interact with other players.

Hello Games also lied about some features that were promised. From what we’ve experienced, you cannot hack reinforced doors (you can only destroy them) and you cannot destroy Space Stations or Fleets.

The physics of the planets have been scaled back as planets are not rotating or/and orbiting around a Sun. And the list goes on and on.

Now given the game’s procedural nature, it’s possible that some of those features are still present in the game (like large creatures affecting the landscape).

However, the biggest issue with No Man’s Sky is that its E3 “gameplay” trailer is nowhere close to what gamers will experience in it. Hell, that video also showed glimpses of multiplayer space action. And yes, we all know that E3 trailers are made of ‘scripted sequences to wow audience’, however we’re talking here about a game with procedurally-generated levels/animals/weather. And that’s a big disappointment.

Despite some of its really cool features (like the seamless exploration), Hello Games promised a lot of things. Perhaps this was the reason why the game has been finally released, after all those delays. Perhaps Hello Games could not achieve its original vision. Or perhaps some of these features will be added later in the game.

The point is that the final version of No Man’s Sky is not up to what has been advertised these past couple of years!