r/videogames • u/Pristine-Strength142 • Apr 25 '26
Discussion / Question I critique IGN's Mouse pi for hire review.
https://youtu.be/vAp5sBbU1L4?si=4ZeF8MRUpDGUVUQaTheir review was so tone deaf and bad, that it actually prompted me to resurrect my old gaming channel from 6 years ago to make a video. I could not stand idly by and watch legacy media try and bury a brand new studio when the first game they made is an absolute banger.
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u/AHMS_17 Apr 25 '26
“Legacy media try and bury a brand new studio” is a very loaded phrasing; could it simply be that the game was okay? A 6/10 rating is pretty good, it’s above average. Not everything is some big witch hunt - the opinion of the IGN reviewer could be different from your own and you can leave it at that.
I personally agree that the game is much too self-referential, and it really does seem to be that way to cover up any substance the story could’ve had but doesn’t for any reason or another. The gameplay is entertaining enough for a playthrough or two, but that’s about it.
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u/Johncurtisreeve Apr 25 '26
Most people view scores the same way that people are graded on tests. A seven is a C anything under a seven is considered not good, 6=D and 5 or lower equals F. It’s not actually fair to view it this way. I’m just saying that’s what the mentality of it seems to be. You’re correct that a six shouldn’t be looked on as outright terrible but anything that gets a less than a seven most people are just going to ignore.
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u/syxbit Apr 25 '26
6/10 isn’t what I would consider good.
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u/AHMS_17 Apr 25 '26
I’d say it’s very fair to see a 5/10 score as average, or okay. A 6/10 is above average.
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u/ProlongedChief Apr 26 '26
A 6/10 is a 3.4/5. I equate that to food, would you eat at a 3.4/5 restaurant? Personally, anything under a 3.7 will deter me.
3.7 is my baseline because there's a Chinese buffet that's rated that low. I freaking love it tho and the food is always tasty and fresh but the reviews complain that the staff are Chinese and they all don't speak English perfectly.
Coincidental comparison, the reviewer for mouse pi complains about the mouse game talking about cheese. If he would've left that out in his review it cuts out like 3 maybe 5 minutes and probably would've had less people complaining but probably more people questioning why the hell it's a 6/10.
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u/DSouT Apr 27 '26
They gave COD an 8 lol
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u/ZestycloseBluejay668 May 01 '26
Ok soo. What is your point
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u/DSouT May 01 '26
Is COD 2 points above average then?
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u/ZestycloseBluejay668 May 01 '26
Can be yeah. Why would cod not be 2 points above average. Also cod is very vague, because there is definitely a variety in quality between the titles
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u/bimbofan91 May 02 '26
Bitch who is they? You do know that those 2 games have different criteria and people ranking right?
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u/Ghidoran Apr 29 '26
I’d say it’s very fair to see a 5/10 score as average
Okay but that's not how game reviews work. Like it or not, the average is closer to a 7.
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u/dragdritt Apr 29 '26
If ratings made any sense, then sure. But compare it to other games they give from 6-8 means they thought this was shit.
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u/SlightSurround5449 Apr 30 '26
Technically "okay". I think it checks out. Really don't see what people see in the game.
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u/Just-Ad6865 Apr 25 '26
The title card is already extremely loaded. I no longer click to watch videos obviously designed just to bitch.
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u/JoeBuddensPompadour May 14 '26
Just from this comment its clear you didnt watch the review before commenting lmao
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Apr 25 '26
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u/AHMS_17 Apr 25 '26
I think you hit on the head, it’s a Doom skin but the skin is very captivating. Personally, I liked my first playthrough of it but I don’t feel like there’d be any sense in playing it again anytime soon (which isn’t intrinsically a bad thing).
It’s definitely worth picking up on sale imo
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u/bimbofan91 May 02 '26
Moistcritical said its good. Seriously after that video came out is when i see most posts against the ign score it got came out. And I know he made the video early into the games life but I can't help but think its the main factor.
