History YMMV / NoMansSky

** The upcoming ''[[https://www.nomanssky.com/2019/03/no-mans-sky-beyond/ Beyond]]'' update, to be released in the summer of 2019, will continue the trend of free content updates, bringing a vastly enhanced online multiplayer system, called ''No Man's Sky Online''. It will bring an MMO social and online experience to the game while not including {{Microtransactions}} or subscription fees. Another announced new component in the ''Beyond'' update is ''[[https://www.nomanssky.com/2019/03/no-mans-sky-beyond-vr/ No Man's Sky Virtual Reality]]'', adding VR support and increasing the immersive experience while flying in your starship and allowing for more intricate terrain manipulation.

Because the game was so OvershadowedByControversy during its disastrous launch in August 2016, tropes for this era of the game's release were much different than the various free updates Hello Games released in the two years since, especially the ''NEXT'' release, made live on July 24, 2018. Therefore, this page has been categorized into folders describing the pre-release and immediate launch era of the game (2013-2016) and the game's development since then.

Because the game was so OvershadowedByControversy during its disastrous launch on August 2016, tropes for this era of the game's release were much different than the various free updates Hello Games released in the two years since, especially the ''NEXT'' release, made live on July 24, 2018. Therefore, this page has been categorized into folders describing the pre-release and immediate launch era of the game (2013-2016) and the game's development since then.

** When you die, a random quote is displayed. Usually, this is from a famous scientist or philosopher, but one possible quote is Jaden Smith's [[MemeticMutation infamous "How can mirrors be real if our eyes aren't real?"]]

Because the game was so OvershadowedByControversy during its disastrous launch on August 2016, tropes for this era of the game's release were much different than the various free updates Hello Games released in the two years since leading up to the current ''NEXT'' release, made live on July 24, 2018. Therefore, this page has been categorized into folders describing the pre-release and immediate launch era of the game (2013-2016) and the game's development since then.

** No Man's Sky NEXT seems to have finally done it for them. In addition to the game being released for the UsefulNotes/XboxOne, The update added proper multiplayer with drop-in and drop-out with other players, revamped dogfights, the ability to visit other players' bases, parties of up to 4 people, and the ability to customize your freighter to make it a mobile base. Since the July 24, 2018, release of the NEXT update, 79% of Steam user reviews have been positive (compared to only 39% positive reviews before the NEXT update) while the all-time reviews have risen to 47% recommended from an all-time low of 12% recommended. Consecutive player counts on Steam alone reached a peak of nearly 98,000 people on July 29, 2018, a massive surge from an average of under 1,000 people before the ''NEXT'' update and the most since the game's all-time high of 212,613 on its release day on August 12, 2016.
** The upcoming ''[[https://www.nomanssky.com/2019/03/no-mans-sky-beyond/ Beyond]]'' update, to be released in the summer of 2019, will continue the trend of free content updates, bringing a vastly enhanced online multiplayer system, called ''No Man's Sky Online''. It will bring an MMO social and online experience to the game while not including {{Microtransactions}} or subscription fees. Another announced new component in the ''Beyond'' update is ''[[https://www.nomanssky.com/2019/03/no-mans-sky-beyond-vr/ No Man's Sky Virtual Reality]]'', adding to the immersive experience while flying in your starship and allowing for more intricate terrain manipulation.

** No Man's Sky NEXT seems to have finally done it for them, with addition of finally released on Xbox One. The update added proper multiplayer with drop-in and drop-out with other players, revamped dogfights, the ability to visit other players' bases, parties of up to 4 people, and the ability to customize your freighter to make it a mobile base. Since the July 24, 2018, release of the NEXT update, 79% of Steam user reviews have been positive (compared to only 39% positive reviews before the NEXT update) while the all-time reviews have risen to 47% recommended from an all-time low of 12% recommended. Consecutive player counts on Steam alone reached a peak of nearly 98,000 people on July 29, 2018, a massive surge from an average of under 1,000 people before the ''NEXT'' update and the most since the game's all-time high of 212,613 on its release day on August 12, 2016.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: During the period of time during the game's initial launch, [[https://youtu.be/uTTPlqK8AnY?t=17m39s in an interview with Sean Murray]], the interviewer jokes about how the game's ending (reaching the center of the universe) would be a SmashToBlack, akin to ''The Sopranos''. Murray and the interviewer then crack up and comment that that's a funny idea. With the game's reputation and amount of content at the time, very few people found it funny.

