Over the past few months, I have been on some serious Space Gaming kicks. I played back through Mass Effect 1-3 and recently did something I beg others not to do, pre-ordered The Expanse from Owlcat and played in the closed beta.
In search of new space-based game play I have found myself looking at games I have avoided in the past. The first of these is No man’s Sky.
Like everyone I was so hyped for the launch of this game and then so massively disappointed. We were promised the universe and what we got was, well let’s just say not very good. (I am trying to be polite)
I am now 300 hours in and can tell you the game is definitely NOW worth the price of admission. With over 40 named updates and numerous other patches, all free, the folks at Hello Games took a serious gaming turd and made it gaming gold.
It is easy to get lost in the exploration of the game which can range from wrecks in space to underwater exploration of some distant planet. Overall, a nice recovery from an awful start.
The second game that I started playing about a week ago is Starfield. Again, a game that was full of promise and excitement, yet when it launched there was much gnashing of teeth and wearing of ash cloth. We expected a wide-open sandbox style game like Skyrim or Fallout and instead got a game that felt empty and barren.
Today the game has a more content and better feel thanks to two DLCs and a vibrant modding community. They have also managed to turn some of that barren feel into as asset.
Space, it seems is VAST and empty, so Starfield was not looked at, early in the right context. Where Skyrim and FO4 are some open areas, they are open in a SMALL section of the gaming world they are on. Starfield is set in a Galaxy with MANY planets and the space between. That barren feel for some sections of the game is as it should be.
The community has grown around this premise and with the new materially adding more to the game when you’re on planet the game has become quite good. It has not reached the level of redemption that NMS has attained but Bethesda has mentioned that they are still working on it. Then there is the active modder community, as with all Bethesda games, that has added a ton more content, fleshing out the game nicely.
I have been a proponent of a concept known as Patient Gaming for some time. Even did a follow up article a few years later. (Revisit Patient Gamer) Both of these games are text-book examples of how this approach to PC Gaming can be of huge benefit to the gamer. Both games now feel more finished, have better game play and lower cost than if you grabbed them on launch day.
However, both games also point to a real issue we have seen developing, pardon the unintended pun, in the world of PC Gaming over the years. Developers make wild promises, delivering mediocre or poor games and then fixing them after launch, sometimes.
I fear this approach will become even more the norm unless we, as the gamers make a stand. The way to do this is the same thing I discussed in both Patient Gamer articles, do not buy at launch or pre-order. (Yes, I feel the hypocrisy oozing out of me on that one right now)
We need to resist the urge to play into the hype (pun here intended) and instead let things develop. We should hold back until the game hits the market, had a few updates and DLCs. Let the games be fleshed out and made whole before giving them our money.
If we as a community could do that, show a little patience, we would find developers would respond. Game launches would be fuller featured if it meant they were losing those early sales at full price as people waited for lower cost games after more development.
For now we are left with games as we see them today, often shells of what they could be but slowly evolving over time.
The articles content, opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed in SAPPHIRE NATION are the authors’ own and do not necessarily represent official policy or position of SAPPHIRE Technology.
