Another persons opinion

[Jirohnagi]

Okay so we all know this situation: You've seen a game you like a lot and start looking around seeing what the reviews say but someone you know says it sucks and isn't worth getting. do you let that persons opinion sway you more than researching the game and checking reviews?

For me if it's a game i enjoy i ask around my friend groups (MH4U, Fantasy Life, Nier Automata all being examples) and see what people think of the game as well as research the game in the case of all 3 of the above examples i had close friends and family say the games weren't worth getting. I still got them because i'd seen the reviews were good, that and the fact i sunk more than 100 hours into at least two of em.

 

[Spirit]

Depends if i trust and know the person. I can usually tell if a game is gonna suck so i dont often put much stock in reviews to begin with, however I have a couple of friends who have in the past helped me discover some great games so I'll always take their opinion into account but usually if i want something I'll get it eventually anyway.

I'll always do my own research and form my own opinions on things first too.

 

[Dio]

I would say that although games with high scores particularly Nintendo games can be made out to be much better than they are due to the reviewers sucking the dicks of the developers to avoid fan backlash or because they are paid to, games that are overall reviewed negatively tend to be bad games.

To work out if a game is gonna be good or not I usually find out from trusted people. @Spirit and @Link Floyd both convinced me to buy Nier Automata for instance and I loved it. My friend also reccomended Monster Hunter to me and got me to play that because I trust his judgement. Even though I have seen someone say they love it I didn't trust this particular individuals opinion on games due to their dislike of Twilight Princess.

I also am sometimes convinced by watching gameplay of something though sometimes only the best bits are shown and it can give the wrong impression.

 

[the8thark]

due to the reviewers sucking the dicks of the developers to avoid fan backlash or because they are paid to, games that are overall reviewed negatively tend to be bad games.

If you think only Nintendo made games suffer from this, you are very mistaken. It happens with all kinds of games, from all kinds of consoles. The issue is rampant within the industry.
The best people to ask for game recommendations are those who know us and know what types of games we like. So they can actually tell us what we need to know without the BS that most industry reviewers put out to bash a game or beg for more pre-release review copies.

 

[Castle]

If they can properly explain what exactly makes the game bad then yes. It's not so much a matter of trust with someone whose word I already trust but rather it is a matter of taste or subjectivity. Said friend may just dislike something that I like or am simply ambivalent about.

For instance, I wouldn't advise Spirit to not play Wind Waker because she doesn't have any problem with the chibi toon style graphics. But I dislike it and if I had a friend who also disliked the graphical style as much as I do I'd know that, despite Wind Waker being an alright game on its own, that my friend wouldn't enjoy it and therefore I would do well to advise him of such.

I know people who don't like real time combat in RPGs and prefer turn based, therefore I would be obliged to explain to them that Pillars of Eternity, a game I like which has real time combat, would likely be something they wouldn't enjoy.

I've asked people's opinions on games that I'm on the fence about buying (see the Games You're On the Fence About Buying thread) - people whose word I trust - for their take on the game and bid them explain to me why they feel a certain way. It's helped. Trust is based on honesty, so knowing what your friends like and dislike and being able to give them an accurate assessment of something based on that builds understanding.

 

[Dio]

If you think only Nintendo made games suffer from this, you are very mistaken. It happens with all kinds of games, from all kinds of consoles. The issue is rampant within the industry.
The best people to ask for game recommendations are those who know us and know what types of games we like. So they can actually tell us what we need to know without the BS that most industry reviewers put out to bash a game or beg for more pre-release review copies.

No I don't think that and I also didn't say that it is ONLY with Nintendo. But I have noticed it particularly with Nintendo games. They seem to get reviewed a lot less harshly.

 

[the8thark]

They seem to get reviewed a lot less harshly.

Most of the big games from any developer on any console have their fair share of these kinds of reviews. It's not disproportionately skewed in favour of Nintendo games. Kingdom Hearts 3 is a good recent example. Even though I do think the review scores are fair for that game, most reviews either gloss over or totally ingnore all of the technical issues the game have. Technical issues so obvious that even an untrained eye should be able to notice them.
KH3 is still a good game worth getting, but it's not reviewed as truthfully as it should be. Just one example of many.

 

[Dio]

Most of the big games from any developer on any console have their fair share of these kinds of reviews. It's not disproportionately skewed in favour of Nintendo games. Kingdom Hearts 3 is a good recent example. Even though I do think the review scores are fair for that game, most reviews either gloss over or totally ingnore all of the technical issues the game have. Technical issues so obvious that even an untrained eye should be able to notice them.
KH3 is still a good game worth getting, but it's not reviewed as truthfully as it should be. Just one example of many.

I am sure there are but I am not subjected to them as often seeing as I hang around a site where people like a lot of Nintendo games. This has made me more aware in particular of the way reviewers suck up to Nintendo.

 

[A Link In Time]

I almost always value reviews more than what someone I know says unless they have a very similar opinion as me on a given genre. For example, I would trust DM's opinion on a Fire Emblem or other similar game. But, I think finding a reviewer with similar tastes as well as watching gameplay videos is a better option overall.

 

[Platinum Princess]

I usually play games because I want to, and if I don't like it, I won't, but not because someone said it was good or told me I would waste my money. Half the time games that I like are the ones critics treat like garbage. Similar to my taste in movies too. If a critic hates it, I know I'll like it.

 

[beste-spellen]

I do not care about anyone's opinion in general - I rather form my own opinion on things - and especially for gaming, because I tend to play games that few people play and not play the games that are very popular and liked by the masses (e.g. Fortnite, LoL).