** One update in NEXT increased the timers for crop growing. Depending on the crop, players would expect to wait anywhere from 2 hours to up to 48 hours for growth times before harvesting. Many people complained that this ruined one way of making a lot of money in the game, since for a while, another way to make money in the game, commodity trading between different planetary systems of differing economies, was broken simply because ''the trade commodities did not appear in the trade hubs for purchase.'' These crop timers were later reduced after many complaints.

** The scaling of ship prices as you increase available inventory slots is so expansive that the only viable option to max ship inventory space is to play the crash site trading game. An early game vessel can run from 1 to 2 million units, which isn't that hard to make. A ship that has around 20-25 inventory slots may be around 12 to 15 million - steep, but doable. Ships with more than 40 inventory slots? ''Over 60 million units.'' A ship with the maximum of 48 slots can cost over 100 million units.

* BrokenBase: Before it was even released, fans were divided on whether the game would live on to be a memorable space exploration experience, or an overhyped sandbox game that would severely disappoint.

** Later updates introduced cooldown timers for certain missions. These timers range from 2 hours to up to 6 hours. Some people feel these timers are unnecessary in a game like this.

* TaintedByThePreview: A person known on Reddit as "Daymeeuhn" got a copy of the game early ([[CrackIsCheaper for $1,300]]) and posted his initial impressions of the game. Criticisms of glitches, the ability to make a lot of money off of easily findable items, and the journey to the center being far shorter than initially promised (among others) deflated a lot of players' hype for the game, leading to more than a few cancelled pre-orders. Sean Murray's insistence that players ignore Daymeeuhn's posts [[StreisandEffect have done even worse towards the damage]].

* MemeticBadass: In a complete 180 from how fans felt about him [[LyingCreator before]], Sean Murray of all people has become this in the game's fandom. Rivaling Creator/MorganFreeman in terms of god like awesomeness. And it's all thanks to the game's many [[WinBackTheCrowd updates]]. Ditto for the rest of Hello Games.

* MemeticMutation: Sean and the Hello Games team being worshipped as gods has taken off in the fandom (see MemeticBadass above).

** The Pathfinder Update added land vehicles, online base sharing, new weapons for both the ship and multi tool, improvements to the discovery menu (allowing to set a way-point directly from it, making travelling to previously visited star systems much easier), photo mode, as well as many cool filters that can be applied to it, and the ability to own and purchase more than 1 star ship. So if you already have a CoolStarship, but find another one you really like, you can buy that one too in your freighter.

* FandomRivalry: May be brewing with ''VideoGame/StarlinkBattleForAtlas'', with many [[TakeThat taking shots]] at ''No Man's Sky'' when praising ''Starlink''.

** No Man's Sky NEXT seems to have finally done it for them. The update added proper multiplayer with drop-in and drop-out with other players, revamped dogfights, the ability to visit other players' bases, parties of up to 4 people, and the ability to customize your freighter to make it a mobile base. Since the July 24, 2018, release of the NEXT update, 79% of Steam user reviews have been positive (compared to only 39% positive reviews before the NEXT update) while the all-time reviews have risen to 47% recommended from an all-time low of 12% recommended. Consecutive player counts on Steam alone reached a peak of nearly 98,000 people on July 29, 2018, a massive surge from an average of under 1,000 people before the ''NEXT'' update and the most since the game's all-time high of 212,613 on its release day on August 12, 2016.

** The reception to the Waking Titan ARG to promote the 1.3 update is split down the middle for fans. On the one hand, many find it both interesting and fun, especially since it adds a lot of story details to a StoryBreadcrumbs setting, and think it's leading into a nice meaty update after two rather small ones. On the other, many fans are cautious of getting the hype train started again after it ran wild before the game's release, resulting in a lot of HypeBacklash.

