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[Heimdall_Xtreme]

We are already tired of that Scenario, where they rate mediocrity with good scores, like Pokemon Violet or the Horizon games or Assassin's Creed, but good games like Stellar Blade do sabotage.

I think we don't really need those media, and it would be nice to go back to how it was before in the SNES era, where you would see the cover, buy it and be surprised.

Really, journalism is the servants, for how long have these people been going to be higher than the players?? ... not at all, we have to unite because their hypocrisy is going to denigrate the industry.

I'm already tired of that Woke fashion and censorship...

What's more, who was responsible for this movement, Disney? PlayStation?

They are even mediocre crybabies, they couldn't even finish Gollum's Game due to their ineptitude, and I did finish it even with my headaches.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, análisis. Este no es mi tesoro

Análisis de The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, el nuevo juego de El Señor de los Anilllos, disponible en PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S y PC.

as.com

 

[HL3.exe]

 

[cireza]

I don't give a fuck about pro reviews and don't read them.

 

[BaldingAshCrimson]

We are already tired of that Scenario, where they rate mediocrity with good scores, like Pokemon Violet or the Horizon games or Assassin's Creed, but good games like Stellar Blade do sabotage.

That's yours and their opinion.
Stellar Blade being supposedly bad and Horizon being supposedly good, is completely a matter of opinion, and arguing about it is a complete waste of time.

If you are talking about the people that are giving SB a bad review, because Eve is made to be hot for men, then I 100% agree, they should be completely blacklisted as writers.

But otherwise, I disagree.

A mediocre score on a good game (To you), shouldn't matter in the slightest to you.

And a score shouldn't stop you from getting a game, like you mentioned below about the SNES era.

I think we don't really need those media, and it would be nice to go back to how it was before in the SNES era, where you would see the cover, buy it and be surprised.

If that was the case, I wouldn't have played Darksiders 3 and SMT: Soul Hackers 2.
I was already interested in them to begin with. And I played them, regardless of the scores they got. And enjoyed the hell out of them.

But that's ME, and that's probably you. Reviews and scores hold no actual importance to me beyond wanting to know what others opinion on a game is.

The reason a lot of people NEED TO rely on that type of media, and those scores, is because no one wants to throw 70 dollars at something that MIGHT be good (Judging from a cover art of all things). We are not in the SNES era anymore. It's not enough, for most working people, to look at a cover art, and go "wow, this looks cool! Let me spend 70 dollars on it".

What I would say to them, those that rely on reviews to be better informed on something they just thought had a cool cover art, is ACTUALLY read the reviews, not just the scores.
A review is nothing more then an opinion written by someone who knows how to elaborate their issues or praises for a game better then the average person, and should only matter to you if you are unsure of how you feel about a game, or don't know enough to spend 70 on it.

And by ACTUALLY reading it, you can tell if the reasons are stupid and worthless (Not enough ____ people in this game, so 5/10), or valid.

Reviews and scores are completely optional to be cared about.

I'm already tired of that Woke fashion and censorship...

"Fashion"?

I hate censorship as well, but have no idea what you mean by fashion.

They are even mediocre crybabies, they couldn't even finish Gollum's Game due to their ineptitude, and I did finish it even with my headaches.

You totally omitted the fact that reviewers dropped the game, because it literally didn't function. It was completely broken and unfinished, which they stated, in their review.

I have absolutely no idea why you are acting so proud about this, it's genuinely pathetic.

 

[winjer]

I no longer give credit to professional "gaming journalists".
Mostly, I just look at the opinion of other gamers. be it on the Steam user scores. Or people in gaf.
It's not perfect, but it's a lot better than gaming journalists.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

I'm not sure game journalism actually helps consumers make informed choices anymore.

 

[IAmRei]

I mostly judge by myself, most reviewer are bias toward certain game based on some criteria such as trend, marketing funding, popularity, and clickbait

 

[I'm nobody]

I stopped following game news years ago
And most of YouTube what does that home alone shock fake reaction fking porno snippet face ya no the one when a women see a big nob face
There a app now called smart tube that's ad free and has something called Dearrow that gets rid of the faces am on about
Grr
Anyways pick a game a console and enjoy it don't let anyone tell you its better or worse judge ya self

 

[Topher]

 

[Hudo]

Calling these people journalists is like calling your back alley drug dealer a pharmacist.

 

[TexMex]

It's getting to the point where whining about games journalism is even more exhausting than the journalists themselves. Just this non-stop, circuitous bitch fest that never ends.

 

[GrayChild]

I don't care for both "professional" gaming journos AND YouTubers/influencers etc. The opinions of close friends and/or forum people I trust is more than enough for me. Has been like that for several years now.

 

[Laptop1991]

Thing about these modern game journalists is, they don't seem to like games!

 

[I'm nobody]

Thing about these modern game journalists is, they don't seem to like games!

