Support NeoGAF

[peronmls]

video game reviews are always a joke. I never follow them anymore. I play it and form my own opinion.

 

[SportsFan581]

It depends.

If I'm interested in something, critics (and even other players) disliking it is not going to change my view until I've played it myself. However, a game that I hadn't paid attention to but that is a critical darling and/or super popular might get a look from me just to see what the fuss is about.

 

[Topher]

Nothing wrong with anyone making an informed decision with their money. Lots of factors involved for me personally, but I'm not going to say review scores have no bearing whatsoever. Certainly not the only factor. But since I'm using Gamefly for a lot of games, I'm not worried about laying down $70 on a game I might hate.

Take Dragon's Dogma 2. I have the PS5 rental coming, but I'd much rather play the game on PC due to the lack of higher frame rate modes on consoles. So I'm willing to pay the $50-ish for the game, but if review scores are in the 50-60s then I'll probably wait for the price to drop. Of course, if I see a lot of contradictory stuff saying the game is better than the scores indicate then I may go ahead and jump in. On the other hand, if the reviews are glowing then I'll go ahead and buy it.

Bottom line for me is that I see nothing wrong with using metacritic scores as the tool that they are.

This is one of my most favorite games of all time.

That's a decent score. I've played plenty of games with scores around that which I thought were great as well.

 

[StereoVsn]

For vast majority of games, if it’s under 70%, there is something wrong with it. There have been exceptions but they are very rare. Above 80% there could easily be a genre specific game I may like but reviewers may not.

To be fair, I check YouTube reviews, media reviews, Steam reviews (if on Steam), player impressions and so on as well. Metacritic is just one of the tools.

Edit: Deadly Premonition above is the exception to the rule and even for that I wouldn’t pay release day price for it.

 

[Pejo]

The only time I even look at Metacritic scores are when it's a game I already hate for some reason that gets a low score. That way I can dunk on it on message boards and with friends.

Pretty much anyone on GAF should be games enthusiast level, so I'd be surprised if people really used the scores here as the main metric on whether to buy a game or not. I always assumed it was more for people that don't really follow games but play them every so often and fanboys for dick measuring purposes.

 

[FinalBossWithTheMostPower]

The only time I even look at Metacritic scores are when it's a game I already hate for some reason that gets a low score. That way I can dunk on it on message boards and with friends.

Pretty much anyone on GAF should be games enthusiast level, so I'd be surprised if people really used the scores here as the main metric on whether to buy a game or not. I always assumed it was more for people that don't really follow games but play them every so often and fanboys for dick measuring purposes.

 

[Morrie’s wig shop]

I’ve never paid attention to them, I’ll see them in passing but they have never and never will affect what I buy.

I’ll form my own opinion and not a follow a “gaming critics” opinion.

 

[Krappadizzle]

Never affected anything for me.

My answer too.

I don't think I've ever checked out a metacritic score for anything before a purchase. Might have saved me a few bad purchases in the past, but I prefer to read impressions on something and make the value judgement for myself generally.

 

[Laptop1991]

Metacritic doesn't have any effect on my purchases, YouTube channels i trust over time do, that show me the game and point out honest problems, but it is funny and rewarding to see a bad game get a low score on Metacritic and read some of the comments.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

There is no way if a game got a 45 metacritic scores you guys wouldn't doubt your intended purchase. I know it cool to say you don't care but seriously a terrible aggregated score must affect your purchases, right?

If a game would get a 45 metacritic, it never would've been on my to-buy list to begin with.

In fact, The Order 1886 is one of my favorite PS4 games, despite a 63% metacritic score.

 

[Fake]

I like to joke metascore. My only use is when the metascore and the userscore are very different between each other.


I don't give a shit about score and never affected my purchase decision.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

They are a non-factor for me. I don't respect "game journalists" enough to care about their opinions.

 

[Fbh]

It mostly affects me when a game scores surprisingly high or low.
Like if a game I was looking forward to ends up with a 60 metascore I'll at least hold off and look into why it scored so poorly. Or when a new game I wasn't that excited about ends up with a 90+ score it might get me to check it out at some point.