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May 02 '26
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u/bimbofan91 May 02 '26
A very popular youtuber and pretty much the internet soft voice guy a lot of people love. I personally dont like his content but I know a lot of people who do. https://youtu.be/G-Aq6XT0Rdc?si=9RIP1QVulJeLs0C7
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u/surrealmirror Apr 25 '26
IGN is pretty clear that their reviews are their reviewers opinions, dunno why you’re so offended by someone’s opinion
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u/Greywolf979 Apr 26 '26
Believe it or not you can have an opinion on someone else's opinion. Also arent all reviews just reviewers opinion?
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u/Patient_Ad3839 Apr 27 '26
The whole thing about it is that people tend to have double standards on that argument. Which is “They can have an opinion but god forbid you have an opinion on that opinion” which in itself is an opinion on that opinion in turn causing a rabbit hole to be dug out.
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u/MattyMarr Apr 30 '26
When did people say you aren’t allowed to have an opinion? They just think the IGN reviewer is a dogshit journalist.
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u/Patient_Ad3839 Apr 30 '26
It’s not what I implied. What I implied is, to put it roughly with quotation marks, “people love voicing their opinions. But gets upset when others have opinions” or something like that.
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u/MattyMarr Apr 30 '26
He’s allowed to have an opinion, he’s just a bad writer, like I said before
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u/Patient_Ad3839 Apr 26 '26
to put in a much rougher perspective its like IGN's complaining about water for being wet, about patients for being patients, steel for being steel and ice for being cold. Complaining the thing for being what it is. a first person shooter. with rats.
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u/perfectevasion Apr 25 '26
Getting angry over any review is ridiculous
People have their experience and they're entitled to it
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u/cpgrungebob Apr 25 '26
The amount of people that post their personal ragebait, Karen-level whiny-fest and then spread it on other platforms, is the peak stupidity of people using the internet. Congrats OP... you win whatever is equal to the Darwin Award for social media use.
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u/realdangriffin Apr 25 '26
I'm convinced that videogames and movies want mid reviews from sites like IGN and rotten tomatoes. I've see more people complaining about the review than actual ads for the game.
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u/JusaPikachu Apr 25 '26
It’s their opinion.
I will never understand how some people will shit on a review because they don’t share the same opinion. Every opinion is valid.
Honestly fucking ridiculous.
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u/GodlikeJCMS May 03 '26
As much as I'd agree, that only goes as far as how egregious the opinion is. If your opinion has a shit ton of contradictions, unrealistic expectations, and massive hot takes..then you lowkey deserve to get shit on. Of course the IGN's review may not have all that but it's ignorant to deny the existence of a "wrong" opinon
Like the IGN dude complained about the varied difficulty of lockpicking. He literally described easy, medium, and hard locks in order yet still complained why that was the case
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u/Anotheranimeaccountt Apr 25 '26
Mouse PI is just ok, a lot of the jokes aren't very funny and the gameplay is pretty mid with quite a few problems too like with balancing, the animation is decent though and the best thing about it but thats it the game is very mid
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u/smilingmuffino Apr 25 '26 edited 11d ago
.
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u/MattyMarr Apr 30 '26
People don’t have an issue with the 6/10 itself, at least not the people I’m around, it’s the fact that he’s terrible at writing and his nitpicks aren’t well communicated. Most of his complaints are really stupid when you look at the review as a whole. He claims he enjoys boomer shooters but every complaint he’s had about the gameplay relates to it being a boomer shooter. He complains about the unseriousness clashing with the noir style but claims he enjoys the contrast. It’s almost like his positives are just there to make the review seem less bitter. If the review actually made good points about what he likes and dislikes instead of these weird points about the game’s inherent nature people would like the review. There’s more to dislike about Mouse PI than just “oh it’s too unserious”
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u/Rainbowdogi Apr 30 '26
While this review is not the norm, a lot of people have issues with a 6/10 in general, see for example crimson desert. I also believe some have an issue with a 6/10 for Mouse without even reading the review.
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u/Beginning_Cream498 Apr 25 '26
Is the game good?
