Do you think the current pandemic should affect how reviewers rate Resident Evil 3?

[SofNascimento]

Too keep this short, the world is going through a challenging time with the Corona Virus pandemic. And Resident Evil 3 deals with a virus outbreak that destroy the city of Raccoon City.

There is no need to go through all the differences between the two virus, their effects and how fictional all of RE3 is, but the point is that some people might feel particular sensitive to the subject, to the extend that it might affect their time with Capcom's lastest remake.

That is beyond anyone's control, so my question is not if reviewers should be affected on a personal level while playing the game, it is if they should allow that to reflect on their overall judgement of the game. Personally I feel that although an object analysis of anything is impossible, striving for it is not. And that is what I expect from a good reviewer, an attempt to be as object as possible, to see the game as it is as much as one can. That is a difference between a proper review and a simple impression.

 

[DarkFlame92]

Are you out of your mind ?

 

[ClickyCal']

No.

 

[entremet]

Absolutely not.

People want entertainment at the moment.

 

[Windu]

Last time I checked, covid 19 wasn't turning people into Zombies.

 

[Bear]

I don't think reviewers are going to judge the game's merit because of the current pandemic.

 

[entremet]

Last time I checked, covid 19 wasn't turning people into Zombies.

Click to shrink...

I think diehards are too focused on the T-Virus nonsense instead of looking at the zombie outbreak scenario. That's all it is. That troupe is so sanitized and cliche, it should be controversial at all.

 

[Deleted member 41520]

I don't think the word "should" should come into it.

But people's perception of this stuff will absolutely be impacted. Flippant or fantastical content about viruses is already feeling a bit weird to listen to/watch.

 

[janusff]

should effect or can effect? reviewers won't have a choice but to review the game in their current state of minds.

 

[Deleted member 864]

Definitely not.

 

[Damn Silly]

I think if it happens to be the case that it was difficult to play at this particular time that is worthy to point out, and useful to those that may similarly not want to play something like that right now (or equally as well, really do want to play something like that to have some agency over it)

 

[Almagest]

If professionalism still exists then no...

 

[Prine]

Game is a fictitious take on a bioengineered pandemic that released 20+ years ago. So no, they're not trying to profit fro this situation.

 

[Altair]

No. This is as absurd as the thread suggesting Capcom delay the game because of the pandemic. A viral zombie outbreak isn't remotely the same as Covid-19.

 

[Valcon]

Well, considering the Venture Beat reviewer said of Half life Alyx it was a great virtual reality game but at the wrong time I wouldn't be surprised if what you say happened.

 

[JigglesBunny]

There are no zombies wandering around the streets. This is a spurious correlation at best and absurd to even consider.

 

[Death Penalty]

If we can make games about war, which is a tragic reality of the world, I don't see why we can't make games that only kind of resemble a disease outbreak that's topical. Reviewers should absolutely not consider the COVID situation for RE3.

 

[Deleted member 21875]

If reviewers can't review the game objectively and purely on what the game is, then they shouldn't be doing the job. Coronavirus should have no relevance to how Resi 3 is reviewed. If the game is great, the reviews should reflect that, and vice versa if it isn't.

 

[dpanim]

It's a goddamn video game people.

 

[SofNascimento]

I don't think the word "should" should come into it.

But people's perception of this stuff will absolutely be impacted. Flippant or fantastical content about viruses is already feeling a bit weird to listen to/watch.

Click to shrink...

should effect or can effect? reviewers won't have a choice but to review the game in their current state of minds.

Click to shrink...

That's why I used should.

The answer to can if affect is obivous: yes. That's what I meant when I said it's outside people's control. But then, if you're paid to review a game, I think you should try to manage this.

 

[Deleted member 388]

Last time I checked, covid 19 wasn't turning people into Zombies.

Click to shrink...

Clearly you haven't seen Costco during a toilet paper restock.

