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Divisive games you consider a 10/10

AppleKid

AppleKid

Member
Feb 21, 2018
2,560
Currently playing through Harold Halibut and am absolutely loving my time in this world. After that Edge review and several others criticizing Harold and the lack of compelling gameplay I thought this would be another case of "style over substance". However, 6 hours in I've been completely won over by the charm of the characters, plot, setting, and incredible art direction.

I can see how this game wouldn't be for everyone, and it's even a game that on paper I'd expect not to like, but playing it has been a magical experience. From what I've seen in reviews the story seems to stick the landing so I expect it to maintain a 10/10 from me. I've even decided to bring my gaming laptop on my flight this Friday so I don't have to wait another week to finish (which I rarely bring anywhere as it's a pain to lug around).

This is the first game in a while that I've enjoyed this much despite being initially apprehensive from reviews. Curious what other examples y'all have of divisive games you consider a 10/10.

edit: for those curious about Harold Halibut, here's my longer thoughts on what makes it special:
AppleKid said:
Sure! In many ways it boils down to feeling like I'm playing through a stop-motion TV show that has well thought out characters, lore, and plot with strong voice acting and gameplay that doesn't get in the way. If you judge the game on gameplay alone I can understand the low marks as most of it is "go talk to X person" or "go here, press A, and report back". But I'm always interested to talk to X person as, similar to Harold, I want to know what they'll say about the most recent story developments.

The level design and literally hand-crafted world helps make the otherwise tedious tasks something I enjoy. No place on the Fedora takes more than a minute to get to (usually less) and along the way there are so many details to admire in the visuals and environment that I'm never thinking "ugh I have to backtrack through here again" even after going through the hallway to the lab at least 20-30 times. Usually in these treks back and forth I'm noticing a new detail in the environment I missed or digesting the last character interaction before moving onto the next one.

A specific example of something that might fall flat for me in other games but has been one of my favorite moments here is a sidequest involving the postman:
When talking to the postman at his post office he remarks how AllWater has strict regulations around how mail can be delivered and who can open it. Because of this, the postman has a collection of unopened letters he was never able to deliver spanning over 50 years. He then mentions a regulation loophole under which an AllWater employee unaffiliated with the post could open the mail.

What ensues is the postman inviting Harold behind the desk each day to read a letter (sometimes two!) from various points in the last 50+ years and learn a bit more about the Fedora's inhabitants. The letters are all hand-written and narrated in the voice of whomever would have written them with some soft, often poignant, piano playing in the background. Once finished, the postman and Harold will discuss the contents a bit including what it implies about the sender, recipient who never got it, and life on the Fedora at that time. It's something I looked forward to each day for a few in a row until coming to the post one day to discover a note from the postman stating he had to take a leave of absence. Not sure why he had to take a break or when he'll return but it's one of several threads that I'm excited to continue and a good example of how the game has taken hold of me.

Didn't want to blow up the OP with too many details but hope this helps determine if it might be for you! I missed the demo but buying on Steam knowing I could get a refund helped me give it a shot and I'm so glad I did.
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Mr. Poolman

Mr. Poolman

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
7,008
Final Fantasy XII. If it clicks with you, it's amazing, if it doesn't, it's a total bore.
I personally love it, is a programmer's RPG.
 
rzks21

rzks21

Member
Aug 17, 2023
1,971
Not only 10/10 but best game ever made:

2bc51c62b97a77022b6f4a47d5a5be84d64b7e840ea3abb55263d8322d8b36b3.jpg
 
Ashes of Dreams

Ashes of Dreams

Unshakable Resolve
Member
May 22, 2020
14,540
I don't consider anything a 10/10 really but I love a lot of games that people love to hate.

Dragon Age II
Mass Effect 3
Final Fantasy XIII
Nier on PS3 > Nier Replicant Remaster
uhhh, all of Kingdom Hearts is great
The Last of Us Part II
Skyward Sword isn't the best Zelda game but it's great in many ways
 
Becks'

Becks'

Member
Dec 7, 2017
7,493
Canada
Any Assassin's Creed game. I'm a history geek and going through each historical era is an amazing journey for me.

