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30 new games scored at or above 90 this generation - which don't belong?
- Thread starter MattEnth
- Start date
Yeah, I agree. I was just saying that linear games can be bloated too lol
Dreams at a 90 seems insane. I love MGS:V and its a personal favorite, but that game is an 85 for a plethora of reasons.
Mario Odyssey is the only one that looks a bit overrated to me. It's by no means the best or the most exciting game on the list (and a step down from Mario Galaxy imo), but It's still great, and could still deserve to be in the 90s.
What? How? It's a total gameplay reinvention from the first one. It's basically giving you MGSV/BOTW style mini sandboxes to play with. The controls are exceptional. There is little mechanical bloat. How is it mediocre (or worse, apparently)?
Not sure what TPS's you are playing that are better than TLOU2 .
Objectively, they all probably belong there.
But from my own personal perspective, I've played these ones that I wouldn't rate as high as a 9/10.
Super Mario Odyssey
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
God of War
The Last of Us: Part II
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Super Smash Bros Ultimate
Overwatch
Hollow Knight
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
I'd consider all of these games 8/10 though, so I totally get why people rate them higher than I do, they're all great games, just didn't quite click for me the same way they did for others in terms of considering them amazing or masterpieces.
For context, these are the ones from that list I've played and rate as a 9/10 or higher:
Red Dead Redemption 2
Persona 5
Resident Evil 2
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Celeste
Bayonetta 2
Inside
Stardew Valley
But from my own personal perspective, I've played these ones that I wouldn't rate as high as a 9/10.
Super Mario Odyssey
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
God of War
The Last of Us: Part II
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Super Smash Bros Ultimate
Overwatch
Hollow Knight
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
I'd consider all of these games 8/10 though, so I totally get why people rate them higher than I do, they're all great games, just didn't quite click for me the same way they did for others in terms of considering them amazing or masterpieces.
For context, these are the ones from that list I've played and rate as a 9/10 or higher:
Red Dead Redemption 2
Persona 5
Resident Evil 2
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Celeste
Bayonetta 2
Inside
Stardew Valley
The Switch version is 91 on Metacritic. I think it deserves a spot in the 90s.
I wanted to say, most of the ones I've played I wouldn't rate that highly, but that probably just means my tastes are different than most.
The most egregious entry is Metal Gear Solid V.
The most egregious entry is Metal Gear Solid V.
This is what the internet excels at, finding a list of things that are obviously generally well loved and beloved and then having a few people shout loudly that that thing you like is overrated crap.
Honestly every game on that list seems fine. I wouldn't rate all of them a 9/10 (hell a few are from genres that I would never play). But as a selection of games that you could use to show off of the gaming landscape of the last half decade it's really good. Obviously over time we'll probably see a critical reevaluation of some titles but these things are ever changing.
But all this kind of thing does is encourage people to call things other people like as bad. Breath of the Wild being below a 90 is a popular pick amongst commentators in this thread but if you polled all of Era (as is going to happen in the game of the decade poll) it'll obviously end up in the top 5 at the very least.
Honestly every game on that list seems fine. I wouldn't rate all of them a 9/10 (hell a few are from genres that I would never play). But as a selection of games that you could use to show off of the gaming landscape of the last half decade it's really good. Obviously over time we'll probably see a critical reevaluation of some titles but these things are ever changing.
But all this kind of thing does is encourage people to call things other people like as bad. Breath of the Wild being below a 90 is a popular pick amongst commentators in this thread but if you polled all of Era (as is going to happen in the game of the decade poll) it'll obviously end up in the top 5 at the very least.
The only ones I haven't played are Half Life Alyx, D:OS2, Smash Ultimate, Dreams and Stardew. So I can't speak to those.
Out of the rest, I really did not enjoy my time with Persona 5, which just bored me to tears, even though P4 Golden is one of my top 5 games ever. And Undertale just wasn't for me at all either. I'd give the soundtrack a 10/10, the narrative/story a 9/10, the graphics at 5/10, and the gameplay a 3/10, but I personally put more weight on gameplay than anything else, so for me, Undertale would not be 90+ game.
I'll also say that Tetris Effect has a 90 on Metacritic (on PC), and for some reason isn't included in this list...and also does deserve to be on this list.