* HypeBacklash:
** The August 1 leaks resulted in the game's Reddit community going into a meltdown so filled with hype backlash (due to buggy gameplay that also draws into the fears of the game being puddle-shallow) that posters trying to preserve the hype started doing detective work to "prove" that the leaked copy of the game wasn't a retail copy as stated, but in fact a 'demo' or 'non-final developer copy'.
** The confirmation that review copies would not be given pre-release raised some eyebrows, as this practice is common for games that don't expect to do well when the hype cycle dies down (See ''Assassin's Creed Unity'' as an example of this). While people thought it would be a BrokenBase case (as the same thing happened with ''DOOM 2016'', which had been received well with both critics and fans), it would show in the ObviousBeta that both versions had in the final release.
** Still others are off-put by the survival sandbox-esque gameplay akin to ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' and its extreme length.

* {{Misblamed}}: While there is no doubt that the disastrous launch of this game was due to undelivered promises from the trailers in the initial version, it was not entirely Sean Murray and Hello Games' fault. Many people forget that ''No Man's Sky'' launched simultaneously for both the PC and the [=PS4=], and there was [[https://wccftech.com/disgrunted-hello-games-employee-tweets-no-mans-sky-mistake/ pressure from Sony]] to [[ExecutiveMeddling release the game quickly]]. If the game was a PC-only release at launch, then Hello Games would have likely gone the Early Access route. Since Sony does not have an Early Access program, Hello Games had to release the game in full simultaneously on both the PC and [=PS4=] platforms. There was also the negative aspect of the gamer community, most notably the [[https://www.polygon.com/2016/5/29/11807840/no-mans-sky-delayed-death-threats-creator infamous death threats]] sent to Sean and Hello Games when the game was delayed release.

** In the NEXT update, you were given the ability to recruit a fleet of frigates once you obtain your first freighter. When you send your frigates out onto missions to get rare items and credits, sometimes your frigates will fail a mission, suffering damage, and return to you. Reasons usually include being attacked by pirates. However, in one instance, [[https://new.reddit.com/r/NoMansSkyTheGame/comments/999s7q/not_even_500ly_out_and_my_crew_just_parties_until/ the crew of a frigate that suffered damage apparently partied so hard that they broke their own ship]].

---> '''Log entry 4194:''' Ground crew chased by aggressive blob creatures on planet. Crew able to take photographs while fleeing.

* {{Misblamed}}: While there is no doubt that the disastrous launch of this game was due to undelivered promises from the trailers in the initial version, it was not entirely Sean Murray and Hello Games' fault. Many people forget that ''No Man's Sky'' launched simultaneously for both the PC and the [=PS4=], and there was [[https://wccftech.com/disgrunted-hello-games-employee-tweets-no-mans-sky-mistake/ pressure from Sony to release the game quickly]]. If the game was a PC-only release at launch, then Hello Games would have likely gone the Early Access route. Since Sony does not have an Early Access program, Hello Games had to release the game in full simultaneously on both the PC and [=PS4=] platforms. There was also the negative aspect of the gamer community, most notably the [[https://www.polygon.com/2016/5/29/11807840/no-mans-sky-delayed-death-threats-creator infamous death threats sent to Sean and Hello Games when the game was delayed release]].

* FunnyMoments:

* MostWonderfulSound:

* NeverLiveItDown: Subverted. While Sean Murray and Hello Games have not completely shaken off the damage to their reputation since the game's launch, many fans have already forgiven them and shown their support due to the updates the game has been getting. It's become so good that in the eyes of fans, Sean Murray and Hello Games are seen as [[MemeticBadass memetic badasses]].

* FunnyMoments: During the game's disastrous launch, people made fun of the game and its developers. Hilarity ensued:
** In a meta example: UsefulNotes/{{YouTube}} cracked down on videos of leaked copies being uploaded, so the leakers turned to another video hosting site. What site? ''Pornhub''.