This

 

[Windom Earle]

We don't hate game journalists enough.

 

[Represent.]

The thing is, gamers have shit taste and opinions too. Its not just journalists. Just look at the backlash against people like Neil Druckmann for daring to try something different. I cant trust any opinion but my own. Because if I listened to gamers I would never have touched TLOU 2, GTA 4, Calisto Protocol, or any game running at 30fps for that matter.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Very important to clearly differentiate between what you're describing and like, *actual journalism* that just happens to cover videogames as a topic.

And YouTubers/influencers etc who have no formal education or training in journalism don't count. They run channels for clicks and ad revenue, because they're A) fans of what they're covering (the opposite of what a journalist would do), and B) They don't want to work a real job (also the opposite of journalism, because actual journalism is very hard work and doesn't pay well). And IGN and big sites like that no longer really function as a news sites any longer. They're mostly full of hobbyist/ influencers now with very infrequent actual journalism. Sites like IGN are all about video coverage content, podcasts, fan interaction, etc. They don't even really hire journalists any more. Just look what happened with Filip Miucin. The guy was hired with practically no experience at all, as Head of Nintendo Voice Chat and leader of the IGN Nintendo content, during the Wii U generation, and the fucking guy didn't even own a Wii U. Unreal.

 

[Skifi28]

The thing is, gamers have shit taste and opinions too. Its not just journalists. Just look at the backlash against people like Neil and Druckmann for daring to try something different. I cant trust any opinion but my own. Because if I listened to gamers I would never have touched TLOU 2, GTA 4, Calisto Protocol, or any game running at 30fps for that matter.

Somehow you managed to make even this topic about 30fps, respect.

 

[ungalo]

I cant trust any opinion but my own

What does that mean ? It sounds like a tautology.

The point is we should be discussing games (and eventually confront our opinions) not others' opinions about games, especially gaming sites no one reads.

It's easy to say they don't matter yet review threads are a very big part of this kind of forum and people easily switch sides when it confirms their bias. It's honestly hard to even give your honest opinion about a game at launch without people being paranoid and thinking you have bad intention, yet they will take the metacritic score very seriously without a second thought (of course they'll say "i don't buy a game based on the metacritic" but will throw it at your face nonetheless).

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

Lol... game journalism.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

What's more, who was responsible for this movement, Disney? PlayStation?

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Mostly, I just look at the opinion of other gamers. be it on the Steam user scores. Or people in gaf.

 

[Saber]

That's yours and their opinion.
Stellar Blade being supposedly bad and Horizon being supposedly good, is completely a matter of opinion, and arguing about it is a complete waste of time.

If you are talking about the people that are giving SB a bad review, because Eve is made to be hot for men, then I 100% agree, they should be completely blacklisted as writers.

But otherwise, I disagree.

A mediocre score on a good game (To you), shouldn't matter in the slightest to you.

And a score shouldn't stop you from getting a game, like you mentioned below about the SNES era.

Completelly missed the point I think.
We ain't talking about a nobody like any of people in this forum. Those are considered "profissional paid journalists", so this thing of being opinion fall terribly short here. It's just as dumb as saying that movie critics reviews(or academy awards) are nothing but their "opinions", used as some kind of defence. Even more so when their scores matter to the overall score of the game. Because of that they can yes influence people buying games, otherwise people wouldn't look for reviews for buying decisions.
Game reviews are supposed to give a base for customers to look before buying, not to saying stupidy covered as "hey it's just my opinion". I don't necessarally agree with them not existing(and neither with the stuff that happened to Gollum), but they should have better standarts, better do their jobs and be accountable for whatever the shit they say or if they don't play.

 

[lughnasadh123]

Subtle, but not subtle enough.

 

[semiconscious]

c'mon, op: leeches aren't a disease. they're a life form. you can remove them from yourself, & maybe encourage others to also remove them, but you can't just remove all of'm...

 

[Bond007]

Reviews are just opinions man. We all wish those opinions focused on the merit of the game rather than political/social. Sometimes they do, some times they dont- everyone has bias towards something.
At the end of the day find a source that aligns with your views or ignore em altogether. Unfortunately or depending on the situation these opinions influence people. Nature of the beast- shit politicians do it daily and it aint going away.

Unless gaming reviews get regulated (LOL), people can say whatever they want and try to influence people one way or the other.


I love Skull and Bones- i found the beta fun. Not without some end game problems, but its fun as fuck to me. I could careless what reviewers say or how much people want AC combat on the boats. Not me, i like how it is. LOL Nor, do i care about UbiSoft's track record.
What matters is that i enjoyed the game and im glad i gave it a full shot.

Stellar Blade. My take away is the combat is good and the game is fun. Check
They hate titties and sex appeal. But i do. So all good there.
I take what i like and ignore what doesnt align- im able to determine whether i want to try something or not.