Out of the rest, I really did not enjoy my time with Persona 5, which just bored me to tears, even though P4 Golden is one of my top 5 games ever. And Undertale just wasn't for me at all either. I'd give the soundtrack a 10/10, the narrative/story a 9/10, the graphics at 5/10, and the gameplay a 3/10, but I personally put more weight on gameplay than anything else, so for me, Undertale would not be 90+ game.
I'll also say that Tetris Effect has a 90 on Metacritic (on PC), and for some reason isn't included in this list...and also does deserve to be on this list.
I played the following and these are my thoughts
Super Mario Odyssey - Definitely
Red Dead Redemption 2 - Definitely
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Definitely
God of War - Definitely
The Last of Us Part II - Definitely
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - Definitely
Resident Evil 2 - Probably
Super Smash Bros Ultimate - Probably
Celeste - Not a 90+ to me
Bayonetta 2 - Probably
Hollow Knight - Not a 90+ to me
Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Probably
Stardew Valley - Not a 90+ to me.
I guess indie games aren't my thing because the only 90+ games that I didn't enjoy as much as their critical acclaim were Hollow Knight, Celeste and Stardew Valley. I am a bit of a graphics/atmosphere/story nut.
Super Mario Odyssey - Definitely
Red Dead Redemption 2 - Definitely
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Definitely
God of War - Definitely
The Last of Us Part II - Definitely
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - Definitely
Resident Evil 2 - Probably
Super Smash Bros Ultimate - Probably
Celeste - Not a 90+ to me
Bayonetta 2 - Probably
Hollow Knight - Not a 90+ to me
Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Probably
Stardew Valley - Not a 90+ to me.
I guess indie games aren't my thing because the only 90+ games that I didn't enjoy as much as their critical acclaim were Hollow Knight, Celeste and Stardew Valley. I am a bit of a graphics/atmosphere/story nut.
This seems a super pointlessly negative thread.
Every game of those I've played, which is about half the list, deserves to be there and is an example of the best the various genres have to offer
Every game of those I've played, which is about half the list, deserves to be there and is an example of the best the various genres have to offer
In my very subjective opinion, out of the ones I have played and finished, Super Mario Odyssey, Breath of the Wild, Persona 5, Uncharted 4, Resident Evil 2, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Celeste, INSIDE and Rayman Legends don't belong.
They're all good up to very good games that I enjoyed, I just don't think they're THAT good.
They're all good up to very good games that I enjoyed, I just don't think they're THAT good.
It's easier to go the other way and say which do deserve their 90+ score:
Undertale
RE2
BotW
Bloodborne
Hollow Knight
Sekiro
And presumably HL: Alyx, Obra Dinna nd Disco Elysium do too, but I've yet to play them. High hopes for all of those though.
The rest belong more in the 70's-80's region.
Undertale
RE2
BotW
Bloodborne
Hollow Knight
Sekiro
And presumably HL: Alyx, Obra Dinna nd Disco Elysium do too, but I've yet to play them. High hopes for all of those though.
The rest belong more in the 70's-80's region.
https://www.opencritic.com/game/6630/sekiro-shadows-die-twice
Of these, only Persona 5 and MGSV don't belong to me.
These are the games that I'd personally knock out of the 90+ range. I didn't necessarily dislike them. In fact, I think the only games here I didn't really like were Persona 5 and MGSV. The others are good. I just wouldn't personally put them quite so high:
Persona is just a series I can't really get into. I feel like the pacing of the series is just all wrong, and as long as the series continues to reward completing dungeons in as little time as possible, you'll continue to just have hours and hours at a time split between the series' two core gameplay styles without having them mesh into each other more naturally than they currently do. Add to this that I don't really care for Persona's battle system and the writing in the series has never been to my taste, and I just don't have a lot to feel good about with the series in general. It's a shame since I'd consider JRPGs to be my favorite genre, but I just can't really get into either this one or the new Final Fantasy titles. Oh well.
I enjoyed God of War, but I found the combat a bit dull to realistically rate it as a 90+ as an action game, and it's continually dragged down a bit by story beats that overstay their welcome and some really bad, tacked-on RPG elements. In general this game tends to overstay its welcome. There were some battles that I couldn't believe just wouldn't end. Still a pretty good game, overall.
