July 19th 2025.
We all have our own opinions, don't we? As a reader and a game reviewer myself, I have a special love for reading and writing video game reviews. It's a powerful way to express our thoughts and feelings about a game, especially when we add a score at the end. That score can mean everything or nothing to the audience, depending on how much weight they give to it. But as much as I enjoy reading reviews, I can't help but notice some issues with them.
Modern video game reviews seem to have one main goal: to inform. And there's nothing wrong with that, as a review's primary purpose is to inform the reader, the reviewer, or the listener, depending on how it's presented. But in my opinion, good writing should also entertain. Many reviews fail to do that. When I read a review, I want to be immersed in the writing and be swept away by the reviewer's words. I want to use my imagination to picture what they're trying to convey.
Looking at the Metascores, I can't help but feel that many critics are too lenient with modern games. Some games are put on a pedestal above others, even though they have flaws that no one seems to talk about. For example, I appreciate games like Zelda: Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom, but I find their durability systems and the need to constantly change clothes according to the climate to be off-putting and make the game feel like a chore to play.
But from reading reviews, you wouldn't know that these games have flaws. Critics shower them with praise, making them seem revolutionary when in reality, they're just an evolution of games that came before. To me, they're overly complex and not as welcoming as they should be. And yes, I know I might get some backlash for saying this.
The critics themselves are a mixed bag. Some of them have a unique style and are great at expressing themselves, like Jim Stephanie Sterling, Videogame Dunkey, and Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw. But unfortunately, too many are predictable. I understand that everyone looks for different things in a review, but it's disheartening to see the same recycled information in many reviews, making them dry and uninteresting.
One website that I used to love was GameTrailers. Not only because I believe Brandon Jones has the best voice in video game media, but also because of the way they presented their reviews. They used to have a character from the game saying something that perfectly illustrated the reviewer's opinion. It was clever and added a touch of humor to the reviews, making them stand out from other video game websites.
But there's also the issue of gamers relying too much on IGN for reviews. They either praise the website for giving high scores to games they love or criticize them for giving a low score to a popular game. Personally, I prefer to follow critics whose opinions align with mine. With IGN having a large pool of reviewers, it's hard to care about who's writing the review. It feels like junk food journalism, where the only thing that matters is the score at the end, and the written content becomes almost irrelevant.
And when IGN gives a score that gamers don't agree with, instead of finding other critics they might agree with, they go on a crusade and make memes about IGN. It's easier to believe that IGN has some kind of spell over them than to use their own judgment and find other critics to follow.
In the end, video game reviews are a great way to drive discussions about our beloved hobby. But it would be nice to see more enthusiasm and passion in them. Reading a bunch of reviews with the same uninspired writing and lack of excitement becomes monotonous and unoriginal. We should strive to find reviews that have the same energy and enthusiasm as the games they're about.
This is just my opinion, and it doesn't necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro. I think it's important to have different perspectives and to be able to express them. And that's why I appreciate the opportunity to share my thoughts in this reader feature. If you have your own opinions about video game reviews, you can also submit your own feature to GameCentral. Who knows, maybe your thoughts will spark a new discussion about our wonderful hobby.
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