A friend of mine hasn’t been able to stop talking about something for a while now: Elden Ring, the newest game from From Software, known for their Dark Souls game series. As the game nears its release, more gameplay footage and information are being made available by the company, as well as by YouTubers and other online content creators that have had access to the game’s early version. As much as I’d like to get excited about Elden Ring along with my dear friend, I can’t. I’ve been hurt before, and I don’t trust like that anymore.
The year is 2016. The gaming community is ablaze and can’t stop talking about the game that is going to revolutionize open world adventuring. The developers have promised the heavens and more, quite literally, and as a fan of the genre, I’m caught in the hype. I watch trailers, read online discussions, and talk about them to my friends and co-workers. Then, on August 8th, No Man’s Sky is finally released, and I download my pre-ordered copy immediately as I get home and start playing. A couple of days pass. Then a week. Then a few more weeks. The game is a wreck. It’s missing features, the developers are proved to have been lying in reviews, and the façade crumbles down. My personal denial only takes some days to go by, and my disappointment kicks in. I paid 60€ for this.
No Man’s Sky has slowly been redeeming itself through the years, but it still doesn’t reach what it was supposed to from the start.
As much as it stung, No Man’s Sky taught me a lesson. You shouldn’t trust games based on what people that make money by selling them tell you. I’m not above enjoying “I told you so” moments, so when Cyberpunk 2077 crashed like a freight train after all the hype it had garnered, I was happy that my cynical outlook on these situations had saved me from another blow, especially as a fan of CD Projekt Red thanks to the Witcher-series.
Of course, hype is everywhere. We see it in all forms of media and even in everyday life in varying intensity, and we can never know if our expectations will be met. To me personally, though, games are somehow more disappointing when bad. A movie, for example, will cost me 10€-20€ on average and lasts for about two hours. A video game, unless indie, will likely cost me 60€ or more, and is meant to be enjoyed for a longer period of time, especially with multiplayer and/or competitive games. An event like a concert might not be as exciting as I imagined it in my head, but it didn’t have trailers and footage of what it will be like that are proven to have been manipulated or straight up lies about what the final product is like.
Cyberpunk 2077 always looked too good to be true.
I don’t hate hype. In fact, I quite enjoy the feeling of it. That excitement that makes you look forward to the future and lets you talk with your friends about something you both are passionate about feels good. Every trailer makes your heart skip a beat, and when you finally get what you’ve been waiting for, you can’t help but be happy. What I dislike is when that final moment turns into a gut punch that is made heavier by each second of wait you have endured. It hurts when you realize that you’ve been lied to and taken advantage of. The worst part is when people that have listened to you going on and on about the game ask you “So, how is it?” and there’s a feeling of shame in admitting it was not at all what you expected and advertised it as.
I can live without that excitement, and as they say, a pessimist is never disappointed. I am, however, scared for others. People that spent hundreds for special editions and collectible items, people that take tattoos or take a week of vacation when the game launches, people that spend years waiting for something and find out that it was for nothing. I really, really hope that Elden Ring will be great. Not for myself, but for my friend. I just can’t join him in the wait. I have been hurt before. Someday, I might be able to hype again. But a broken heart is not easily healed.
Header picture by Tom Diggers: https://www.flickr.com/photos/24580165@N03/17237307102
No Man’s Sky promotional picture: https://www.mobygames.com/game/no-mans-sky/promo/imageType,1/promoImageId,44558/
Cyberpunk 2077 promotional picture: https://www.mobygames.com/game/cyberpunk-2077/promo/promoImageId,677655/
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