This is a popular opinion here on NeoGAF, but also in the industry in general. I wholeheartedly disagree: hundreds if not thousands of philosophy books have been written on the relationship between subjectivity/objectivity.
What value does a subjective opinion on a product/work of art hold if you're not that person who has that opinion?
I can tell you "I like this hamburger", one hundred people can tell you "I like this hamburger", but that doesn't mean you
will like the hamburger.
However if I tell you "this hamburger has these ingredients, it's medium rare, the meat comes from this place, it's very salty, the flavour reminds me of this, etc." you'll figure out if you like it yourself.
We can figure out guidelines to create hamburgers (i.e. recipes), and on those basis we can decided if the hamburger is well made or not, despite personal taste. Sure, there's always someone who'll like a hamburger so overcooked that it's basically charcoal, but that's the exception: we can reach a general agreement on what a hamburger should or should not be, and what is better or worse in general.
The same applies to everything else, games aren't an exception: I can listen for hours about people giving their opinions and doing long video analysis on games, but in a review I search a more objective critical sense. A good critic is someone who, through experience and study, knows what makes a good piece of art or what makes a good product, someone who can understand flaws and innovations and explain the essence of a piece of art or a product through words.
Now I have three questions:
1 - If I loathe racing games and I end up having to review the next Forza, is it okay if I give the game a 1/10? After all it's my sincere opinion.
2 - If I'm incapable to play FPSs, because I simply suck at them, yet I end up reviewing Doom, is it okay if I give it a 1/10? After all I'm honestly frustrated by the game, it offers me no enjoyment.
3 - If I love Final Fantasy so much that my life would be empty without it, is it okay if I review
Final Fantasy: All the Bravest 10/10? After all I really believe that everything FF is essential and splendid.
If you anwered "no" to any of these questions then you don't really think that reviews should be subjective opinions, as you just placed a limit on what is and what isn't an acceptable opinion, while all opinions should of course be acceptable, being them all subjective.
If you answered "yes" to all of the questions, congrats, you really do believe reviews should be purely subjective, but then I may ask: what value do all those subjective opinions give to you? Why do you care to know that Jason Storlung thinks The Myth of Barbara is a 3/10 game? Why do you care to know that Geoffrey Garstminn thinks Leech and Cane is a 9/10? When you know their opinion, you won't be any closer to know if
you will like it.
Letme ask you: why is it that people on GAF always post to know "what the general consensus" on a game is? Because they want an objective answer, not a subjective one.
Besides things can be subjective and at the same time objective: as Kant said, being all humans, we share a common nature and
in general we all find beauty and good in the same things.