I put a ton of time into Overwatch at one point, so I can't complain too much about a 90+ placement, but my enjoyment decreased over time and I think the game was worse 3 years after release than it was on release. I just never cared for the direction they went in balancing. There were some major changes that had to occur to bring certain things under control, but they were just too comfortable limiting the ways you can play this game while I've always felt they could've balanced the game in much better ways than they did. I do think Blizzard is just too committed to keeping their games simple and their numbers nice and round in order to do the real nitty-gritty adjustments a game like this requires.
Smash Ultimate is fine for what it was. I'm just not into the overall gameplay of Smash Bros as I once was, I suppose. Personally speaking, the World of Light mode being randomized with placements would've gone a long way toward me staying engaged with this game. Knowing that all the spirits and characters would be unlocked in all the same spots kind of killed the replayability of this game's main single-player mode.
Bayonetta 2 I'm pretty on the border of personally considering a 90+, to the point where I had it in the next group, then moved it back here, then moved it back, and brought it back again. It's a very fun action game, but my engagement with it felt a bit fleeting to consider it a truly great "one of the best games of the generation" types, I guess. I just haven't really thought about this game much since beating it, despite liking it a lot at the time. Eh.
And to balance this out with a bit of positivity I guess, these are the ones I played that I really agree with them scoring so highly.
I think Metal Gear Solid V has very strong core gameplay mechanics, but I really really disliked its open world setup. I don't think it benefits the overall pacing of the game, nor does it benefit the individual missions involved. To me this just seems so clearly a game that would've benefited from being level select and taking you to the few areas of the game that were actually well-designed. These areas being divided by large expanses of nothingness with a plethora of dull side activities taking place in and around them was just... not good. Add to this the terrible and unfinished story, the worst boss fights in the series, and Quiet existing in general, and it just wasn't a good game.
Persona is just a series I can't really get into. I feel like the pacing of the series is just all wrong, and as long as the series continues to reward completing dungeons in as little time as possible, you'll continue to just have hours and hours at a time split between the series' two core gameplay styles without having them mesh into each other more naturally than they currently do. Add to this that I don't really care for Persona's battle system and the writing in the series has never been to my taste, and I just don't have a lot to feel good about with the series in general. It's a shame since I'd consider JRPGs to be my favorite genre, but I just can't really get into either this one or the new Final Fantasy titles. Oh well.
I enjoyed God of War, but I found the combat a bit dull to realistically rate it as a 90+ as an action game, and it's continually dragged down a bit by story beats that overstay their welcome and some really bad, tacked-on RPG elements. In general this game tends to overstay its welcome. There were some battles that I couldn't believe just wouldn't end. Still a pretty good game, overall.
I put a ton of time into Overwatch at one point, so I can't complain too much about a 90+ placement, but my enjoyment decreased over time and I think the game was worse 3 years after release than it was on release. I just never cared for the direction they went in balancing. There were some major changes that had to occur to bring certain things under control, but they were just too comfortable limiting the ways you can play this game while I've always felt they could've balanced the game in much better ways than they did. I do think Blizzard is just too committed to keeping their games simple and their numbers nice and round in order to do the real nitty-gritty adjustments a game like this requires.
Smash Ultimate is fine for what it was. I'm just not into the overall gameplay of Smash Bros as I once was, I suppose. Personally speaking, the World of Light mode being randomized with placements would've gone a long way toward me staying engaged with this game. Knowing that all the spirits and characters would be unlocked in all the same spots kind of killed the replayability of this game's main single-player mode.
Bayonetta 2 I'm pretty on the border of personally considering a 90+, to the point where I had it in the next group, then moved it back here, then moved it back, and brought it back again. It's a very fun action game, but my engagement with it felt a bit fleeting to consider it a truly great "one of the best games of the generation" types, I guess. I just haven't really thought about this game much since beating it, despite liking it a lot at the time. Eh.
And to balance this out with a bit of positivity I guess, these are the ones I played that I really agree with them scoring so highly.
These were all wonderful experiences for me personally. Celeste and Rayman Legends are up with the best 2D platformers I've ever played. Breath of the Wild is probably my game of the decade. Hollow Knight and Ori and the Will of the Wisps are taking metroidvanias to new heights. Wonderful games.