Also obligatory:

GAF when asked if they care about reviews

GAF in review threads if they think a game scored too high/low

 

[Efren is G.O.A.T.]

Yeah it would if the game I really wanted scored really low.

 

[ReBurn]

Metacritic and reviews from gaming journalists are useless. i don't reference them at all any more.

 

[existensmaximum]

Not wishing to call you out, but the idea that the quality of experience you get with a 75 rated game vs a 74 rated game seems unlikely to be tangible.

This is why I think we need to move on from scores, they're too wooly. I suspect there's plenty of 73s out there that you'd have loved! (And 89s you wouldn't).

That's why I said generally you know? I don't have a fixed limit or something and there are always exceptions. I'm extremely picky though and there have been very few games around that score that I have enjoyed.

And believe me, there are plenty of 90+ games that I've either hated or haven't tried because they don't interest me

 

[Esppiral]

I don't give a fuck

 

[poppabk]

There is no way if a game got a 45 metacritic scores you guys wouldn't doubt your intended purchase. I know it cool to say you don't care but seriously a terrible aggregated score must affect your purchases, right?

No - a terrible metacritic score would make me look at individual reviews more though. A score is a poor thing to base your choices on, an aggregate score doubly so.

 

[ANoa]

Critic reviews used to matter to me 15+ years ago but they're just totally unnecessary now. I can watch a few gameplay videos to decide if it looks fun and if the game is broken that'll be all over forums and social media.

 

[Luipadre]

I never gave a shit about reviews and scores and that goes to both games and movies/shows.

 

[YukiOnna]

I think zero. No previews, no reviews, no scores for me. I can tell from the trailer and developer interviews alone whether I'll enjoy it or not and that's all I need. Besides, I have no reason to trust those outlets. Not credible.

I'm more worried about localization, censorship, or ESG and who's involved that makes my experience worse.

 

[DaciaJC]

The only aggregate I pay attention to are Steam ratings/reviews.

 

[Raven117]

Not a ton. I’m pretty good at knowing what games I’m interested in and what games I’m not.

 

[amigastar]

This is one of my most favorite games of all time.

Well, 68 is not 45. I also have many games that i love have 70 or lower like this one:

Rise of the Triad Reviews

The 1994 shooter returns with a full Unreal Engine 3 remake featuring a classic arsenal and online modes.

www.metacritic.com

also this one is freaking great, with Terror from the Void mod i would rank this at 88-93 points

Phoenix Point

2022 – The Pandoravirus Unleashed. An unusual virus discovered in melting permafrost excites the scientific community. It has a massive genome, and only 1% of its genes match anything in existing databases. “What the hell is going on with the other genes?” asks researcher Jean-Michel Moreau...

www.metacritic.com

 

[CGNoire]

They don't. I never checK them out.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Reviews are about marketing and pandering nowadays, very little to do with a games quality. They are also entirely irrelevant nowadays because there is always loads of media on a game leading up to launch. A stark contrast from how it used to be, when maybe a magazine or two would do something on a game you were interested in or maybe if you were lucky it’d be on some demo disc.

Nowadays studios release lots of media and there are dozens of content creators that get access to games.

 

[hemo memo]

Not so much the score but checking what the highest and lowest reviews have to say gives me a great idea.

 

[R3TRO]

They don’t.

I usually find most games with high scores underwhelming.

 

[N0S]

I sometimes use it to look up and read certain reviews. I dont care about the score.

 

[XXL]

I don't really pay attention too much. But if the score is super high or super low, I'll pay a bit more attention as to why.

But that's it.

 

[Aenima]

They dont afect me that much, but i use Metacritic all the time for games im interested in to see whats the geral opinion about the game. Also if the game has major issues, that can make me drop the purchase or just get it cheaper.

Usually i decide if im buying a game or not much earlier than when the Metascores are available,

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

For single player games I'm on the fence on, I'll use it.

For multiplayer games, **** no.