** The Atlas Rises update is this [[UpToEleven in spades]]! On top of adding even better visuals than was already in the game, there's now improved space combat, dramatically increased likelihood of planetary ship dogfights, low flight, functioning portals, an overhauled and much more user friendly interface, missions and factions (and the wars that come with them), new worlds, ''A NEW STORY'', and the biggest feature of all: ''multiplayer''. Although players cannot directly interact with each-other yet, especially given the enormous distances between individual players, the fact that it is now possible for 2 travelers to meet is a HUGE CrowningMomentOfAwesome on the part of the developers.

* MemeticMutation:During the game's disastrous launch, many memes came up in jest of the game and the developer Hello Games:

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Apollo has gotten quite a few fans for his cool personality, relatability to the player base, and the fact that he's one of the few characters in the game that [[TrueCompanions genuinely cares about you]].

* MemeticMutation:
** During the game's disastrous launch, many memes came up in jest of the game and the developer Hello Games:
*** The early pre-release marketing being somewhat vague about the gameplay led to the phrase "What do you even do?!" becoming popular within the fanbase. It has since been used ironically.
*** Photoshopping the game's box art to show a picture of Newman from ''Seinfeld'' and editing the game's title as ''Newman's Sky''.
*** During the game's disastrous launch, as the game suffered backlash, plenty of names rhyming with and mocking the title came out such as "No Man's Buy" or "No Man's Lie".
*** Due to the lackluster content at release and subsequent content being introduced in updates, players have joked that Hello Games basically release the DLC then slowly add the full game later.

* BrokenBase: Before it was even released, fans were divided on whether the game would live on to be a memorable space exploration experience, or an overhyped sandbox game that would severely disappoint.
** With the Foundations Update, some became happy, but others continued saying it's too little, too late, arguing those features found in the update should have been in the game to start with, and that putting them in won't help the game much, if at all.
** The reception to the Waking Titan ARG to promote the 1.3 update is split down the middle for fans. On the one hand, many find it both interesting and fun, especially since it adds a lot of story details to a StoryBreadcrumbs setting, and think it's leading into a nice meaty update after two rather small ones. On the other, many fans are cautious of getting the hype train started again after it ran wild before the game's release, resulting in a lot of HypeBacklash.
** Later updates introduced cooldown timers for certain missions. These timers range from 2 hours to up to 6 hours. Some people feel these timers are unnecessary in a game like this.
** One update in NEXT increased the timers for crop growing. Depending on the crop, players would expect to wait anywhere from 2 hours to up to 48 hours for growth times before harvesting. Many people complained that this ruined one way of making a lot of money in the game, since for a while, another way to make money in the game, commodity trading between different planetary systems of differing economies, was broken simply because ''the trade commodities did not appear in the trade hubs for purchase.'' These crop timers were later reduced after many complaints.

* FunnyMoments:
** When you die, a random quote is displayed. Usually, this is from a famous scientist or philosopher, but one possible quote is Jaden Smith's [[MemeticMutation infamous "How can mirrors be real if our eyes aren't real?"]]
** When the NEXT update allowed players to customize their character's appearance, the game's different species were made available for selection. When you select the Gek as your species, in first-person mode, your viewpoint will actually be lowered compared to the other races, given that the Gek are the shortest out of the species of beings in the game.
** In the NEXT update, you were given the ability to recruit a fleet of frigates once you obtain your first freighter. When you send your frigates out onto missions to get rare items and credits, sometimes your frigates will fail a mission, suffering damage, and return to you. Reasons usually include being attacked by pirates. However, in one instance, [[https://new.reddit.com/r/NoMansSkyTheGame/comments/999s7q/not_even_500ly_out_and_my_crew_just_parties_until/ the crew of a frigate that suffered damage apparently partied so hard that they broke their own ship]].
*** On missions, your frigates may encounter a [[DeathSeeker Vy'Keen death cult]]. Your crew gives them what they ask for.
*** Even the descriptions of the frigates and their crew can be hilarious. [[https://new.reddit.com/r/NoMansSkyTheGame/comments/95xd67/sorry_not_intereste_wood_paneling_you_say/ This one]] has [[SkewedPriorities wood paneling]] on her bulkhead and a haunted radar that decreases her exploration rating. Crews can sometimes have a lax dress code and other frigates can have "pleasing wall art" as well.
*** [[https://www.reddit.com/r/NoMansSkyTheGame/comments/9a01jr/log_entry_4194/ This log entry]].
---> '''Log entry 4194:''' Ground crew chased by aggressive blob creatures on planet. Crew able to take photographs while fleeing.

