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The best games are 8.5

sn00zer

sn00zer

Member
Feb 28, 2018
6,061
The best games are 8.5s.

What is an 8.5 you ask?
Is it a game that's just not a nine? No
Is it a game that's just a good 8? Also no.

An 8.5 game is a game that stuck its neck out and did something different, and did it well. An 8.5 didnt go with the tried and true game design mechanics and perfect them (thats what 9s and 10s do), no it went off on its own path. It went out and did something different. It made a statement. No an 8.5 isnt perfect, but got damn did it make an impression. Some people loved the 8.5. The 8.5 was someones favorite game. It was their top 10 knowing its not going to on IGNs top 10. A lot of people thought the 8.5 just wasnt for them, but could see how its a good game that other would enjoy.

An 8.5 to me is the game that should have pushed the industry forward. Sure there is an occasional 9 or 10 that will be the trend setter for years, but that 8.5 will be fondly remembered for decades as a missed opportunity for more games to follow.

EDIT: I am talking about games I would consider an 8.5, not games amalgamated by metacritic averages.
DBLE EDIT: Games I would consider 8.5s
-Evil Within 2
-The Last Guardian
-Yakuza series
-Most Annapurna games
-MegaMan Legends
 
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.exe

.exe

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,219
Scores mean absolutely nothing. Borderlands 3, the safest game in the world, is an 8.5 on metacritic. Completely meaningless.
 
Thatguy

Thatguy

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
6,207
Seattle WA
Just watch videos and play demos and judge for yourself. I've played plenty of 8.5's I didn't like. I've also played 10/10 games that were very fresh and broke many conventions.
 
skeezx

skeezx

Member
Oct 27, 2017
20,131
doesn't account for every scenario, but yeah, lot of the GOATs are quietly rolled out as "8/10. buy it... i guess?" then some years later it's recognized as way better than whatever got reviewed better that year
 
Bomblord

Bomblord

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Jan 11, 2018
6,390
Change that to a 7.5 and we're going somewhere OP. An 8.5 in my book is a safe entry that didn't do anything worth lauding but also didn't do anything bad.
 
BigTime_2018

BigTime_2018

Member
Dec 31, 2018
1,319
I agree with this sentiment. Most of my favorite games aren't 9s or above.

Edit: Just saw the OP's edit. I was talking about review averages in my post.

I'm a little confused by the edit. If you think a game you consider to be an 8.5 is a best game, why not give it a score of 9 or above instead?
 
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Weiss

Weiss

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Oct 25, 2017
64,265
I... kinda get what you're saying?

Experimental games are, by nature, going to be rough around the edges. Games that come out with bold new innovations but lack something that more seasoned titles have had for years due to being iterated so much.

My favourite game is Hollow Knight and that was built off of decades of other indie games, Super Metroid, and Souls. If Team Cherry had to develop a new genre by its lonesome the game definitely would have suffered. Meanwhile there's the Gravity Rush duology has common ground with superhero sandboxes, but a lot of what you get in Gravity Rush, chief among them being the gameplay, is totally unique, and the games naturally suffered from that lack of polish due to not being able to crib off of existing games.
 
KarmaCow

KarmaCow

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,155
What is an 8.2, a game that tried something new but it was just a spin on a turret sequence?
 
Tanooki

Tanooki

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Oct 25, 2017
1,420
Canada
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DrScissorsMD

DrScissorsMD

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
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Jan 19, 2019
564
The best games are the ones you enjoy. If you enjoy it, if you love playing it, then no amount of scores of any variety is going to sway you otherwise. I think people would do well to steer away from numbers or scores and look more for reviewers they trust and share interests with. As it stands now people fret about low scores, because they know others fret about low scores and seeing low scores makes them think others won't like it either. Realistically you can't try every single game before purchase so reviews shouldn't be ignored, but they shouldn't be the be-all and end-all of a game.
 
Dad

Dad

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Oct 25, 2017
525
I've played many great 84 and 86 Metascore games, but I've never played an 85 that has been good. I just avoid them at this point
 
Panther2103

Panther2103

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,910
I kind of understand what you are getting at, but you need to be more clear. Not all 8.5's are games that did something different. not all 8.5's deserve recognition forever. Also, all games that do something different or try something different don't get lower scores just by default for going outside the box. 9's and 10's can definitely have the same features you describe an 8.5 to have.

The best games are the games you like, not games that got some arbitrary score.
 
EatChildren

EatChildren

Wonder from Down Under
Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,029
The real review scale:

[1-5/10] Garbage piss and shit
[10/10] Overrated, or not on my console of choice
[6/10] Disappointing new IP from famous developer
[7/10] Someone out there will feverishly advocate for this one
[9/10] Ammunition for Metacritic list wars
[8/10] Actually good and pure video gaming
 
BeaconofTruth

BeaconofTruth

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Dec 30, 2017
3,417
Review scores n metacritic do not deserve the weight some of you put into them. They are a glorified opinion at best, often, a poorly thought out and reasoned one to boot.
 
The Unsent

The Unsent

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Oct 25, 2017
19,426
Assassin Creed 4, Shenmue 2, Kid Icarus Uprising, Majora's Mask and Fallout New Vegas fit this to me. I love them.
 
Dec

Dec

Prophet of Truth
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Oct 26, 2017
3,521
Lots of people seem to be getting hung up on the score thing and missing the point

There is absolutely an element of charm that unusual but good games have that make them stand out among the competition, even if they are flawed enough in ways that prevent you scoring them very high even if you may have had a more memorable time with them than a more conventionally good game.
 
Poimandres

Poimandres

Member
Oct 26, 2017
6,858
STALKER games copped some deserved flack for being janky, but they are also some of the greatest of all time and infinitely more interesting than other super polished games of the era. Dark Souls has clear and apparent flaws. Again, an all time great.

I feel you OP. Some of my favourite games fall into this category.
 
King_Moc

King_Moc

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,126
I get the op's point. Plenty of good games that don't exist to try to entertain every single gamer will garner some lower reviews as a result. That doesn't mean the target audience won't love them. It's a pretty big flaw in averaging review scores.
 
OP
OP
sn00zer

sn00zer

Member
Feb 28, 2018
6,061
....why is everyone talking about the amalgamation of a bunch of different scores equaling an 8.5 when that is clearly not what im talking about.
 
BeaconofTruth

BeaconofTruth

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Dec 30, 2017
3,417
sn00zer said:
....why is everyone talking about the amalgamation of a bunch of different scores equaling an 8.5 when that is clearly not what im talking about.
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Because labeling games you think are less interesting a better "grade" or comes off inane.

That and your examples and what you describe as an 8.5 are odd at best. Unclear otherwise.
 
EsqBob

EsqBob

Member
Nov 7, 2017
241
You people are taking OP's words too literally. It's amazing how many people are incapable of good abstraction
 
leng jai

leng jai

Member
Nov 2, 2017
15,117
EsqBob said:
You people are taking OP's words too literally. It's amazing how many people are incapable of good abstraction
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The whole premise is poorly explained and doesn't really make sense anyway.

It's basically saying the best games are "flawed games" rather than "polished derivative experiences" but it's all muddled with the fluff about review scores.

And obviously we've seen flawed games get higher than 8.5, the review score itself doesn't mean anything.
 
balgajo

balgajo

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Oct 27, 2017
1,251
You have a point OP. Even though my GOAT sits with a 99 metascore lately I play more interesting games within 80 ~ 90 range than 90+.
 
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