What? The "This game is not for you" may be a bit overused but it is valid and there doesn't need to be any criticism, you just move on. There are lots of games I don't play or watch movies because I know it isn't for me (i.e. any sports game or musicals).
There are 2 ways to really take it, which is why it can be a both valid and invalid statement.
"This game is not for you because you have differing tastes that are inherent to the genre at play. The same thing you list as being things that make it unpleasant for you are exactly the things that make it pleasant for me." For me, Red Dead Redemption 2 is a good example of this. I think if I enjoyed westerns, I'd be ecstatic about the game and have it be a must play. But I don't like westerns in general. I'm still curious to try it because I heard so many good things about the craft of the game, but I'm fine waiting for when it makes it's way to PC at a heavily discounted price before playing it.
vs
"Oh, that complaint you made about that perfectly sensible feature that could let you play it the way you enjoy but wouldn't be a detriment to anyone else? That's not a real flaw, it's just not for you, so just drop the game and stop talking about. " For me, this is just a nice way of saying "Shut the fuck up and get the fuck out." It's often used as a lazy way to invalidate criticism and try to keep a fanbase exclusive so as to not risk change.
And the "It's not made for critics, its made for fans" line, it's totally the latter argument. Critics
are fans and fans
are critics. The only actual difference between them is that critics are fans who are known personalities and publish their thoughts on a platform. It's a meaningless line whose only purpose is to try and deflect criticism.