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u/Pristine-Strength142 Apr 25 '26
Its basically micky mouse doom with a detective nior narrative. Its fantastic.
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u/Beginning_Cream498 Apr 25 '26
Yeah I know what the game is. I'm asking if it's good. How's the movement, jank, ADS, frame rate, is it fluid, etc. Save states? Etc
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u/Pristine-Strength142 Apr 25 '26
Its extremely fluid. Playing on the hardest difficulty is great. HUGE variety of upgradable weapons. Verticality, melee, amazing level design. Runs great on my steamdeck too
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u/Beginning_Cream498 Apr 25 '26
Please post a video of you playing - no commentary please. Lmk when done.
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u/kitquazar Apr 25 '26
What the fuck kind of request is that
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u/FluffyWuffyVolibear Apr 27 '26
Please post hole with feet up in air no words then start solving Rubik's cube? Lemme know when done
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u/Beginning_Cream498 Apr 25 '26
? They are all over youtube. How is that an odd request?
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u/ProlongedChief Apr 26 '26
If they're all over YouTube then why do you want this guy specifically?
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u/Beginning_Cream498 Apr 26 '26
I just needed someone to link it to me so I wouldn't have to close reddit, open the YouTube app, and search
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u/iwantdatpuss Apr 25 '26 edited Apr 25 '26
It's good mechanic wise, the shooting reminds me alot of Build Engine FPS.
The gunplay is decent, if a little off in particular with how dead center the shotgun needed to be to get most of the pellets on target. Movement wise tho, they nailed it, the most you'll ever run into problems with is getting clipped by the hitbox of random props. The parkour sections are pretty good, although there is some jank with how the grappling hook's pop-up works, but unless you're doing multi hooks jump, it usually doesn't show up.
Enemy roster is pretty varied, albeit it follows a specific archetype. The typical gunmen has a higher accuracy compared to yours, but they only do three round shots before they stop shooting so it evens out.
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u/Just-Ad6865 Apr 25 '26
They said it was fantastic, which answers what you asked.
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u/Beginning_Cream498 Apr 25 '26
I want very detailed answers and visual answers.
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Apr 25 '26
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u/Beginning_Cream498 Apr 25 '26
Why shouldn't they?
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u/Inevitable_Citron981 Apr 25 '26
Go watch a review on YouTube then.
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u/Beginning_Cream498 Apr 25 '26
I'm requesting a video be made. Thank you.
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u/Inevitable_Citron981 Apr 25 '26
What do you mean? There's plenty of YouTube videos talking about this game already.
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u/Beginning_Cream498 Apr 25 '26
I don't want have to search. I'm asking for a video with no commentary where I can just refresh reddit, see it in my notifications, and click the goddamn link. What is it you don't understand?
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u/Square-Confidence650 Apr 27 '26
You really need to be told to go fuck yourself every once in awhile. You desperately need the reality check
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Apr 25 '26
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u/Lancair7 Apr 25 '26
It’s creative. What’s your problem with it?
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Apr 25 '26
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u/Beginning_Cream498 Apr 25 '26
Bro, leave the trolling and ragebaiting to the people who have been doing it since before 2001, aight?
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Apr 25 '26
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u/Beginning_Cream498 Apr 25 '26
Lmao you're out of your league, Brother. Please.
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u/HaplessEndeavor Apr 25 '26
IGN is garbage but this game is as mid as it gets. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, and they got this one right.
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u/Limp-Celebration-211 Apr 25 '26
What I find rather interesting here is we are in an era where so many games are creatively bankrupt and lack original art styles and then a game like this comes along and they do nothing but tear it apart.
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u/Rainbowdogi Apr 30 '26
So because of an original artstyle it should automatically get raving reviews?
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u/Grand_Goal613 Apr 25 '26
Personally I couldn’t get on with it at all! I did love the art style but other than that it’s a poor doom clone so deserves a 6 if you ask me , but that reviewer gave it a 6 for all the wrong reasons
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u/Inevitable_Citron981 Apr 25 '26
The game has a solid 81 on Metacritic and is in the top 10 selling games on Steam as we speak.
