I agree that comparisons to No Man's Sky are unfair, in terms of the transparency of Hello and Compulsion. But, in a way, some similarities can also be found, namely the hype surrounding both games, even though Compulsion Games can't be blamed for said hype, whereas Sean Murray is arguably the main culprit when it came to overhyping (and overpromising) No Man's Sky. The fact is that gamers became a lot more cautious after No Man's Sky, and we're less willing to buy into the hype surrounding any game, particularly if it's an indie title selling for a (subjectively, I know) high price point.

No Man's Sky could (and should) have been a cheaper game, but Sony got involved, and suddenly the game became an overhyped indie being published by a huge studio. Do you see how this recent event in video game history is making it look like We Happy Few is going to be $50 because (supposedly) Microsoft is going to publish it? Not to mention how Sony meddled way too much with No Man's Sky, rushing its release and basically clipping Hello's wings by imposing a lot of the usual AAA corporate bullshit that limits a designer's vision and creativity, and how this could also happen to you, guys, if Microsoft (or Ubi, or EA, or whoever) gets their hands on We Happy Few?

As for the whole No Man's Sky story, I bought into the hype. I *knew* it wasn't going to be the "multiplayer" game everyone else thought it would be, Sean Murray was definitely vague when talking about it, but I still don't understand how everyone thought he implied NMS would be a true-multiplayer game. I pre-ordered it here on GOG, for some absurd amount of money. Then I waited a few months until it released. I installed it, it felt somewhat mediocre, at first, and definitely not worth the sum I had paid for it. But they keep supporting the game, and if you overlook the hype, it's a good game, if you know what you're getting yourself into. Do the improvements and (free) additions they put in the game, after release, justify its base price? I don't think so, no. But it's a good game, and I've put more than 200 hours into it, so, again, if we go by "value = game time" logic, I more than got my money's worth out of it. Sadly, a lot of things in No Man's Sky are basically just... either mediocre, at best, or just not there (yet?). But it's a good game, nevertheless, definitely worth $25-$30 (in fact, it has a 60% discount on GOG, right now, and it's going for €24). As long as you're into the genre, you should have lots of fun with it, in its current state. But, yeah, I'm never getting overhyped for a game so soon after the whole No Man's Sky debacle, and this whole We Happy Few situation is happening way too soon after it for me and many others to not be suspicious of and cautious about it. It's not fair, but it's just the way it is.

If ya'll recall they were getting picked up to make a movie or tv show based on this game. That's probably part of the reason since it would increase their supposed consumer base. Not that anyone ever really knows what this game is anyway, so it makes sense that they try to milk it from the few that do (or will).

Even with 75% or higher sales, if this game never reached a humble bundle then I'd never own it anyway so it's no fur off of my back.

Looks interesting but I don't pay 30 bucks for an unfinished game. Not to mention 50. Guess I'll wait for the final release, reviews and then a hefty sale.

It looks extremely interesting, however.

Sorry, I didn´t mean to be unfair. What I try to say in my previous two posts is that if you ask a price of 50$, people like me will expect a lot of content and game mechanics. So doubling the price is (for me) an indication that there is something really big added to the game. Failing to deliver that "special big surprise" will result in disappointment. Hence my comparison with that certain space game.

For $50 ditch the RNG and use fully hand-crafted story and world.

Maybe it´s a bit off-topic, but I made a short list showing my price expectations for games:

Base game – 10$
Huge open world or clever made interconnected levels/maps – add 5$
Lots of gameplay mechanics – add 5$
Intriguing world concept – add 5$
Fully customizable character – add 5$
Customizable home or base – add 5$
Mod-support – add 5$
Make the game a mind-blowing experience – add 10$

Interested persons have my permission to use this list for personal decision making :)

So what exactly were you referring to?

The developments are:

1. It's coming out as a "full game" with a complete story campaign mode with three playable characters and more than "250 unique encounters".
2. It's being published by Gearbox.
3. It's coming out as a full retail product in 2018, also on PS4.

Of the three developments, I expect that the second is what compelled Compulsion to push the price tag up. Let's wait and see how the game turns out, but the news that it's coming out as a boxed game for PS4 does suggest a certain amount of faith in the title. If it proves worthy of the price tag, I might pick the boxed PS4 version up.

I'm not sure what no-one is really supposed to have done before, and given Gearbox's very poor reputation right now, it's not a name I'd be in a hurry to be associated with at this time.

I suspect it was the Indie game going full retail. Not many have done that for sure.

Other than Divinity: Original Sin, Wasteland 2, Torment: Tides of Numenera, Pillars of Eternity, Rime, Yooka-Laylee, Outlast, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, Tyranny, No Man's Sky, Cities: Skylines, Republique, Divinity: Dragon Commander...

It's actually rare for full-blooded indie titles to NOT go full retail: off-hand, I can only think of Hellblade and Shadow Warrior 2.