* GameBreaker: In the game's initial version, encountering any planet that features an abundance of some super rare, high value material, such as gravitino balls, albumen pearls, or vortex cubes. Doubly true if gathering these does not provoke an immediate Sentinel ambush, and you can get a price markup in your favor when selling the resource. It's entirely possible to fly away from such planets 10-20 million units richer.

* GameBreaker: Later versions introduced upgrade modules of different grades that you can install on your multi-tool, your exosuit, and your starship. It is entirely possible to find S-class scanner upgrades for your multi-tool that increase your flora and fauna scanning rewards by 6000% or more. These upgrades even stack. It is not unusual by then to be able to earn 500k or more units per creature/plant scan.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: Every single patch could be seen as an attempt at this due to the controversy surrounding many of the promised features that were missing during the game's initial release.
** The day one patch notes, which many suspect were released just to combat the leaks and prove that the leaked copies were, in fact, incomplete builds. Judging from the reviews from critics, however, [[SubvertedTrope it didn't seem to help much]], being just a posturing TakeThat to the pirated versions.
** Patch 1.04, released August 18th, fixed some of the bugs each version suffered.
** The entirety of the Foundations Update, which added numerous features that were previously promised, including base building and board-able freighters, in addition to fixing a number of bugs.
** The July 24, 2018 ''NEXT'' update brings in the promised multiplayer. Thanks to this update, which follows two previous years of free content updates, many players came back. See WinBackTheCrowd for more information.
* BrokenBase: Before it was even released, fans were divided on whether the game would live on to be a memorable space exploration experience, or an overhyped sandbox game that would severely disappoint.
** With the Foundations Update, some became happy, but others continued saying it's too little, too late, arguing those features found in the update should have been in the game to start with, and that putting them in won't help the game much, if at all.
** The reception to the Waking Titan ARG to promote the 1.3 update is split down the middle for fans. On the one hand, many find it both interesting and fun, especially since it adds a lot of story details to a StoryBreadcrumbs setting, and think it's leading into a nice meaty update after two rather small ones. On the other, many fans are cautious of getting the hype train started again after it ran wild before the game's release, resulting in a lot of HypeBacklash.
** Later updates introduced cooldown timers for certain missions. These timers range from 2 hours to up to 6 hours. Some people feel these timers are unnecessary in a game like this.
** One update in NEXT increased the timers for crop growing. Depending on the crop, players would expect to wait anywhere from 2 hours to up to 48 hours for growth times before harvesting. Many people complained that this ruined one way of making a lot of money in the game, since for a while, another way to make money in the game, commodity trading between different planetary systems of differing economies, was broken simply because ''the trade commodities did not appear in the trade hubs for purchase.'' These crop timers were later reduced after many complaints.
* CriticalDissonance: On their initial launch on August 2016, the [=PS4=] and [=PC=] versions from critics on Metacritic were 74 and 61 respectively, which are [[SoOkayItsAverage fairly average]] rankings. User reviews? 4.1 and ''2.8'', respectively. Steam's user ratings were ''worse'', with a low of '''12%''' of the people giving positive reviews. This became one of the most disastrous launches of a game known.
* EndingAversion: Not long after the game was released, players had already managed to reach the center of the galaxy. And what did they find? [[spoiler:Absolutely nothing. Instead it begins a NewGamePlus, [[AWinnerIsYou where the player is teleported to another galaxy without any kind of reward or plot revelation]]]]. Obviously, people who found out about this ending decided the game was ''not'' worth buying.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Apollo has gotten quite a few fans for his cool personality, relatability to the player base, and the fact that he's one of the few characters in the game that [[TrueCompanions genuinely cares about you]].