The only ones from that list there that I found somewhat out of place are the Forza games. I haven't played them yet, but I didn't think they would be that good.
I'm glad Rayman Legends got on there, that game is a masterpiece.
I'm glad Rayman Legends got on there, that game is a masterpiece.
All of these can go.
Tie for MGSV and INSIDE being the worst offenders on the list.
I've played everything on that list, and the only one that I wouldn't rate highly would be Stardew Valley. It's way too derivative of games I've already played without making significant enough improvements. I also think the pixel art is not very attractive, and the writing doesn't have the charm it needs to carry the experience.
EDIT: I would also put Celeste in the 80s.
EDIT: I would also put Celeste in the 80s.
Of the ones I've played probably only Inside I'd say that's more of a mid 80s (and Bloodborne don't kill me I don't like souls games) Mario Odyssey is also nowhere near a 97.
In my personal opinion, Inside and MGSV.
I found inside super boring and just...meh. MGSV is one of the best TPS game ever made when talking strictly about gameplay. Story is absolute dogshit though. I also hate how the game is structured. I know stories can hit/miss for different people but I cannot fathom how any one thinks that story is any good.
I found inside super boring and just...meh. MGSV is one of the best TPS game ever made when talking strictly about gameplay. Story is absolute dogshit though. I also hate how the game is structured. I know stories can hit/miss for different people but I cannot fathom how any one thinks that story is any good.
Easily. Mario Odyssey and Hollow knight don't belong.
Right it's his opinion, so why you badgering him for it? I love Metroidvanias to death and I didn't like it either.
I don't understand how these scores exist, since so many reviewers decided to go all edgelord and stop giving numerical scores this gen.
I feel like the word edgelord has just lost all meaning at this point.
Out of the ones I've played, and this is only based on my own opinion not where anything "belongs":
do not agree:
Zelda
Uncharted 4
Persona 5
Bayonetta 2
Inside
the ones I list that I have played and agree with their inclusion:
God of War
Bloodborne
Hollow Knight
Witcher
Ray man
what I'm really seeing here is that I have not played a lot of 90+ games. Maybe half
do not agree:
Zelda
Uncharted 4
Persona 5
Bayonetta 2
Inside
the ones I list that I have played and agree with their inclusion:
God of War
Bloodborne
Hollow Knight
Witcher
Ray man
what I'm really seeing here is that I have not played a lot of 90+ games. Maybe half
The gameplay is 8/10 and pacing in some chapters are meh but everything else in the game is 10/10 that pushes the game 9+/10 imo
Of those I have played...
Red Dead Redemption 2: Can't stand how the game controls, combat is extremely simplistic and boring, mission structure is painfully restrictive. Some of what the game is doing is exceptional but I just did not enjoy playing it at all. I loved RDR, but nowadays as someone that won't stick with a game where I don't enjoy the gameplay, I was done within a few hours. A very flawed game where reviewers seemed to be so drawn in by the things it did well they either forgave or just completely ignored all that it gets wrong.
Forza Horizon 3/4: I just don't enjoy racing in these games. I love driving around for a while but when it comes to the racing it just doesn't match up to stuff like GT Sport on the one hand or Mario Kart on the other. The online features in both 3 and 4 felt ill-conceived and revolve around far, far too much waiting and far, far too little actually playing (whether a race of a minigame). Also really not a fan of how much GaaS stuff is getting rammed into these. I still kind of prefer Burnout Paradise, as a shared world racer, to be honest. It feels like there should be better shared world racing games by now given Paradise is over a decade old.
The Witcher 3: A great game but the combat tired me out long before I ended it. Very fearful the same will be true of Cyberpunk.
MGSV: I really wonder how this game would have reviewed if reviewers had longer with the game to see the farce of Chapter Two. A great game, but not a finished one.
INSIDE: I hugely prefer Limbo to this game. INSIDE is still a great mood piece with a handful of spectacular moments, but the gameplay was far too straight forward... I much prefered the puzzle centric nature of Limbo.
ACNH: This was my first Animal Crossing game and I fully, confidently believe it is a bad game. The multiplayer features are a complete disgrace, and QoL is lacking literally everywhere you look. While I did quite like some aspects of the game (mainly building a town and garden), there are games that deliver on that stuff in a far more interesting way. I get why it's popular, but games that are this flawed, and that are this easy to improve, should not be 90s.
