No Mans Sky was probably the game, that I was hyped the most for - like ever. The fact that this was going to be a sci-fi game with the feel and look of early science fiction cinema, with a huge universe with procedurally generated planets, plants, animals and all that, seemed just to good to be true. When I heard then, that one of my favorite bands of all time was scoring this, I was sure, this is going to be the best game out there. (seriously, go check out 65dos)
Upon release I was enjoying the game, even though everyone hated on it and probably rightly so. The game was already special on release day, but it just too often felt like something, that wasn't finished. The amount of hatred the developer received was disproportional however, considering steams most popular games are mostly far from finished.
It was obvious who the culprit in this was: the publisher Sony, who pressured the developers to an early release and had horrible marketing going on, promising just to much. The game, the developers, everything that was connected to this game, fell from grace.
What happened since then, is my favorite video game industry story ever. Sean Murray and his team from 'hello games' stuck through all of the bad wishes, the hatred, the death threats and continued to work on their dream game. They did not tell anyone about it, there were no trailers, no announcements. They did so with brilliance and dedication. Because what they achieved with the game in the past two years is amazing. It is probably what I expected in the first place, or it is at least getting there with huge steps. The game is absolutely unique in my opinion. I am full of excitement thinking about the developers releasing even more content. This is going to be my favorite go-to game up until the day the developers declare it finished.
Do yourself and me a favor though, please. Get into it with the right expectations. Don't expect an MMO multiplayer game with a lot of action or narrative. Don't expect to be hooked for 500 hours.
Expect a game where a big chunk of what makes it so special, is you. If you like to explore, if you like space, if you can embrace the colors, the music, the atmosphere and the sense of wonder, than you will find great pleasure in this game.
I'm a huge sci-fi fan. I love the sci fi classic movies and books. And what those pieces of art, like 2001, a childhoods end, neuromancer, interstellar etc. set off in me, this game is capable of as well. It'd be a pity if you missed it.

Update: and the Devs are still at it, as they are adding cool new content every month or so. If they keep this pace up and add one or two major late-game milestones or "real multiplayer", this game is finally what we all expected it to be. Please keep going hello games.

Update2: 'Beyond' marks the point, where Hello Games and No Man's Sky turn into gaming's greatest redemption story. The game at this point is everything I wanted it to be, when it first came out. I am forever thankful for the developers to not give up on this dream we have in common. And I'm excited to see in which direction the game will develop in the future.