 

[Proteus Maximus]

They don't effect my buying habits and never have. I totally ignore them.

 

[TropicanaTwista]

A good bit. I also use IMBD before watching a new show or movie. Not that this is a flawless way to determine if a game or show is for me, but in my experience it seems to work about 80% of the time. I tend to think in general in life people like the same shit. If something is reviewing bad, it's most likely bad. Again this isnt perfect and there are of course expectations to the rule.

I think Ronin and stellar blade are gonna be great examples of this. I'm on the fence about both, if they score well, I'm in. If not, I'll probably never get them unless they are dirt cheap. I would say the only time I don't use metacritic is if it's from a know dev who makes games I love. Like ND, SSM, FROM, etc. I'm just day 1 for most of their games regardless (although they all tend to score well anyhow).

 

[Holammer]

Don't care much about Metacritic scores, Steam user score average however is a reliable indicator of quality or if a game got problems.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Metacritic certainly has its the 12/100 scores.

 

[Disco Dave]

Metacritic weighing system puts too much importance on big gaming websites that are prone to making mistakes, either through political and social bias (Hogwarts Legacy) or downright fucking stupidity with IGNs Resident Evil 2 Remake review.

I don't know which review was worse from the skidmarks over at IGN...

This...

Or this...

The cunts did Alien Isolation dirty.

 

[LordOcidax]

Zero

 

[ChoosableOne]

I've removed games below 75 points from my radar. I consider 80 points as average and I'm not as interested as before. I'm intrigued by games scoring 85 and above, and I do some research on them. I haven't found myself disappointed too often with games rated 90 and above. >90 is good, <75 avoid, basically.

 

[Quasicat]

I never look at them or Rotten Tomato scores either.

I have two friends that play a ton of games and I get recommendations from them, just like how I watch a ton of movies and will tell them if something just released on video is worth a look. We know each other well enough to know if it’s something they would truly be interested in watching/playing.

 

[nick776]

I generally decide whether to buy a game or not based on two criteria: 1) IGN score (USA) and 2) metacritic. If IGN is 9 or above AND metacritic is above 85 it is a definite buy for me. Anything lower is generally a no buy.

 

[Kenpachii]

metacritic scores have never been relevant to me

 

[Kings Field]

No, I usually don’t take advice or listen to opinions of people with mental illnesses.

 

[March Climber]

Uninformed reviewers and user review bombs are dual reasons as to why you should not make metacritic your 100% guiding light. There is just as much wrong with the left side of this picture as there is the right side of it:

I usually look at gameplay, impression, and review footage on youtube to understand what they find that's fun, and what they find that's frustrating. In-depth podcasts also help with this, especially if that person knows the genre they are discussing (like Maximillian for fighting games). The good content creators out there will directly use footage as their evidence. It's that simple.

 

[Melfice7]

They used to have a role in making me curious about some games i wouldnt consider otherwise, but knowing how things are today it lost all meaning

 

[ReBurn]

Reviews are about marketing and pandering nowadays, very little to do with a games quality. They are also entirely irrelevant nowadays because there is always loads of media on a game leading up to launch. A stark contrast from how it used to be, when maybe a magazine or two would do something on a game you were interested in or maybe if you were lucky it’d be on some demo disc.

Nowadays studios release lots of media and there are dozens of content creators that get access to games.

Exactly. There is no reason to rely on traditional games media for reviews any more.

 

[jm89]

If the average reviews start hitting in the 60s or less, then it defintley effects it.

Getting that low generally tells me it may not just be the reviewers opinion, and something has gone really wrong with the game somewhere.

 

[Superkewl]

I never check scores. I just listen to reviewers I trust. Pretty much just ACG.

 

[laynelane]

No effect. The only time I read Metacritic scores is when it comes up in a topic on here. I like to read other peoples' opinions about games (which is all reviews are), but I prefer hearing from others in-person or on forums from people I'm familiar with.

 

[Arsic]

I use it as a spot , along with steam reviews, to see general thoughts on games. Ideally I look to see about major performance issues between the two.

The score is irrelevant but the text matters.