Recently, Starfield.
 
ghibli99

ghibli99

Member
Oct 27, 2017
17,885
goroadachi said:
Skyward Sword
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I kind of agree with this, looking back to how I felt about it after I finished it on Wii. I found a short post about it that I wrote back in 2012, which feels like an eternity ago tbh:

Overall, I thought it was a great game. It does have some technical limitations with Motion Plus, though... I found myself re-centering it constantly. Aside from that, the motion controls in general were quite good and felt natural.

In its second half, there are some missions and plot contrivances that are there as obvious padding to make the game longer... this is a flaw in most of the modern Zelda games, and this one is no exception.

However, the world and dungeon designs are simply fantastic. They feel more organic and varied than in past installments. None of them are overly difficult, but they are rewarding and very fun to play through.

Fi got a little annoying with the constant "reports", but in the grand scheme of things, it's a minor complaint when the rest of the game is so good. Art style is very unique, animation is top-notch, and the music is superb.

I give it a solid A.
 
Dest

Dest

Has seen more 10s than EA ever will
Coward
Jun 4, 2018
14,077
Work
Twilight Princess
Nier Replicant (specifically versions including Papa Nier)
Doom Eternal
 
kamineko

kamineko

Linked the Fire
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,535
Accardi-by-the-Sea
the discourse™️ is a little misleading, guys. TLOU2 is not some weird outlier, it received near universal critical acclaim. That's like saying you're a rebel for liking Titanic or something

I think Baldur's Gate I is a 10/10, you hardly ever see that

E: to clarify, people think BG2 is the 10/10, everybody says to skip BG1
 
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Derbel McDillet

Derbel McDillet

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Nov 23, 2022
15,246
Mass Effect Andromeda
kamineko said:
the discourse™️ is a little misleading, guys. TLOU2 is not some weird outlier, it received near universal critical acclaim. That's like saying you're a rebel for liking Titanic or something

I think Baldur's Gate I is a 10/10, you hardly ever see that
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I somewhat agree, but I'd imagine we're speaking outside of critics and not doing the whole "everyone that criticized is just a vocal minority".

I can get Skyward Sword, but people are definitely stretching with Twilight Princess just because some people softened on it.
 

_Genesis_

Member
Aug 13, 2018
60
Too Human, put hundreds of hours into it. Ok maybe not a 10....but a damn fine game all the same
 
Lobster Roll

Lobster Roll

signature-less, now and forever
Member
Sep 24, 2019
34,440
Multiple mentions of a game that won the most GOTY awards in its release year in a thread about divisive games lol. On the first page.

Oh I'm also talking about two separate games.
 

Atom

Member
Jul 25, 2021
11,537
Don't really like labelling games with numbers in general, especially a 10, but:

Ninja Gaiden 3 Razors Edge is one of the best action games ever made.

Whenever it's not trying to be an action game it's sort of an abject failure but it basically never tries to be anything else.

Sonic Frontiers Final Horizon is amazing freeform platforming paradise, some absolutely peak Sonic shit, and I'm sorry some people couldn't click with it. Glad they went through and did some rebalances though.
 
higemaru

higemaru

Member
Nov 30, 2017
4,110
Deadly Premonition is a 10/10. Completely singular piece of work and when they tried to make lightning strike twice, it did not.
 
OP
OP
AppleKid

AppleKid

Member
Feb 21, 2018
2,560
kamineko said:
the discourse™️ is a little misleading, guys. TLOU2 is not some weird outlier, it received near universal critical acclaim. That's like saying you're a rebel for liking Titanic or something

I think Baldur's Gate I is a 10/10, you hardly ever see that
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Hah yeah, was surprised to see so many 90+ games mentioned. Not that that's everything and I can see how some could be considered divisive amongst fans, but was expecting more picks like Death Stranding
 
Kopite

Kopite

Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,037
Dunno if it's a 10 but Starfield was fantastic for me but all I see is disappointment elsewhere
 
kamineko

kamineko

Linked the Fire
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,535
Accardi-by-the-Sea
Derbel McDillet said:
Mass Effect Andromeda

