Does a game getting great reviews make you feel guilty about disliking it?

[Lant_War]

This is something I've noticed lately, and it's that if I'm interested in a game and it gets great reviews, I'll try my hardest to ignore all the flaws that that game might have. The weird thing is, I really don't care about reviews; if I'm not interested in the game beforehand good scores won't affect my opinion on it at all (all the RDR2 10/10s made me go "oh, that's cool" at most).

Case in point: Spider-Man. Followed the game since the announcement, the game got great reviews, bought it on release date and everything and while I still like it (hell, I got the platinum), it's clear that for me it wasn't as great as the reviews were making it seem like. However, if you asked me in September, I probably would've told you that it was my GOTY even if deep inside I knew there were a ton of flaws with the game. It's almost like the reviews amplified the honeymoon period and made me think "no, I can't possibly be disliking this and that about this game! Everyone loves it!"

 

[ThroughtheVoid]

No, I don't have to like everything popular and that's fine.

 

[kittoo]

Not at all. I hated The Last Guardian and it doesnt matter to me if it got good reviews. Reverse is also true. I don't feel weird about liking a game that got bad reviews.

 

[Orbit]

Doesn't makes me feel guilty, just makes me wonder why reviewers thought so much of it.

 

[Xavi]

Not at all. I don't have to like every big hit out there.

 

[stinkyguy666]

I kind of a weird hipster in the sense that if a game I like got bad reviews, I end up liking it more than I should because I feel like I'm sticking up for the underdog lol.

 

[Scuffed]

No way. So many games need to be played for an extended period before you can really say how good it is and most reviewers don't do this. Tons of games get 9/10 but a few months later are seen as not even nearly that good.

 

[Weltall Zero]

OP, your case sounds more like buyers remorse + hype disappointment than anything else. Feeling "guilty" for not loving something (or, worse and more frequently, someone) is an unhealthy mindset to have.

 

[Deleted member 249]

No

 

[TheStebe]

Nope never! If i dont like something i dont like something. It doesnt make it right or wrong its just preference to your tastes at the end of the day

 

[sibarraz]

I think that as long as you recognize the merits of a game is fine if you don't like it. I tried to play BOTW and I don't liked the gameplay, but at the same time, I realized that the game did a lot of things in a superb way, "in that regard I didn't liked it but I respect it"

With Spiderman happens something weird to me, the game blows my mind thanks to the superb job of making you feel like Spiderman, but there is something about the game that makes it feel repetitive, even though I'm surprised by the huge variety of minigame and situations that the game has making good use of spiderman powers and the supportive cast

 

[spartan112g]

Not even a little.

 

[RecRoulette]

Hell no.

 

[LonestarZues]

Not at all. We all have different preferences.

 

[scare_crow]

No. Also, you can't have disliked Spider-Man that much if you got the platinum.

Also also, if you take a step back from the discussion of the stuff you like, you'll enjoy it more.

 

[Lant_War]

OP, your case sounds more like buyers remorse + hype disappointment than anything else. Feeling "guilty" for not loving something (or, worse and more frequently, someone) is an unhealthy mindset to have.

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Well, you could put it that way I guess. Weirdly enough the opposite doesn't happen to me, if a game gets bads reviews but I like it I simply won't care about the reviews at all.

 

[GymWolf86]

I usually don't care about videogame journalism.

 

[Huey]

Case in point: Spider-Man. Followed the game since the announcement, the game got great reviews, bought it on release date and everything and while I still like it (hell, I got the platinum), it's clear that for me it wasn't as great as the reviews were making it seem like. However, if you asked me in September, I probably would've told you that it was my GOTY even if deep inside I knew there were a ton of flaws with the game. It's almost like the reviews amplified the honeymoon period and made me think "no, I can't possibly be disliking this and that about this game! Everyone loves it!"

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I think this goes both ways - players tend to be more critical, and more vocal online, about flaws in games that have received universal praise, compared to the same flaws present in a game which is less well-rated. It's probably healthy skepticism.

I think criticism requires at least two steps back - one step back from the initial mess of release and hype, which often yields justifiable criticisms; and then a second step back after that (often once some time has elapsed) , asking, "ok given these issues, what has the game overall accomplished in the context of what came before it and the context in which it released?" You've taken the first step with Spider-man, but the second step, I would probably conclude that, despite those, this is a pretty amazing execution of what has been a very difficult thing to accomplish in the history of this medium. Yes it absolutely has flaws, but it's a remarkable achievement all the same.

 

[Mekanos]

I'm in the same boat with the OP. Spider-Man is a good game but I feel like if it didn't have Spider-Man, my favorite superhero, I wouldn't give it much thought.

I think I feel more shame when I like something that a lot of people don't though. Neither is really a healthy way to look at things regardless, but I tend to feel more strongly about when the thing I like isn't largely accepted.

 

[Elyian]

FUCK no. I dislike most western AAA blockbuster hits, if I sat around feeling guilty about each one I dislike, i'd hate gaming.

 

[Weltall Zero]

Well, you could put it that way I guess. Weirdly enough the opposite doesn't happen to me, if a game gets bads reviews but I like it I simply won't care about the reviews at all.

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Nothing weird about that; you're not getting either buyer's remorse or anti-hype so it's natural you enjoy it. Which kind of cements my opinion about the other case. :)

 

[Weltall Zero]

I think I feel more shame when I like something that a lot of people don't though. Neither is really a healthy way to look at things regardless, but I tend to feel more strongly about when the thing I like isn't largely accepted.

