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Overrated is the most creatively bankrupt term you can use
- Thread starter Burnburn
- Start date
Despite having had used it, it really is a pointless term to use in the first place, since it basically concerns criticizing the product over strong and wide feedback towards it, other than actual criticism towards its content. And the fact is, of course, is that not everyone shares the same circle where that certain product is receiving wide general feedback.
yeah, its fucking useless. its the first word people think of without actually thinking about its use, because when you do you realize how stupid it is.
If somebody can explain why they think thing X is overrated, it should be considered a valid argument. Either make a rebuttal, prove it's not overrated, or leave that person to wallow in their negativity.
On the flipside, if somebody just bursts into a thread and goes "Thing X is overrated" without explanation, well that's bait OP.
People mindlessly agreeing here, smh. You reveal yourselves to be gullible imo.
On the flipside, if somebody just bursts into a thread and goes "Thing X is overrated" without explanation, well that's bait OP.
People mindlessly agreeing here, smh. You reveal yourselves to be gullible imo.
I'm perfectly fine with people using the term overrated, as long as the person in question has a tangible reason as to why they think the game they are discussing is overrated. If you just shout "OVERRATED" at the top of your voice, but can't back up your claim, they I will ignore you.
This was repeatedly discussed on [cassette tape skips] and in my opinion, an abundance of critical acclaim can be a valid basis of comparison to one's own value of a game. If they do not match up, then it can be overrated, or even underrated if in the opposite direction.
I don't know that "creatively bankrupt" is the best way to put it. You don't have to present your criticism on a message board creatively for it to be a valid opinion worth reading. But yes, hearing that something is overrated is typically just aggravating for anyone that likes something, particularly when offered without any other sort of criticism. I think the bigger problem here is when it's offered as a flat statement. Just as if you were to say something is "bad" or "crap" etc. I also think there's a big difference between flat-out saying something is overrated and saying that you found something to be overrated. The former comes across as though your opinion is objective truth and everyone is raving mad, whilst the other comes across a lot more like you simply found your opinion differed to the majority/perceived majority. Basically, it can be a very combative way to present your opinion.
There's a world of difference between the following two statements:
"Halo is overrated."
"I thought Halo was a bit overrated. I just didn't get it."
One is going to leave someone thinking you're a jerkwad. The other is much more likely to have someone respect your opinion (in spite of the fact it doesn't dive into any sort of reasoning) whether they disagree or not.
There's a world of difference between the following two statements:
"Halo is overrated."
"I thought Halo was a bit overrated. I just didn't get it."
One is going to leave someone thinking you're a jerkwad. The other is much more likely to have someone respect your opinion (in spite of the fact it doesn't dive into any sort of reasoning) whether they disagree or not.
I think it's better to just say "Bad". Calling something overrated is just saying "it's bad and also everyone who disagrees with me is dumb"
Nah man, "unisnpired", "bland", "cringeworth", those are the one that get to my skin, but there is one that term that people use that is even worse, because somehow it jugdes a game not based in what one thinks, but around what he feels orther people think.
"Its 2017!!!"
"Its 2017!!!"
Eh, calling something that's widely agreed to be good "bad" is, well, just as bad.
"Hey, I know y'all like this game and it got great critical reception too, but it's actually bad. Sorry."
And saying a term is overused is a weak counterargument.
The list of logical fallacies needs to be updated for the internet age because this dismissal of opinions based on frequency of language alone seems to be a favorite now and it's awful. It often manifests itself in those dumb Bingo card memes where arguments are mocked not because of their substance but merely because they are often presented.
The list of logical fallacies needs to be updated for the internet age because this dismissal of opinions based on frequency of language alone seems to be a favorite now and it's awful. It often manifests itself in those dumb Bingo card memes where arguments are mocked not because of their substance but merely because they are often presented.
I don't use it that often, but sometimes I want to talk about a disconnect between my taste and consensus.
I've never really liked the word, as I don't really care for its implication. It's as if you're saying everyone who enjoyed that product rated it incorrectly or "too high", and here you are, finally giving that product the "correct" judgement it actually deserves. And perhaps I'm overanalyzing the word, but 'overrated' feels like you're telling people they're "wrong" for enjoying that game (or perhaps more specifically, "wrong" for praising it), and I've never liked directing criticism in that way. I'd rather direct the criticism towards the game itself, and not to the people who are enjoying it.
I think an example would be if a certain game gets a lot of praise for its combat, but I personally don't like it all. It's very easy for me to write 'X game has terrible combat! Overrated!" and be done with it. But I think a more productive message board discussion is stating what specifically doesn't work about the combat for me and going from there. Perhaps I find out others feel the same way and it's a matter of personal preference. Or perhaps I find out in the discussion that I didn't initially grasp a certain gameplay mechanic and it changes the way I play the game. It's not a revelation to say more civil discourse tends to lead to more receptive commenting and discussion. And that's something I've tried to get better at over the years.