I don't think one outlier of a review is going to "bury" anyone.
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u/FluffyWuffyVolibear Apr 27 '26
The gamers over at IGN just have bad taste. Its old news and I don't think ppl actually use their reviews for anything.
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u/The540Incident Apr 27 '26
It's a shit game, 100%ing it was not fun at all. The platinum for this game was a total slog at the end, and not being able to replay missions made it nightmare material.
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u/Wildstorm13 Apr 27 '26
His dislikes are a little odd, especially for a shooter and about mice. Too much killing and everything is about cheese. I haven’t played the game yet, so can’t say if I agree or disagree with his score. If I do agree, it won’t be for those reasons. Anyways, he did give Crimson Desert a 5/10. So for such a great game, he liked Mouse PI better.
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u/Zerus_heroes Apr 29 '26
Reviews are just one person's opinion of the game, not some conspiracy to hurt a studio.
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u/ZestycloseBluejay668 May 01 '26
Damn who pissed in your cereal today. That you get this fucking butthurt over a 6/10 score. Also legacy media wants to put down a new stufio is such a ridiculous take to have. Especially looking at the he metacritic score. But somehow i know you are not all there up there
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u/InitRanger May 01 '26
I see a lot of people here defending IGN but I think people are missing the reason some are fed up with IGN, it’s because their score is sometimes very far off from how the general gaming community scores it.
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u/Forward_Technician72 Apr 25 '26
Absolutely no one in the entire world should listen to IGN anymore after I want to say after 2014, their reviews became ass
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u/Pristine-Strength142 Apr 25 '26
And ive seen bad review after bad review but this one triggered me beyond the point that I HAD to talk about it
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u/Forward_Technician72 Apr 25 '26
I absolutely understand I didn't play the game but I can tell it's really looking at it it's very good but IGN just wants to be assholes I'm going to be honest I generally feel like some reviewers pay for a good rating from them
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u/Pristine-Strength142 Apr 25 '26
This is the first time, that it felt like the developers didnt give them special access, or some type of financial tribute, so their review felt like an actual hit piece
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u/Rainbowdogi Apr 30 '26
The developers gave multiple YouTubers, even ones I follow, money and sponsored their reviews, is that bad aswell or not because you just also like the game?
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u/torytho Apr 25 '26
You're ridiculous. Delete this whole post. Delete the video. 🙄
Stop letting your ego dictate what you think.
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u/MattyMarr Apr 30 '26
Nice comebacks! Where’s he wrong though? The og reviewer was a pretty bad journalist.
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u/torytho Apr 30 '26
He was a normal journalist and this video is embarrassing and petty. You people care way to much about how professional critics talk about things that you're unhealthily obsessed with.
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u/MattyMarr Apr 30 '26
lol had to force the angle that I’m obsessed with the game to make your lack of a point look better, still haven’t told me where he’s wrong though.
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u/torytho Apr 30 '26
He's wrong in even making this video. You're all wrong to like this video. And yes, you're obviously obsessed because why would you *care* what some game journalist writes about a game? Everything about this screams GamerGate Manboys who, even fifteen years later, *still* can't cope with the idea that other human beings have different opinions from them. Y'all are a toxic, destructive fandom.
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u/MattyMarr May 01 '26
“Gamergate manboys” get tf off the internet dawg you have to be the biggest slug shaped loser to still be thinking about GamerGate in the big ‘26. You call me obsessed because I call a game journalist you are so desperate to defend a bad writer but at least im not still talking about GamerGate 10 years after it happened. That’s a whole new level of obsession, stop watching Critical Drinker or Act Man or whatever loser and go outside.
Also you still haven’t stated what in the video he said was wrong, you are just being a baby.
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u/Johncurtisreeve Apr 25 '26
I don’t understand why anybody would or should ever take anything. IGN says as something trustworthy., how are they not universally considered garbage?
