Secondly, if a game does not get 90% on Metacritic is basically straight up garbage to some people yet they haven't played the game.
I read you post OP and to a certain extent agree. The only point of contention I have with yor post is your needing to leave. I believe, strongly, that this is based on entirely the wrong opinions. You see, what you're having trouble with isn't gamers. It's the hardcore enthusiast who believe there opinion carries more weight than others when in truth, is a segmented fraction of a fraction, of a microcosm.
In reality, the overwhelming majority of gamers wouldn't know what "Meta" is without a google search. I have casual gamers in my family who don't care about what a CEO's latest PR tweet is or even who they are.
Yup some of the comments in
any of the Death Stranding threads border on lunacy... But you have to view those with a dose of reality. I mean, compare those comments with what actual Death Stranding hype looks like here in London.
Please don't be disheartened or confused.
"Some" (in quotes to emphasize the word "Some") people on enthusiast forums engage in desperate attempts to create gaming narratives that bear no reflection to reality. Predicated on what some CEO said or some obscure tweet or wanting "specific games" to fail. Hence the word "flop" without a single unit being sold at retail or digitally.
Take a break from the enthusiast conversation before you take a break from gaming. I believe the community is better off with you in the fold.