Of course this is all based on personal opinions and to be fair, I don't believe people say something is 'overrated' necessarily to attack a certain group (at least not for the most part). But I feel there are far better ways to critique a product without implying everyone who enjoys it are "overrating" it. Even if someone has a well argued critique of a game, I really question whether starting it with 'X game is overrated' really adds anything to the case. It just starts to feel like an "attention grabbing" word without any substance.
Anyways, it's just what goes through my head when I hear the phrase, and I understand others may see it differently. I just feel there are better words to express criticism.
I think an example would be if a certain game gets a lot of praise for its combat, but I personally don't like it all. It's very easy for me to write 'X game has terrible combat! Overrated!" and be done with it. But I think a more productive message board discussion is stating what specifically doesn't work about the combat for me and going from there. Perhaps I find out others feel the same way and it's a matter of personal preference. Or perhaps I find out in the discussion that I didn't initially grasp a certain gameplay mechanic and it changes the way I play the game. It's not a revelation to say more civil discourse tends to lead to more receptive commenting and discussion. And that's something I've tried to get better at over the years.
Of course this is all based on personal opinions and to be fair, I don't believe people say something is 'overrated' necessarily to attack a certain group (at least not for the most part). But I feel there are far better ways to critique a product without implying everyone who enjoys it are "overrating" it. Even if someone has a well argued critique of a game, I really question whether starting it with 'X game is overrated' really adds anything to the case. It just starts to feel like an "attention grabbing" word without any substance.
Anyways, it's just what goes through my head when I hear the phrase, and I understand others may see it differently. I just feel there are better words to express criticism.
Is it? What is gained by framing the discourse around your opinion instead of presenting it by itself?
User was warned for this post: Feel free to disagree points, but refrain from personal attacks
Which is an extremely presumptuous thing to do. "I'm right and everyone else is wrong" is not an argument you want to invoke lightly; doing so is going out of your way to be rightly mocked. Why in the world can't you state your own opinion without simultaneously invalidating everyone else's who disagrees with you? What insecurity or attention seeking forces you to do such a thing?
I guess it's at least congruent that you're condescending and presumptuous enough to deem everyone else's opinions wrong in the first part (they're not BTW, FFVIII is shit and Xenoblade is amazing), and condescending and presumptuous enough to explain what overrated means in the second part, as if there was anyone here that doesn't know.
I've been saying this for years on -redacted- but no one would listen.
Nothing is overrated or underrated, there are just opinions that you might share or not share with the surrounding consensus.
Nothing is overrated or underrated, there are just opinions that you might share or not share with the surrounding consensus.
It's even worse, it's framing the discussion about how your opinion is different from everyone else. Which is utterly irrelevant in the best of cases, and insulting in the rest of them.
People defending the term are completely missing the point. The issue is not with the implication that overrated may or may not equal good or bad, or that you're stating your opinion. It's that with a single word, you're stating that your opinion is more valid than everyone else's. For that to happen either your opinion has to be inherently superior (presumptuous) or theirs have to be invalid (insulting). There is no context where using the word overrated doesn't imply that you are a better critic than most other people.
It's not that nothing is overrated or underrated, it's that EVERYTHING is underrated AND overrated because it's a subjective thing that will vary from person to person. It's just how you perceive something to be better or worse than the general feeling. There's always going to be huge variance in how we see things, and that's okay.
I don't think it's an invalid way to discuss games, but I think it's needlessly argumentative. There are lots of games that are well received that I don't like that much but I don't feel the need to broadcast it as though you're wrong the feel the way you do. It doesn't hurt me that something I don't like is well received. Which is why I'll never start a thread shitting on The Witcher 3 or Red Dead Redemption because who cares that I don't like them as much as some others?
I agree with generic. However, I won't knock on anyone for using overrated if it is used in the proper context.
There is nothing wrong with the term "overrated" or "generic" or really any of these types of terms. What matters is how they are explained. I agree OP that simply using the term "overrated" by itself is typically a lazy and reductive argument. The only time something can be described as "overrated" by itself is when the critical consensus has flipped to fit this description. For instance, the movie "Crash" won a fucking Oscar and was lavishly praised upon release. Now, pretty much everyone, including critics, agree that it was "overrated."
You hit the nail right on the head.
I think X game is overrated.
All you're saying in that statement is that you don't like a game that lots of people like. OK but why? Explain, critique, details, debate, discuss do *Anything* but just drop that statement and expect to be taken seriously.
I'm glad that more people are realising the uselessness of that word.
I think X game is overrated.
All you're saying in that statement is that you don't like a game that lots of people like. OK but why? Explain, critique, details, debate, discuss do *Anything* but just drop that statement and expect to be taken seriously.
I'm glad that more people are realising the uselessness of that word.
I'm guilty of using this word in conversation, I usually keep it out of my articles and stuff though. I don't just say "X is overrated" and leave it at that, I usually build off of it. It's my way of saying "It's not as good to me as other people think" but I don't dismiss others opinions of it.