Out of that set it's only really RDR2 and ACNH that I think are more than 5 points off where they ought to be.
Red Dead Redemption 2: Can't stand how the game controls, combat is extremely simplistic and boring, mission structure is painfully restrictive. Some of what the game is doing is exceptional but I just did not enjoy playing it at all. I loved RDR, but nowadays as someone that won't stick with a game where I don't enjoy the gameplay, I was done within a few hours. A very flawed game where reviewers seemed to be so drawn in by the things it did well they either forgave or just completely ignored all that it gets wrong.
Forza Horizon 3/4: I just don't enjoy racing in these games. I love driving around for a while but when it comes to the racing it just doesn't match up to stuff like GT Sport on the one hand or Mario Kart on the other. The online features in both 3 and 4 felt ill-conceived and revolve around far, far too much waiting and far, far too little actually playing (whether a race of a minigame). Also really not a fan of how much GaaS stuff is getting rammed into these. I still kind of prefer Burnout Paradise, as a shared world racer, to be honest. It feels like there should be better shared world racing games by now given Paradise is over a decade old.
The Witcher 3: A great game but the combat tired me out long before I ended it. Very fearful the same will be true of Cyberpunk.
MGSV: I really wonder how this game would have reviewed if reviewers had longer with the game to see the farce of Chapter Two. A great game, but not a finished one.
INSIDE: I hugely prefer Limbo to this game. INSIDE is still a great mood piece with a handful of spectacular moments, but the gameplay was far too straight forward... I much prefered the puzzle centric nature of Limbo.
ACNH: This was my first Animal Crossing game and I fully, confidently believe it is a bad game. The multiplayer features are a complete disgrace, and QoL is lacking literally everywhere you look. While I did quite like some aspects of the game (mainly building a town and garden), there are games that deliver on that stuff in a far more interesting way. I get why it's popular, but games that are this flawed, and that are this easy to improve, should not be 90s.
Out of that set it's only really RDR2 and ACNH that I think are more than 5 points off where they ought to be.
I don't like Obra Dinn very much but I can't say it doesn't deserve that score seeing how many other people clearly loved it
Edit: Oh wait, I actually actively dislike Inside, so if I have to pick one it's gonna be that. It's one of the most boring ass games I've played.
Edit: Oh wait, I actually actively dislike Inside, so if I have to pick one it's gonna be that. It's one of the most boring ass games I've played.
I don't play racing games, but I see two Forza titles on this list and wonder how they can both be considered iconic must plays (which is what I think 90+ should be). Educate me, seriously I'm not saying they don't belong, I am saying I can't understand it and need someone who plays those types of games to explain it to me.
My real Contribution: Uncharted 4 rode the coattails of the last of Us. Its not as solid a game as the first two UC games, Its a solid game, but not 90+.
My real Contribution: Uncharted 4 rode the coattails of the last of Us. Its not as solid a game as the first two UC games, Its a solid game, but not 90+.
I've played 10 games from that list that I didn't roll credits on and 8 that I have. Despite that I wouldn't say those that I didn't finish don't deserve to be there as they were good games, just not for me.
Uh huh.
Yeah, I don't really get the point of this thread.
We got people trying to get a reaction by saying Hollow Knight and Mario Odyssey at 75 at best.
The gaming community is negative and toxic enough as it is without needing a thread that is literally just, "Name a critically acclaimed and beloved game that deserves lower than a 90."
Yeah, I don't really get the point of this thread.
We got people trying to get a reaction by saying Hollow Knight and Mario Odyssey at 75 at best.
The gaming community is negative and toxic enough as it is without needing a thread that is literally just, "Name a critically acclaimed and beloved game that deserves lower than a 90."
Of the games I've played - and it's well over half, I'd say that the ones that didn't vibe with me were RDR2 and Hollow Knight. I think RDR2 still deserves to be in the 90+ club for everything it does right, I don't think it belongs at the very top though - it has too many shortcomings. Hollow Knight - I'm sorry, I love Metroidvania, I love the art direction and hard tight combat is my usual jam, but the appeal complete mystifies me.