My point is- focus on you. Extract what you can from reviews and disgard what does't matter to you. You can still buy games by its cover and be surprised if you chose to.
You can still find enjoyment in things rated 6.0 and under.

 

[Puscifer]

There's no such thing as "video game journalism" the closets thing is Jason Schrier. You have pundits and critics, Adam Sesslar said this for ages what the difference is but people got pissy with him.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Stellar Blade has an 80’s meta. It wasn’t dragged down by the media like some thought it would be.

The cancer of this industry is greedy publishers chasing profits over making quality games.

 

[Kilau]

Journalists the world over, be it politics, sports, entertainment or gaming decided a long time ago they didn’t want to simply report the news but rather to create it, shape it, control it. Fuck ‘em all.

 

[cormack12]

Average video game journalist these days

I have a good command of English therefore I am creative
I will write freelance for videogames or sports until I get my big break
I must sneer at the topic to show how intellectual I am and how I am better than the target audience
I will do this by making massive stretches to inject surface level politics and very contrived metaphors
While I do this, all the other frustrated creatives with little talent will support me, like I support them and protect my shitty writing because its a mirror of what they produce
I will continue to write until the chicago tribune poach me like they did ralph wiggum

I've completely disengaged from most online stuff. Fed up of wanting to read about the game and instead reading paragraphs of the authors ptsd from the time they stepped on a cricket and realised they were a settler, to discussions about having fat birds in the game.

 

[Gameplay Gods Bless]

We are already tired of that Scenario, where they rate mediocrity with good scores, like Pokemon Violet or the Horizon games or Assassin's Creed, but good games like Stellar Blade do sabotage.

I think we don't really need those media, and it would be nice to go back to how it was before in the SNES era, where you would see the cover, buy it and be surprised.

Really, journalism is the servants, for how long have these people been going to be higher than the players... not at all, we have to unite because their hypocrisy is going to denigrate the industry.

I'm already tired of that Woke fashion and censorship...

What's more, who was responsible for this movement, Disney? PlayStation?

They are even mediocre crybabies, they couldn't even finish Gollum's Game due to their ineptitude, and I did finish it even with my headaches.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, análisis. Este no es mi tesoro

Análisis de The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, el nuevo juego de El Señor de los Anilllos, disponible en PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S y PC.

as.com

Problem is who these people are, who is attracted to video game journalism. Where are these jobs? What sort of expertise do these people need in terms of experience? Where are they taught degree wise? This all applies to game devs as well. The truth is that these people go to politically (American) left schools which all major public universities are, they commonly attend these schools in places like California which btw is the most left wing state in America and they get these jobs in big cities which location wise are the most left wing settlements.


A lot of the industry is based off of extremely liberal cities like San Francisco regardless of country but much of the key players of the industry are in America and usually California (IGN, Gamespot, GamesRadar, Game Informer etc). So basically you're having people grow up in the most left wing environments, going to left wing schools and then acquiring a job in a left wing city filled with left wing co-workers.


But the truth is that these left wing views don't represent America as a whole, people vote far more moderate and conservative than these left wing writers do but such people aren't the ones publishing content because the economies of scale favor hubs like California instead. So when you wonder why are these journalists and game devs are so disconnected from the consumer base when it comes to politics always remember where these people were raised, taught and employed, imagine if Games journalism was centered around rural conservative southern states, the politics they'd push would change dramatically. These people aren't bad there's nothing wrong with being left wing they are just in positions that speak to more than a left wing consumer base causing major friction.

 

[hemo memo]

“journalism”

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

Thing about these modern game journalists is, they don't seem to like games!

Because they're activists at heart, and only care about political agendas of identity politics with no regard for games or the industry.

 

[Pejo]

I haven't taken a video game """"""""journalist""""""""" seriously in years. Schreier is a little weasel but at least he does some actual investigative stuff once in a while. The rest are worthless opinion columnists and slacktivists disguising as games writers.

Steam reviews are the closest thing we have available to a good review system and while still abusable, I think it's orders of magnitude better than the alternatives.

 

[Laptop1991]

Because they're activists at heart, and only care about political agendas of identity politics with no regard for games or the industry.

Yep, exactly

 

[GigaBowser]

crud porlitical weerdos are diseases to games industries nothing to do with games stay away from games

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

From what I understand, there turned out to be no money to be made in online journalism in general, despite a feeding frenzy of investment from big corps, who then realized "oops, this makes no money" they turned to rage baiting in a desperate bid to get clicks.

Though that's not the whole story, they also decided to use them as propaganda outlets to further causes they believe will help them in the long run, the only journalists that show up, because there's no money, are true believers in this cause.

But the way their garbage has damaged social order and culture is disgusting, they've made America a worse place to live, good job idiots.