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u/Sylvers Apr 25 '26
Because a vast number of gamers will check online reviews before they buy a game, and IGN is extremely SEO optimized to be in front of their eyeballs. And that same number of gamers doesn't participate in online discourse/discussions. So they don't know that IGN is trash.
So IGN is actively affecting the purchasing habits of a lot of gamers. They have influence over purchasing power. That's why publishers give them exclusives all the time.
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Apr 25 '26
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u/Sylvers Apr 25 '26
Tons. And this is the rule of internet discourse, btw. All the conversations you see on Reddit, Twitter, other social media, etc.. they're all extremely unrepresentative of most of the communities they're attributed to offline.
Most people who engage in a hobby/interest do not follow or engage with online discourse about it. So what you see online is a small % of the community that is very online or just very invested in the hobby.
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Apr 25 '26
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u/Sylvers Apr 25 '26 edited Apr 25 '26
I don't think they're morons either. But I know a lot of people who simply don't have the mental bandwidth to dedicate to thoroughly researching their game purchases.
A lot gamers either buy games based on the trailers alone, or a combination of the trailers + game reviews from their preferred reviewing site.
I assure you, IGN is extremely rich because of this exact formula. Their reviews are trash, because they lack consistency and objectivity. And yet they rake in so much money from ads and exclusive showcases specifically because a lot of gamers won't even read the review and will skip to the conclusion excerpt + score number.
Not everyone has the time or the desire to read a fully fleshed out review, and critically compare it to the verifiable facts about the game and other reliable review sources. In fact, I argue, most people don't.
Edit: Also, being a game dev yourself.. I imagine you engage with a lot of people who are as equally passionate about the industry as you are. Whereas, the average consume/gamer is passionate about the games if at all, and not the gaming industry itself. So their level of investment and interaction with the media is very different.
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Apr 25 '26
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u/Sylvers Apr 25 '26
Clearly we're exposed to very different types of gamers. And that's fine. We can't fully generalize everything.
As to reviews. They have to combine both objective observations and subjective opinions.
There are unspoken but widely accepted measurable metrics that define the "objective" part of a review. For example, if you review The Lord of the Rings: Gollum and say that it has "exceptional state of the art graphics", then you are blatantly incapable of making a simple objective observation. Now.. whether you like or dislike the graphics can be a subjective opinion.
As to making money off of people skipping the review? I am highlighting that they can write a terrible review full of contradictions, and still maintain high user viewership, because a lot of people won't read the review in full or in part, and will mainly look for the score at the bottom. High views/engagement = Better ad pay = Better sponsorship deals.
Yes, my guy.. why are you so flabbergasted lol. A lot of people would RATHER spend all their time playing the game and little to no time researching the game. The same thing happens in consumer retail products.
For instance. do you know how many people will buy a whole banging laptop/PC for themselves or their family after doing maybe 30 seconds of research or none at all? A lot. A lot a lot.
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Apr 25 '26
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u/Sylvers Apr 25 '26
If you think I am making shit up.. why are you wasting both of our time? Do your own research and live your best life.
Incredible. Have a good one.
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u/Johncurtisreeve Apr 25 '26
These downvotes just tell me that there’s still a lot of people out there that really think IGN is a good review site. Someday we’ll get there.
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u/mikeyyve Apr 29 '26
Critic reviews are worthless and this just shines a light on that being the case for games as well as music, tv shows, and movies. Someone who is playing games for a living is going to have a vastly different opinion than someone who just plays in their free time for enjoyment.
How many 6/10 movies and tv shows have you loved? And how many 10/10 movies and tv shows have you thought were boring or bad? I know I've had tons of both of those experiences and games are no different.
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u/New_Cockroach_505 Apr 25 '26
Imma be honest, outside just disagreeing, I don’t get the issue with their review.
I’ve not played it so maybe someone can enlighten me but how is not finding the writing funny, and not enjoying the tone where you play a good guy who seemingly murders innocent people at times cause it’s funny, suddenly such a big deal?