 

[Komo]

No it shouldn't but I know it will and has already

 

[Lord Azrael]

Be honest OP, are you the lone "Yes" vote?

 

[SofNascimento]

No. This is as absurd as the thread suggesting Capcom delay the game because of the pandemic. A viral zombie outbreak isn't remotely the same as Covid-19.

Click to shrink...

This is an extreme scenario of a very valid question about what a review should be about.

 

[The Unsent]

They can do what they want and bring the news into their reviews. Not trying to shit post.

Reviewers can also talk about Trump and global warming in their FF VII review. We can criticise if it's a bad review too.

 

[Spider-Man]

The editor in chief at US Gamer thinks the current pandemic should be part of their review and supports the GamesBeat Half Life Alyx review.

Kat Bailey on Twitter

“@MannyCalavera12 @USgamernet @capcom Oh yeah, I’m just gonna pretend that the pandemic has absolutely no bearing on how people might read the game 🙄”

twitter.com

 

[Spider-Man]

I don't think reviewers are going to judge the game's merit because of the current pandemic.

Click to shrink...

Half Life Alyx did because some of it was set in a quarantine zone that was closed off due to AN ALIEN INVASION

 

[Altair]

This is an extreme scenario of a very valid question about what a review should be about.

Click to shrink...

An extreme scenario that's entirely ridiculous. A game should be judged on its own merits, not on an ongoing real life pandemic that isn't remotely similar to what the game is about.

 

[adz2ka]

Last time I checked, covid 19 wasn't turning people into Zombies.

Click to shrink...

Maybe not zombies, but certainly braindead.
On topic, absolutely not. The game needs to be reviewed as a game, a source of entertainment is very much needed right now.

 

[-Le Monde-]

The editor in chief at US Gamer thinks the current pandemic should be part of their review and supports the GamesBeat Half Life Alyx review.

Kat Bailey on Twitter

“@MannyCalavera12 @USgamernet @capcom Oh yeah, I’m just gonna pretend that the pandemic has absolutely no bearing on how people might read the game 🙄”

twitter.com

Click to shrink...

So is she going to give it a lower score?

 

[Yoshimitsu126]

Nemesis says stars so we should give the game stars.

 

[Deleted member 10726]

Should not, but they can. The Venturebeat review of Half-Life: Alyx is valid because critics are only human, and since they judge a product based on their impressions and that ends up, whether they want it or not, coming from the mind of a living being in our current world, it's inevitable that some scores will be affected by how things are nowadays.

 

[Yautja_Warrior]

Definitely not. The current situation has nothing to do with how good or bad a video game is.

 

[SolidSnakex]

People actually become more interested in media about situations like this while going through them. Streaming numbers for movies like Contagion and Outbreak have shot up since COVID-19 started

Exposure therapy: why we're obsessed with watching virus movies

Streaming numbers for Contagion and Outbreak have been huge, suggesting people are choosing exposure over escapism

www.theguardian.com

 

[AldabraRail]

I'm not really interested in game reviews as product reviews, but it's not going to affect the game's IGN score, if that's what you're asking. I'm sure playing it in a quarantine will come up in the text of a lot of reviews.

 

[entremet]

So is she going to give it a lower score?

Click to shrink...

Do EiC's review games?

I like Kat. She's a great journalist and I love her on podcasts, but I disagree with this. We can disagree without being disagreeable.

 

[Lukemia SL]

Last time I checked, covid 19 wasn't turning people into Zombies.

Click to shrink...

Nope, just into idiots

 

[Älg]

Ultimately reviewers are free to judge a game in any way that they would like. Reviews are subjective takes on a piece of art, and it will inevitably be affected by the current state of culture, and the world. If a reviewer feels that their experience of the game was affected by COVID-19, then that is simply the way it is and that will reflect in the review. I would personally not consider such a review in my decision to play the game, and you are free to do the same, but we should never encourage a reviewer to lie about their experience of a game just because you want it to a have a high metascore, or to uphold som facade of objectivity.