I somewhat agree, but I'd imagine we're speaking outside of critics and not doing the whole "everyone that criticized is just a vocal minority".
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Well, "vocal minority" is a thing people say, but I don't know how to press that into some kind of shape. But if somebody tells me they like a top-selling exclusive with 90+ review average and a ton of GOTY awards, that seems.... kind of unremarkable, it's a game people like

E: Andromeda is a solid pick though! (and I do like it)
 
ghibli99

ghibli99

Member
Oct 27, 2017
17,885
ezekial45 said:
Death Stranding
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This is a good answer too. I had absolutely zero interest in this game prior to launch, and I didn't have much interest in Kojima's stuff generally speaking (the last game I ever finished of his prior was MGS2!). I sorta kinda remember the reviews being somewhat mid at first (maybe mid-high 7s?), but I ended up playing it anyway, and I'm so glad I did. It was easily one of my favorite games of the year. Didn't user scores have some kind of backlash too? Like scores in the 4-5 range for some reason? Glad it's so hazy. It was a really special game for me, and I think it helped a lot of people too in the early days of COVID.
 
Doskoi Panda

Doskoi Panda

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,004
there are like three games max that've been posted in this thread that aren't generally considered classics
 
Kurtikeya

Kurtikeya

One Winged Slayer
Member
Dec 2, 2017
4,481
Can you put your thoughts on Harold Halibut in more concrete terms? I've been straddling its fence these past few days as I gather more impressions for it. Like, what about it exactly has been revelatory for you?

Anyway I'd say Fear and Hunger 2. Reviews for it will be super high but I'd argue those reviews are from people who stuck with it. There's a good number who dropped it without reviewing it on the lines of its tastelessness and crudeness.
 
werezompire

werezompire

Zeboyd Games
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
11,432
Siren, Siren 2, Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter, and Wild Arms XF are all games that I'd rate as 10/10 and they all have mixed receptions with average or poor Metacritic scores.
 
BK0X

BK0X

Member
Oct 28, 2017
587
There are plenty of games in my list. I'm skipping the ones that I personally rate 8/10 and 9/10 (like FFXV and PSU). My list would be:
  • Bioshock 2
  • Silent Hill 4
  • Doom Eternal
  • The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
  • Kingdom Hearts III
  • Resident Evil 5
  • Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (it was pretty divisive when it came out, believe it or not)
  • The Wonderful 101 (on the Wii U)
  • Sonic Unleashed
  • Death Stranding
All of these games are 10/10 for me, but I know most fans won't see it that way. Dragon's Dogma 2 seems to be in the same situation. I didn't put it in the list because I haven't finished it yet.
 
hydruxo

hydruxo

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,461
midnight-sunsHD-scaled.jpg


A lot of people disliked the Three Houses esque social hub but I loved it, and the gameplay was top tier as you'd expect from Firaxis. Wish it did better so we could've gotten a sequel.
 
lvl 99 Pixel

lvl 99 Pixel

Member
Oct 25, 2017
44,744
This is more like "games that were divisive on this particular forum". I think Doom Eternal, TLou2 etc were generally very well received. Everyone forgot Skyward Sword got a 93% average score. You have to go outside reviews and into message boards and internet circles to see the divisiveness sometimes, like Mario Sunshine I think is great but a lot of people didn't seem to like it, but then I check how it reviewed and its almost universally loved.

My pick would be the Plague Tale games. They have their fans and review well enough but man do people hate on them lol. The repetitive gameplay never really detracted too much for me since the presentation and story were interesting. But again maybe a lot of the hate is just forums again.
 
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Sabot

Sabot

Saw the truth behind the copied door
Member
Oct 31, 2017
2,955
Pathologic 2 isn't divisive because the only people that play it are cool people who like it, so that doesn't count.

Devotion is divisive for non-game reasons so that doesn't count.

My hot take is Tales of Xillia 2 is a 10/10, but it's generally well liked so not divisive.

My other Tales take is Legendia is a great game, I'll go with that.
 
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