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Do you think the current pandemic should affect how reviewers rate Resident Evil 3?
- Thread starter SofNascimento
- Start date
Probably the part where it says "You're all going to be forced into a worse time."
I've seen zero fan feedback so far that fits that narrative.
Not really. I think if it bothers you that much you shouldn't be reviewing the game, really. Let someone else take the assignment.
Do you think the current pandemic should affect how reviewers rate Resident Evil 3?
Yes, they should relate their personal experience with the game.
I think these can be different things, but in general I'm cool for reviewers having politics and commentaries in their reviews if they want, even if the subject is very fantastical.
as long as she articulates why the current crisis is impacting her experience why is her experience less valid? Because it might affect the metacritic score? Fuck that. Reviews are just opinions. Peoples experiences with a game through their own personal lens. As long as they are open and transparent about that, that doesn't make their review or opinion wrong.
There are going to be hundreds of reviews out there for RE3 once the game hits, I'm sure people should be able to find one that more closely matches their own expectations or experiences (or validates their opinion, which, lets be honest, in cases like this, is what most people on this site are after when it comes to review scores)
Reminds me of people complaining that Ubisoft was advertising The Division 2 a couple of weeks ago.
Hope I didn't come off snarky. :P
I won't hold it against the reviewers, as I said, it's their choice.
Or better yet, just play the game. I haven't read a review in years. :P
I do not understand what an "objective" review is. I never will. If you want to know what the framerate is like watch a 30 second clip on youtube. If you actually want to understand the content of a game, that's what criticism is for.
Anyway this was a good thread I give it a 13/8, three thumbs up
Anyway this was a good thread I give it a 13/8, three thumbs up
Nope, just into idiots
For some reason this reminded me of this (just in longer form):
OP
OP
I didn't know what snarky was. But I googled it and no, you didn't come out like that at all.
In general I think reviews can be more interesting when they have the personality and experiences of the author expressed within it. There may more substance in the world building than we think, for them to make an interesting comparison.
No. Covid-19 is everywhere and we can't stop reading it every 5 minutes even if we want to given the circumstances.
It really shouldn't have a presence in a video game review, of all things, especially if they're going to tank the review because of it. People are looking for an escape in entertainment. They're not looking to entertainment to be blasted with more reality right now.
I mean, they can do it if they want, and lord knows some will, but it just means they'll catch a ridiculous amount of hate and lose credibility as a reviewer to many.
It really shouldn't have a presence in a video game review, of all things, especially if they're going to tank the review because of it. People are looking for an escape in entertainment. They're not looking to entertainment to be blasted with more reality right now.
I mean, they can do it if they want, and lord knows some will, but it just means they'll catch a ridiculous amount of hate and lose credibility as a reviewer to many.
They should include in their reviews whatever they deem to be relevant to their experience with the game.
It should affect the rating if it's significant enough to the author.
It should affect the rating if it's significant enough to the author.
Why not both?
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Reviewers are only human though... They can be scared just like the rest of us, and if that affects their enjoyment of RE3 then that's fair.
I mean shit, if they write it in their review, that because of Corvid19 they couldn't enjoy the game, they're literally doing you, the reader, the favour of clearing up why the didn't like the game so that you can make your own value judgement, based on how YOU feel about the pandemic.
It'd be way worse if they rated it negatively without explaining why.
Who are you to say what people are looking for when they come to a game or any other form of entertainment?
I'll stay calm and straightforward in my answer to this, despite wanting to fly off the handle...
No, reviewers should absolutely not change the way they rate RE3 because of current world events.
No, reviewers should absolutely not change the way they rate RE3 because of current world events.
No-one's said anything about tanking the review just because of the outbreak. Just that it might affect the experience of a reviewer which at the end of the day can be a very important factor in any review.
Entertainment products are not exempt from political or societal issues and context being given to a reviewer's thoughts about the game in relation to those as long as the themes are relevant - and here with Coronavirus I think we can easily say that while there are no zombies on the streets, people can make a comparison to a virus outbreak quite easily. These kinds of reviews are no worse than buyer's guide style ones so I'm not sure why it would affect a reviewer's credibility, or why they should receive hate?
Yep. That's how I feel. This is only a problem for some people because nowadays we are obsessed with critical consensus.
I said no. But reviewers will, whether that affects a score or not. And that's fine because reviews are subjective.
Yes, because video game reviews are ultimately just opinions, which are influenced by the experiences of the author.
But also no, because I really don't feel like watching capital-G Gamers argue about this for the millionth time.
But also no, because I really don't feel like watching capital-G Gamers argue about this for the millionth time.