 

[The Unsent]

I don't think reviewers are going to judge the game's merit because of the current pandemic.

Click to shrink...

I voted yes, but I'd rather have a third option, they do what they want.

This isn't meant to be a freedom of speech defense, but it's their choice as writers if and how they want to integrate the news into their writing.

 

[K' Dash]

what the fuck is going on with these bad takes every fucking day?

 

[Soriku]

Yeah man I can't even leave my house without being chased by Nemesis

 

[Megamind.]

Some Reviewers love to shove their heads far up their asses when reviewing games. So while it shouldnt have an affect on reviews. It will. Some will do it simply for extra clicks

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

Fuck it. Why not? Yes they absolutely should be talking about their real life experience when reviewing this game.

That's absolutely what people want to know when playing this video game.

Why the fuck not?

 

[Prine]

The editor in chief at US Gamer thinks the current pandemic should be part of their review and supports the GamesBeat Half Life Alyx review.

Kat Bailey on Twitter

“@MannyCalavera12 @USgamernet @capcom Oh yeah, I’m just gonna pretend that the pandemic has absolutely no bearing on how people might read the game 🙄”

twitter.com

Click to shrink...

Speak about mental gymnastics. What a leap in logic to pin zombies with Covid-19. It's a misreading of the game, despite the themes broadly connecting if you try to exaggerate them as much as possible. Honestly seems callous to even project current day events to RE3, it's unhelpful.

 

[AlanMoore]

What an incredibly stupid question. Really.

 

[Bear]

I voted yes, but I'd rather have a third option, they do what they want.

This isn't meant to be a freedom of speech defense, but it's their choice as writers if and how they want to integrate the news into their writing.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I guess that's where I land too. Of course some will mention COVID-19 in their reviews. But I don't think it's generally going to affect the way most of them review the game.

 

[SofNascimento]

Ultimately reviewers are free to judge a game in any way that they would like. Reviews are subjective takes on a piece of art, and it will inevitably be affected by the current state of culture, and the world. If a reviewer feels that their experience of the game was affected by COVID-19, then that is simply the way it is and that will reflect in the review. I would personally not consider such a review in my decision to play the game, and you are free to do the same, but we should never encourage a reviewer to lie about their experience of a game just because you want it to a have a high metascore, or to uphold som facade of objectivity.

Click to shrink...

They are subjective, but objectivity is not simply a a facade. It's something a professional reviewer should strive for in many ways.

 

[Portmanteau]

it never fails to amaze me that I pay nothing to have an account on here, given the amount of entertainment I get from reading these galaxy brain takes

 

[Apollo]

Uh I mean if they want to connect their current experience to the experience they had while playing the game, I think that's fine? It's their review so they should talk about their experience as they like

Edit: What a reviewer can and should do is avoid pitfalls such as conflicts of interest, misinformation, plagiarism, and so on. But if the current world situation affects their read of the game, whether positively or negatively? I see no reason why they can't let that their review reflect that read. And if that reading of the game doesn't resonate with an individual reader, they're more than welcome to find another review that's more in line with what they're looking for.

It all ties back to the oft repeated mantra: everything is political. We can't separate the game from the environment it was released in. While nobody is obligated to comment on that relationship, anybody who thinks it's relevant should be encouraged to do so. To argue otherwise while touting the merits of some vague concept of objectivity is embarrassing, IMO.

 

[Spider-Man]

Should Capcom Delay the RE3 Remake due to the Pandemic?

Given how the reaction has been to the pandemic worldwide with such devastation to lives around the world and what the game represents (a violent virus outbreak that destroys humanity) should Capcom delay it? What do you think? Update: Glad to see an overwhelming majority know that it is fine...

www.resetera.com

The numbers don't lie. Thousands don't care. This poll will show the same. Yet reviewed will pander and think we care and want this rhetoric in reviews.

It is as weak a point as saying a game is too violent or saying military shooters shouldn't represent events that happen daily.