If there was one word I would use to describe the internet it would be hyperbolic.  VGChartz empitomizes this often with games being the extremes of abysmal or utter brilliance.  Even months before release see deluge of threads hyping something as the second coming and people bickering over a game no one has played.  I use to be like this a bit in my younger days, counting down the days to releases and putting unwarranted high expectations for each one to surpass my last experience. Maybe it is getting older, having less time, but rare for me to build up a game anymore, an dhonestly I think I am better for it.

Years ago I played the original Infamous and thought little of it, was not crazy about the characters, world or gameplay.  I never even beat it and passed on the sequel.  When Sony showed Second Son last year I shrugged and though, "eh, might be goood".  The game release came and went and this past week I rented it expected little to nothing.  Playing through I relaized a few hours in how much fun I was having and how much more it appealed to me in every way over the original.  I knew nothing about the game so the new powers were surprises to me and felt real sense of exploration.  I just finished 100% the blue/hero path and enjoyed it so much I plan to buy the game to do the red/infamous path in a bit.

It really doesn't matter the title, happened last year with The Last of Us for me as well going in with no expectations.  I was just wondering if the excessive hype and finding every detail leading up to release detracts from your experience?  Is it better for you to go in blank slate?

Very interesting topic. I myself wasn't hyped at all (well, maybe slightly) for Pokemon X/Y until less than one month before release. I'm pretty sure that helped enhance my experience once the game came out, though it's just hard to avoid details before a game gets released. It's just interesting to know them beforehand.

I prefer going into a game with no hype. That's why I freakin loved Rogue Galaxy, the game had little hype and flew under the radar of a ton of people. Now it is easily one of my top 5 games of all time.

Hype may lead in two ways the flock over rates it and even if it isn't so good go into denial about they perceive it, or be crushed with overwhelming disappointment.

I never buy into hype even for games like mario kart 8 I still believe it could be a bad game.

There's something great about being pleasantly surprised by a game. This happened to me most recently with Retro City Rampage on Vita. It was free with PS+ so I tried it knowing next to nothing about it. Now it's in my top 50.

Conversely, I just played a high-profile game and my disappointment with it was that much more painful because it was so overhyped.

So, yes, I think blank slate is the way to go, whenever possible.

It can work in film as well. I recently saw Gravity with no knowledge and was really pleasantly surprised by how good it was.  On the flip side I have been trying to keep my Guardians of the Galaxy hype down after the trailer blew me away.

Also, I actually think all the negative hype on Sonic 06 made me think the game was bad. I mean, that's still pretty positive right? I'm not even calling it a disaster. But that's probably because when a game gets a lot of bad hype I expect it to be really really horrible, so yeah.

Gaming on four systems means generally I'm way behind on games, so normally I get round to playing most games at least 6 months after release when the hype is non-existent. I think for that reason I judge the game on the game itself and nothing else. Whether or not that means I enjoy it more I'm not actually sure

Hype is more fun than the games themselves, and y'all know it. You can spend months in frothing anticipation of a game absolutely free, or you can spend 6-8 hours playing what is, honestly, just a prettier version of a game you've played a dozen times already. Even if that ultimately means the game itself is less fun to play, you're still trading countless hours of fun for a few hours of disappointment. Much like prom night, really.

Hype>>>>>>Reality. Every time.

I used to get hyped up about games but I've grown out of that. When getting hyped up about anything, the wait seems much longer .

There are games I'm interested in getting, but I'm patient enough to get them when their prices drop drop. The Last of Us. I still haven't played it, interested in the game, but now that the PS4 version was announced I'm still fine on waiting.