* FunnyAneurysmMoment: During the period of time during the game's initial launch, [[https://youtu.be/uTTPlqK8AnY?t=17m39s in an interview with Sean Murray]], the interviewer jokes about how the game's ending (reaching the center of the universe) would be a SmashToBlack, akin to ''The Sopranos''. Murray and the interviewer then crack up and comment that that's a funny idea. With the game's reputation and amount of content at the time, very few people found it funny.
* FunnyMoments:
** When you die, a random quote is displayed. Usually, this is from a famous scientist or philosopher, but one possible quote is Jaden Smith's [[MemeticMutation infamous "How can mirrors be real if our eyes aren't real?"]]
** When the NEXT update allowed players to customize their character's appearance, the game's different species were made available for selection. When you select the Gek as your species, in first-person mode, your viewpoint will actually be lowered compared to the other races, given that the Gek are the shortest out of the species of beings in the game.
** In the NEXT update, you were given the ability to recruit a fleet of frigates once you obtain your first freighter. When you send your frigates out onto missions to get rare items and credits, sometimes your frigates will fail a mission, suffering damage, and return to you. Reasons usually include being attacked by pirates. However, in one instance, [[https://new.reddit.com/r/NoMansSkyTheGame/comments/999s7q/not_even_500ly_out_and_my_crew_just_parties_until/ the crew of a frigate that suffered damage apparently partied so hard that they broke their own ship]].
*** On missions, your frigates may encounter a [[DeathSeeker Vy'Keen death cult]]. Your crew gives them what they ask for.
*** Even the descriptions of the frigates and their crew can be hilarious. [[https://new.reddit.com/r/NoMansSkyTheGame/comments/95xd67/sorry_not_intereste_wood_paneling_you_say/ This one]] has [[SkewedPriorities wood paneling]] on her bulkhead and a haunted radar that decreases her exploration rating. Crews can sometimes have a lax dress code and other frigates can have "pleasing wall art" as well.
** During the game's disastrous launch, people made fun of the game and its developers. Hilarity ensued:
*** In a meta example: UsefulNotes/{{YouTube}} cracked down on videos of leaked copies being uploaded, so the leakers turned to another video hosting site. What site? ''Pornhub''.
*** One Youtuber [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVbV5A_MYeg uploaded a montage]] mixing his reaction to the game's ending with fragments from an interview to Sean Murray. Everything is just hilarious, from his comments about what's happening to the $5 donation with the text accompanying it saying [[spoiler:"You've been Rick Rolled".]]
*** A famous [=YouTube=] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvAwB7ogkik clip]] which shows the footage from the 2014 E3 demo while playing the majestic ''Film/JurassicPark'' film's score, [[spoiler: then switching to the actual in-game footage of a goofy-looking animal while changing the music to a very off-key rendition of that film's theme]].
* GameBreaker: In the game's initial version, encountering any planet that features an abundance of some super rare, high value material, such as gravitino balls, albumen pearls, or vortex cubes. Doubly true if gathering these does not provoke an immediate Sentinel ambush, and you can get a price markup in your favor when selling the resource. It's entirely possible to fly away from such planets 10-20 million units richer.
** Later versions introduced upgrade modules of different grades that you can install on your multi-tool, your exosuit, and your starship. It is entirely possible to find S-class scanner upgrades for your multi-tool that increase your flora and fauna scanning rewards by 6000% or more. These upgrades even stack. It is not unusual by then to be able to earn 500k or more units per creature/plant scan.