If every reviewer was frightened beyond belief of the pandemic, then the game would be rated 5/10 by everyone. You can see why this becomes an issue, right?
Of course there's almost no chance that happens, but the more this becomes normalized, the more negativity surrounds the game, for no fault of the developer. If people started rating a game I made lower in bigger and bigger masses, just because they are going through a rough time, I'd be very annoyed.
Isn't the point of a review to see how the reviewer reads the game, not those who can't separate 20-year old fiction from what is current going on? Does she think Capcom is making a political statement about the current state of affairs on a game that started development a year ago, leading off the back of another game that released a year before that leading off several successful entries in the same series that started over 2 decades ago?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
The Venturebeat Half-Life: Alyx review talked about how the game impacted his enjoyment but still gave it an 8/10. Why are you assuming everyone is going to give it very low scores if they similarities between real life and in-game events and some discomfort felt about that?
Also, sometimes life isn't fair when it comes to when you release you game/film/tv show. Cultural critique includes societal issues that developers may not have anticpated.
I don't understand why people think this wouldn't have an effect. If someone released a happy game that functioned as an opioid and made people appreciate it more and feel better about it when playing it, do you really think that wouldn't seep into reviews? Reviews are just a communication of an individual experience. The quest for objective reviews will never get anywhere and shouldn't.
why is that an issue? Why can't you, as a consumer, read those reviews and decide if those same things would affect you?
Do you read fantasy novels to experience real life? People use fiction as escapism to escape. It's in the word.
Yeah, it's wild... Like I can reasonably understand wanting a new game in a series you like to get good reviews, but people take it way way too far, their personal investment goes way beyond what one could consider reasonable and honestly dips into cult-like territory when it's at the most extreme.
Which people only cared about because it gave a score which affected the metacritic of the game. If there was no score most people wouldn't care, heck, most don't even read the review and just check the number.
There was never a problem with the review, just a problem with people being too attached to the metacritic score of their favorite game. (Which can be justifiable since it does affect developers, but I think we can all agree most people are just crazy).
So yes, reviews are and should be affected by the personal life of whoever is reviewing it because it's a... Personal review?
And no, I don't think the game should be delayed lol.
Fiction writers regularly use allegories to wider social and political issues in their work. So yes, there are elements of real life in fantasy novels.
It's an example score, and I did say frightened beyond belief. There will be people that if given the ability to review, would score lower for the same reason, and others that score higher.
Saying life isn't fair when it's entirely controllable by review standards isn't really a good argument.
Suppose this feeds into indie games all of a sudden? Now those sales start to get severely damaged if the reviews drop considerably for the same reasons. Indies rely on reviews more than AAAs for their sales.
It's a conditional statement. If people were to tank the reviews because "it's a bad time to come out," That would harm their credibility to many. There's no denying that. People want to know if a game is good when they read a game review. Their experience is important, but it shouldn't be used as a launching point for something that's very loosely related (and couldn't sustain itself for much of the discussion without serious gymnastics), nor should real world events have a tremendous impact on the score.
In terms of scores and final thoughts, no, that's pretty silly and just dates a review to a specific time and place (even more so than usual)
But I think it's more than fine for a reviewer to mention "given recent events, some players may feel uncomfortable seeing the pandemic unfold in-game". Arguing against that isn't too far removed from getting mad a youtube video has content warnings.
But I think it's more than fine for a reviewer to mention "given recent events, some players may feel uncomfortable seeing the pandemic unfold in-game". Arguing against that isn't too far removed from getting mad a youtube video has content warnings.
Obviously you can, but people keep forgetting about a) consumers don't research much and b) developers can be affected as well despite people glossing over that.
Some of the responses in this thread highlight the issue with how people, a lot on this site, view reviews. We are, for the most part, informed enthusiasts. We probably shouldn't be the target audience for a lot of these reviews, especially for these big AAA type games like RE3 where so many people already have their minds made up and are going to get a game day 1. Reviews here (and review threads in general) exist for the purposes of hype (why else would review threads be open like a week before any reviews even hit?), for ammunition in fanboy/console wars, meta critic circle jerks, and to validate their own preconceived opinions. When reviews are viewed through that lens and perspective, it's what gives you some of the warped opinions you see in this thread and on this site about how reviews should he objective, or what personal experiences reviewers are or aren't allowed to inject into their opinion of a game, or how disagreeing with a review means the reviewer is wrong or didn't do their job correctly.
If the current situation had a significant impact on their experience, then absolutely.
A review is less a reflection of a game, than it is a reflection of that person's impressions of a game in that moment in time. The context and personal experience matters
A review is less a reflection of a game, than it is a reflection of that person's impressions of a game in that moment in time. The context and personal experience matters
Basically this