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It's probably because "not liking something others do" can make one feel like a cool hipster, while "liking something others don't" might make one feel like an uncultured simpleton. :D

 

[Sotha_Sil]

Definitely not. I know what I like. My interest in gaming reviews has dropped with time.

 

[Wolfgunblood]

Games are perceived very differently by their audience than say, books or movies. A teen romance movie that gets great reviews might be one of the most effective, technically great films of the year, but I'm not watching it. Not for me.

Games however are perceived differently by the gaming audience. Any kind of game with any kind of theme that gets great reviews and is perceived as GOTY material must be played by everyone, regardless of the theme, setting, tone, etc. because it's a great game and what's wrong with you if you don't like such a great game, it's GOTY material!

 

[Hentailover]

Erm, No. not really.

 

[WarpSpeedMolasses]

OP do you remember the FFXIII reviews when it first came out?

 

[HardRojo]

Hardly, I just try to move on and not dwell on it that much. I hardly play many games nowadays anyway, it took me like 3 months to finish God of War and then 2 months to finish Spider-Man. I've put Nioh on hold for the time being but plan to finish it this month anyway after starting it like 4 months ago or something.

 

[Pottuvoi]

No.

People like different things.

 

[Deleted member 2099]

Absolutely not, I'm not a slave to the gaming population in what they find popular and appealing. I'll normally even keep it to myself if I dislike/hate a game too if I know people in my social circle that likes the game. But the only time I won't keep quiet is when I feel as if they're pushing it too much via their social media blogging about the game, that's when I'll step in and express my very own opinion on the game they like so much. Sometimes I'll do it in spite, but also sometimes I'll do it just so they can be open minded that their game can still use a lot of criticizing.

 

[daniel77733]

No.

BOTW is critically acclaimed but I quit after 20 hours and believe that it's no better than an 8/10. The Witcher 3, Horizon Zero Dawn, AC Origins/Odyssey simply does everything that BOTW does but far better. If people love it though, it's not going to change the fact I see it as nostalgia, a 30 year history and from Nintendo. There's a lot of games that I love that people dislike. No one should feel guilty about loving or hating a game just because the majority feels the opposite.

 

[SFLUFAN]

Oh hell no! If anything, it makes me feel empowered!

 

[Blade Wolf]

Of course not, if anything it just proves that critics are too easy to please when it comes to AAA eye candy.

 

[brinstar]

I don't see why a game can't be your GOTY because it has flaws. If you like it you like it. And the other way around too, of course.

I will say I did find Spider-Man to be a much weaker game than I was expecting from the conversation surrounding it. But there's still a lot of cool shit in it.

 

[Lant_War]

OP do you remember the FFXIII reviews when it first came out?

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Games getting stupidly high scores based on name alone is something everyone's used to at this point, but when Spidey gets great reviews, every forum is full of people loving it, irl my friends are crazy about it and I'm not really feeling it that much I can't help but feel a little guilty about it.

 

[Deleted member 12129]

I understand that a game can be great, but not great for me, and thats fine. I didn't like Bloodborne or Skyrim for example. Great games, just not my thing.

 

[SilkySm00th]

I never really enjoyed RE4, couldn't stand the way it played and was personally ready for more survival horror instead of action horror - just wasn't my up o tea and it never really settled in my system. Still dislike it to this day...

Doesn't mean i don't recognize that it completely revitalized and somewhat stagnant series with some much needed shots in the arm and brought about billion more people into the world of RE - which is a good thing no matter what side of what fence you might be on.

So nah.. folks and strokes and all that. What i can't stand is people who feel the need to rant on and on about games they apparently hate but can't stop talking about.

 

[Eros]

Not at all.

 

[Eumi]

No. Not at all. It just means other people are enjoying something I'm not, which is fantastic and I'm glad they've gotten something out of it even if I couldn't.

 

[shaneo632]

Doesn't makes me feel guilty, just makes me wonder why reviewers thought so much of it.

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Pretty much this.

 

[Bansai]

Don't really put much stock in "professional" reviewers so no, not really.

More often than not I actually find myself enjoying games that were critically panned.

Of course not, if anything it just proves that critics are too easy to please when it comes to AAA eye candy.

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There's also that.

 

[Zippo]

No. Not at all. I dislike what I dislike, popularity doesn't matter to me in the slightest.

 

[FallenGrace]

Nope, just makes me question the masses....

 

[ASaiyan]

No. What a weird sentiment.

It's okay when your own personal tastes diverge from other people's.

 

[Remo Williams]

Not at all. It would be kind of like feeling guilty for not enjoying certain food just because many people like it. More power to them, but we're all different.

 

[Driggonny]

Not really personally. But maybe that's part of the reason people seem to feel the need to shove their negative opinions on well received games down everyone's throat

 

[Mercador]

I wonder sometimes what I missed. Didn't like DQXI nor P5 though I love jrpgs generally.

 

[Calverz]

Unfortunately this is a huge problem with the gaming industry right now imo. The worst thing you could do is lie to yourself about. I mean fuck, i got god of war and horizon and they are completely fuckin overrated its ridic.

 

[Strangelove_77]

I'm a hipster so it actually makes me feel superior.

 

[Deleted member 10726]

Reviews are just opinions, and it's valid that your personal one could differ from others. I sure don't feel bad about having my own opinion, regardless if it aligns with critical reception or not. I mean it'd be weird if we all enjoyed exactly the same stuff.

 

[Linde]

No..?
If anything it makes me question the validity and use of reviews. ESPECIALLY when it comes to hyper popular triple A games