* HypeAversion: During the time leading up to the game's launch, many gamers were turned off by the sheer amount of press the game received, though this wasn't without reason: like with ''VideoGame/StarCitizen'', the game reached [[Creator/PeterMolyneux Molyneux]]-levels of promises when the trailers mostly showed exploration or one specific aspect of gameplay (say, trading or a PortalNetwork).
* HypeBacklash: At launch, many players were off-put by the survival sandbox-esque gameplay akin to ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' and its extreme length.
* ItsTheSameSoItSucks: Despite the plethora of added content culminating in ''NEXT'', a number of players are frustrated that there haven't been any meaningful changes to the game's focus on [[ScrappyMechanic repetitive resource grinding and inventory management]]. The only provision made to avoid this is the Creative Mode, which eliminates resources entirely.
* MemeticBadass: In a complete 180 from how fans felt about him [[LyingCreator before]], Sean Murray of all people has become this in the game's fandom. Rivaling Creator/MorganFreeman in terms of god like awesomeness. And it's all thanks to the game's many [[WinBackTheCrowd updates]]. Ditto for the rest of Hello Games.
* MemeticMutation:
** During the game's disastrous launch, many memes came up in jest of the game and the developer Hello Games:
*** The early pre-release marketing being somewhat vague about the gameplay led to the phrase "What do you even do?!" becoming popular within the fanbase. It has since been used ironically.
*** Photoshopping the game's box art to show a picture of Newman from ''Seinfeld'' and editing the game's title as ''Newman's Sky''.
*** During the game's disastrous launch, as the game suffered backlash, plenty of names rhyming with and mocking the title came out such as "No Man's Buy" or "No Man's Lie".
*** Due to the lackluster content at release and subsequent content being introduced in updates, players have joked that Hello Games basically release the DLC then slowly add the full game later.
** Sean and the Hello Games team being worshipped as gods has taken off in the fandom (see MemeticBadass above).

* OvershadowedByControversy: Of the "deceptive marketing" variety. Many promised or alluded features were not in the game when it released, leading many people to think they have been deceived, something which is reflected in both professional and user reviews.
* PortingDisaster: Both versions (especially the PC version) were ''extremely'' buggy at launch, with numerous players reporting framerate issues, constant crashes to desktop/dashboard, and other optimization issues despite exceeding system requirements. Several have compared these ports to the infamous PC ports of ''[[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight Arkham Knight]]'' and ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedUnity'' due to these issues. It was so notorious that [[http://www.pcinvasion.com/no-mans-sky-steam-refunds-support some refund tickets submitted by players were accepted by Valve on the basis of false advertising, regardless of whether or not they played more than two hours]]. Thankfully, [[SubvertedTrope most of the nasty ones have since been ironed out]].
* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Two years after a disastrous launch, the "NEXT" update gave the game a much-needed shot in the arm. The addition of multiplayer, in addition to other quality of life improvements, helped to win back many disenfranchised players and even [[https://www.techspot.com/news/75716-no-man-sky-update-pushes-game-top-steam.html shot the game to the top of Steam's sales charts]].
* SacredCow: During the game's launch, a very, very extreme VocalMinority of fans took to [[HePannedItNowHeSucks attacking any critic that had anything negative to say]] about the game. For example, one journalist was sent [[DisproportionateRetribution death threats just for announcing that the game had been pushed back two months.]] This [[BrokenBase further fractured]] the game's reception.

* SoOkayItsAverage: Critical reviews peg it as this. The census is that while the technical achievement of the game (being able to look up into the sky at an unknown planet, get in your spaceship and literally drive there) is one of the most impressive things to come out of next gen gaming and the atmosphere of the game is excellent, it's ultimately bogged down by being just another survival game like ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Starbound}}'', and ''VideoGame/ARKSurvivalEvolved'' and that these elements actually interfere with the things that could have been fun about the game. [[FromBadToWorse What's even worse is that]] [[WhatCouldHaveBeen a lot of the more amazing features Sean Murray and the trailers promised that would have given the game a uniqueness from the rest of the survival genre were either reduced or not implemented at all]].
* TaintedByThePreview: A person known on Reddit as "Daymeeuhn" got a copy of the game early ([[CrackIsCheaper for $1,300]]) and posted his initial impressions of the game. Criticisms of glitches, the ability to make a lot of money off of easily findable items, and the journey to the center being far shorter than initially promised (among others) deflated a lot of players' hype for the game, leading to more than a few cancelled pre-orders. Sean Murray's insistence that players ignore Daymeeuhn's posts [[StreisandEffect have done even worse towards the damage]].