Overrated is a word I would love to use, but you are bound to get either a good reaction or a bad reaction out of it. 'Overrated' doesn't honestly mean anything but "I didn't like this game" now. People can use the word 'overrated' if they want but they need to admit it's positives before/after making the negatives or you just look like a cynical asshole who is just looking to get a rise out of people. If you generally didn't like a game, don't use the word 'overrated' just say you weren't a fan of it or at least say what's bad about it.
For an example of how you wouldn't use overrated.
"Pokemon is the most overrated game series of all time, like seriously how can anybody like this series?! They are all nostalgic idiots who need to let go of their childhood"
How I would use it (If I did)
"In my opinion, Pokemon is a bit overrated. I really like the cute adorable characters and the whole general idea of it. It's just that I couldn't get into the turn-based combat and there isn't really a story for me to keep playing. I know I am in the minority and I really wanted to enjoy it but it's just not my taste."
That's my general take, but I usually just say I don't like the game, list the good and bad and move on.
I like to express my opinion, but in a way where they can say "I know what you mean, but I still enjoy it".
For an example of how you wouldn't use overrated.
"Pokemon is the most overrated game series of all time, like seriously how can anybody like this series?! They are all nostalgic idiots who need to let go of their childhood"
How I would use it (If I did)
"In my opinion, Pokemon is a bit overrated. I really like the cute adorable characters and the whole general idea of it. It's just that I couldn't get into the turn-based combat and there isn't really a story for me to keep playing. I know I am in the minority and I really wanted to enjoy it but it's just not my taste."
That's my general take, but I usually just say I don't like the game, list the good and bad and move on.
I like to express my opinion, but in a way where they can say "I know what you mean, but I still enjoy it".
This here sums up my opinion on using the term overrated. It's just an easier way to say, I don't think the game is as good as every says it is. Everyone says its 10/10, but I think its an 8/10 for example. Its weird that a person can get just as much back lash, for giving their opinion that they think a game isn't perfect, as if they said the game is utter trash.
Saying you think something is Overrated is just as valid criticism as saying the game is perfect, or the game is trash. Of course if you don't follow any of those statements with valid reasoning those statements won't really mean much.
I guess the OP should really be calling out, "Lone phrases aren't good criticism." Which is a sentiment I could really get behind.
I often feel that when somebody uses this term, they're basically declaring that they can see that the Emperor isn't wearing any clothes and they stand above the masses.
It comes from this strange desire that's strong in the gaming community to justify why you're correct in not liking something as opposed to simply not liking it. It's right up there with "lazy dev's" as an obnoxious term.
It comes from this strange desire that's strong in the gaming community to justify why you're correct in not liking something as opposed to simply not liking it. It's right up there with "lazy dev's" as an obnoxious term.
that's actually a great point its effectively the same thing as overrated in this instance and op is using it, pretty funny
if I recall correctly, Grand Theft Auto IV had a big review event where they had a bunch of journalists come out for a prerelease gameplay session that was like three days of just playing the game. This was about a week before the game came out and it ended up with the game getting one of the highest metacritic scores of all time. Much later, a lot of discussion was had about the fact that the game had not really been fully explored and probably didn't deserve the perfect scores it had collected.
Intimating that everyone who deems something overrated is being pretentious and/or condescending is absurd. No one is saying that other opinions are invalid; it's just vernacular shorthand for saying "I don't think this is as good as everyone else says it is".
People seem to be getting caught up in the trap of conflating their degree of liking things to said things objective quality.
The word 'overrated' implies something has been highly rated by a majority, or what you perceive as a vocal minority, but you disagree with that consensus.
It would be only natural to elaborate further your opinion in a discussion board, but I really don't see the problem with the word itself.
It would be only natural to elaborate further your opinion in a discussion board, but I really don't see the problem with the word itself.
Some forums are built on the notion that anything less than a 500 word essay elaborating on a pretty mundane opinion 'doesn't count'.
Honestly, I'm pretty sure most of the responses telling people to be more elaborate are just fishing for reasons to call the person's opinion stupid and wrong.
Disagree.
It's essentially shorthand for "I don't think this thing is as good as the reviews and/or prevailing sentiment would suggest" which is a perfectly valid opinion to hold. In the case of something like GTA4 it's especially prescient as it speaks to a specific phenomenon where initial reactions were wrapped up in a zeitgeist that in hindsight, weren't reflective of the quality of the product.
Also, "creatively bankrupt" would be higher on the list of meaningless terms.
It's essentially shorthand for "I don't think this thing is as good as the reviews and/or prevailing sentiment would suggest" which is a perfectly valid opinion to hold. In the case of something like GTA4 it's especially prescient as it speaks to a specific phenomenon where initial reactions were wrapped up in a zeitgeist that in hindsight, weren't reflective of the quality of the product.
Also, "creatively bankrupt" would be higher on the list of meaningless terms.