 

[Mercador]

Ok, let me tell you something; there's no such thing as gaming journalist. The only one that seems to do some kind of journalism work is Jason Schreier and even then, I think he mostly want to sell books. Gaming journalists are part of the marketing as Movie critics are. They have their opinions, sometimes they push their agenda, sometimes they do it in good faith.

Source: I covered Gaming Industry from 2000 through 2012 through different media : web, tv and radio.

 

[Rat Rage]

I don't think gaming journalism was ever an actual thing. Maybe in the early 80 and 90s before the internet, there probably existed something like gaming journalism unless you wrote for a specific manufacturer magazine like Nintendo Power, Official PS1 Magazine etc.. I do believe multi-platform magazines were more unrestriced in their "journalism".

Very soon after this time period, "gaming journalism" just became an extension of game marketing. These days it's even worse. It's literally just about generating clicks for revenue, that all.

I'n other words, "gaming journalism", especially today, is just a fucking joke. It's best to just fucking ignore it.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

At some point the world might accept that different opinions are ok. Or that it's good to meet people that have different opinions and to think about their point of view.

Or you whine and call them names.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

At some point the world might accept that different opinions are ok. Or that it's good to meet people that have different opinions and to think about their point of view.

Or you whine and call them names.

That's perfectly fine IF you believe their "opinions" are innocent and unbiased, but who believes that to be true these days?

 

[NikuNashi]

The problem is these 'journalists' got tired of just reviewing games and started to want to alter and censor games to fit their taste / ideological beliefs.

It's ultimately on the developers to tell them to fuck off however it's easier said than done with a publisher breathing down your neck and livelihoods on the line. People tend to bend to the wishes of the loudest, it is bad.

 

[mitch1971]

and it would be nice to go back to how it was before in the SNES era, where you would see the cover, buy it and be surprised.

You can. Stop reading everything about a game and do just that.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

That's perfectly fine IF you believe their "opinions" are innocent and unbiased, but who believes that to be true these days?

Honestly, if you think opinion pieces are supposed to be unbiased you're barking up the wrong tree. You don't have to agree. It's a point of view. If you don't like it, that's fine. But you don't need to start asking questions about conspiracies just because someone wrote something you didn't like.

There are many, many things that you and I might disagree on. Doesn't mean we can't be friends.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

Honestly, if you think opinion pieces are supposed to be unbiased you're barking up the wrong tree. You don't have to agree. It's a point of view. If you don't like it, that's fine. But you don't need to start asking questions about conspiracies just because someone wrote something you didn't like.

There are many, many things that you and I might disagree on. Doesn't mean we can't be friends.

I don't think most people see it that way, especially when sites give games like Hogwarts ridiculously low scores like this one:
https://www.wired.com/review/hogwarts-legacy-review/

Now you cannot tell me that's a legit review in any shape or form, or that it's legit and we're all "conspiracy nuts" for not think it is. I realize this is the absolute worst case ever seen in gaming journalism, but there are plenty of other instances where they are not reviews or opinions, but political assassination pieces.

 

[Moonjt9]

It’s not just games journalism. It’s ALL journalism. It has all been infected by contrarian woke activists who want to burn everything down and reshape everything in their twisted agenda-driven vision.

It is absolutely a cancer on society.

 

[Variahunter]

Simply put:

My opinion is the best.
If I’m interested by the trailers then I’ll buy it.

Otherwise I won’t care.

I’m very rarely wrong about my tastes. Last was FFXVI, I was beyond hype before the launch, even if if I still had worries about exploration and cities being explorable.
I expected the game to be easy on a first playthrough and I wasn’t wrong, but still am disappointed by it.

Game delivered on things I was hyped for, but disappointed on things they didn’t show and I was sceptical about.

It’s always like that for me. I can see the faults and qualities of a game way before the launch and I’m more than often right.

But if I’m hyped, I’ll buy it.

Worst offender last year was Starfield.

 

[Denton]

Like in any profession, there are good ones and bad ones. It is true that these days, many of the westoid ones are pretty bad, but nonwestoid ones are mostly fine so...let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater huh.

 

[Mr Hyde]

I stopped reading gaming reviews ever since they collectively took a dump on Dragon's Dogma and Nier back in 2010 - 2012. Can't take anything seriously after that. I just check out a couple of video reviews on YT to get a general feeling of the game, but it's mostly just for checking if the game is broken and I should wait another 6 months before purchase. The actual reviewers opinion I could not care less about.

 

[Muffdraul]

The thing is, gamers have shit taste and opinions too. Its not just journalists. Just look at the backlash against people like Neil Druckmann for daring to try something different. I cant trust any opinion but my own. Because if I listened to gamers I would never have touched TLOU 2, GTA 4, Calisto Protocol, or any game running at 30fps for that matter.

I was with you all the way up until you said Calisto Protocol...