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GAME CRITIQUE IS DEAD: Why Reviewers SHOULD Be Skilled Players | The Definitive Discussion

46K views · May 11, 2023 · Gaming

The Electric Underground

60K subscribers

Comments · 453

@magicjohnson3121 · 3 years ago
I still think independent YouTube reviewers are still as bad as IGN. They’re still scared of negativity and still rush out reviews for numbers.
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@BIGJUNK1MILLION · 4 months ago
It should not be controversial to say book critics should be literate
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@ham-n-jam · 6 months ago
Lmfao the preview title was perfectly cut off on my screen and I misread it as "Why Reviewers SHOULD Be Killed..."
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@RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS77 · 3 years ago (edited)
Now that I've had time to listen through, I think the elephant in the room is this:  many gamers like the way things are.  The game press largely evolved from marketing materials and the focus has, in a lot of ways, stayed in that vein for a lot of outlets.  They're dependent on favors for special access.  But most gamers just want the hype.  They churn their way through one game without engaging the gameplay elements that carefully and move on to the next one (which is why "carnival ride" experiences like nu GoW are so popular -- the story-heavy focus and general ease caters to someone who wants to zone out to a movie with interactive interludes and will not replay the game ever).  A publication that doesn't have reviews ready on release day (which requires relationships) or which harshes everyone's vibe by saying a new game isn't that good is not going to find many readers.  Engagement with deeper gameplay mechanics will largely be met by bewilderment and disinterest.  I've read some of the comments on your Nintendo Life reviews so I think you've already encountered this to some degree. To the extent this isn't true it's usually more niche genres that have lost "average gamer" appeal.  Even publications like IGN generally have a "racing sim guy" or "sports game guy" who is ready with commentary that people who play those genres a lot would care about (I guess similar to your example of a Souls guy).  But the constituency for a lot of genres is just not big enough to support niche interest in most for-profit publications... which I guess is also the reason Cave makes gacha games now.
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@magicjohnson3121 · 3 years ago
Chris Stuckman is the perfect way to describe these reviewers. Bland, unfunny, safe but somehow popular
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@Parkour_dog · 3 years ago
I’ve been thinking of this phenomenon as like a “gaming industrial complex.”
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@NIMPAK1 · 3 years ago
I'll be honest, I try to ignore the popular consensus as much as possible. There's a problem with games criticism that I like to call Comic Sans Syndrome. Comic sans was a font that was so incredibly popular in the 90's and early 2000's to the point that people were even using it for résumés and collage essays, people eventually became so sick and tired of it that it became maligned. Nowadays, people just say "comic sans bad" without understanding why it became hated. You could also equate this to the rise of open-world games. Essentially, critics and normies alike had been noticing a trend of previously open-ended games gradually becoming more simplified and linear with each new entry, eventually culminating in such games as Final Fantasy 13 and Skyward Sword. Soon "linear" had become become synonymous with "dumbed down" and "casual" (which were seen as bad things back then). Game devs eventually caught on and started making as big and unlinear as possible and eventually created the mess we have now.
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@madnessobserver · 2 years ago (edited)
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7Q8GAMdFwA&t=2390">39:50</a> I think the actual videogame analogy for "film critics don't need to be directors" would be "gaming critics don't need to be game designers". Film critics absolutely have to watch a ton of movies and engage with the medium in a way that's deeper and more knowledgeable than the average movie goer in order for their opinions to be unique, thought-provoking, and valuable; the exact same thing should be expected of gaming critics. The problem is that gaming journalism is corrupt as shit and effectively just another branch of marketing for many companies in the industry, and most content creators are no better because hype-baiting, rage-baiting, or simply reinforcing the current consensus, is the most effective way to get views. It also doesn't help that videogames becoming mainstream means there's now an extremelly sizable normie audience that demands nothing but AAA "movie on rails" kind of games with no mechanical depth, style over substance in it's purest form, and companies not only oblige but also reinforce this collective brainrot with never-ending self-congratulatory marketing by buying reviews and awards. The fact games like TLOU1-2 or the new GoW are seen as revolutionary for the medium in any shape way or form is just fucking insulting.
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@mushihimesarna728 · 3 years ago
I always remember IGNs God Hand review. The most embarrassing thing in human history.
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@wolf4640 · 3 years ago
Since the paid reviews were exposed, i have nausea just hearing the """""experts""""" scoring the games.
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@tournaline3448 · 3 years ago
Mainstream game reviewers have had such a detrimental effect on video games. They have huge influence on the success or failure of games, which in turn gives certain outlets the power to offer paid positive reviews. They focus their reviews on story way more than gameplay, which has resulted in today’s games focused on story over pretty much everything. I’m a music producer / label owner- I have a lot of experience with the music media (got review blacklisted at one point for not playing the fake bullshit media game). Even “respectable” magazines / media outlets offer paid reviews. The music media industry wouldn’t survive without it and I suspect it’s the same case with video game media.
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@J.J._777_ · 2 years ago (edited)
I agree that there should be critics with varying skill levels and approaches to playing games. Some critics should be skilled experts on the mechanics of playing and reviewing a specific genre. I think some critics should be speedrunners or "casual players" or any other type of video game player. Different types of critics with different types of analysis would reflect the different priorities of different consumers. Mainstream review sites are pretty useless.
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