Opinion: The Gaming “Journalism” & Review system is broken
I really dislike the hate reviews and hot takes that "game journalism" and content creation has fallen into. If everything is trash, then how do you know what's good? If you spend all your time being negative and playing games you don't like, are you even happy and fulfilled in life?
I definitely think we need a big change in the industry and some integrity. It's perfectly fine to be honest and critical, but there's no objectivity if everything is trash and you confuse your subjective opinion with objective truth and use your followers to push that narrative to further harass game developers and toxify the environment.
This is why I started my website to start posting Gaming News & Reviews. I want to change the way things are done. Maybe even just in my own corner of the internet. Review scores are dated and too subjective, aggregated review sites are easily corrupted and manipulated, review bombs can tank the overall score of even a great or a decent game. We’ve seen the recent stories about publications being bribed on Rotten Tomatoes to publish good/bad reviews for a payoff. Where is the journalistic integrity? When everything is so heavily based off of aggregated reviewers like Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, how can we trust them when they can be bought? When a game score can go down several points before servers are fixed, bugs patched, etc. Review bombs over political or issues with the game that have nothing to do with the actual features of the game and critical reception can permanently damage its reputation. First impressions are everything and everyone is looking for a rush to judgment and a 60 second hot take that agrees with their own implicit bias.
Whether it’s console wars raging and people buying a game just to review bomb it on Steam or the outrage reviews, something has to change here.
Review scores are also broken, when 5 out of 10 meant “Average” initially, not good, but not bad, anything under a 7 often means a critical flop. This is why I have abandoned scores when I review something on the site or on my YouTube Channel. Scores allow us to compare games across genre and platform and compare them based off of one person’s subjective experience. This can be a terrible thing as comparing games from years ago to modern day games, or games from vastly different genres can empower hatred and division.
People look to reviews to know if the product is something they may enjoy. So it is the responsibility of the reviewer to relay the details, the facts, and their experience with the game. As always the reviewer will share their subjective opinion but it is important not to go off the rails and try to convince comsumers that your opinion is objective fact and it is all that matters.
Allow the consumer to make the final decision. Unfortunately, now days we look to reviewers as idols to tell us what to love and what to hate, in our own bubbles we look to people that agree with us and push an agenda we like.
Gaming has become a tribal experience whether it is choosing sides in a console war, or arguing one game is amazing and another is absolutely terrible. In a world where there are so many games to enjoy and more than you can play in a lifetime, it’s important to focus on finding what you enjoy.
When I worked in a videogame store, I would learn what people enjoyed and they would ask if I knew of another game they might enjoy. Sometimes they would leave with a game they knew they would enjoy based on previous experiences and sometimes they would leave with something entirely new, taking a risk on a new genre or franchise based on their preferences and what I think they might enjoy.
I try to make my reviews follow this same dynamic. I’ll play a game, talk about my experience, what I like, what I didn’t like, what could be improved, and what content may be on the horizon for the game. Often in a livestream, I’ll be able to answer questions about the experience, the price, the platform, etc. The other advantage of consumers tuning into a livestream or one of my videos over simply reading a review with a score, is that they can see the game for themselves and imagine if they would enjoy the experience based on my footage and their questions I try my best to answer. I’m not pushing an agenda or my bias onto someone. If I don’t enjoy a game, I let people know, BUT I also inform people as to why even if the game doesn’t click with me, if they’re a fan of x, y, or z or enjoy a certain type of genre, they might find enjoyment in the game. I know how to relay the facts and all the information, my experience, and refer what people may enjoy about the game and I LET THEM make the final decision. I’m meant simply to be a guide, not an idol in your journey of finding the games that best fit you.
I thank you for visiting my website, I hope you’ll find the articles and reviews helpful, whether you agree or disagree with my perspective. As always, let me know what you think in the comments below. Just make sure to keep your comments respectful.
The game is rigged, time to change the rules.
https://www.aaronshack.com
