- Primary Subject: Video Game Reviews & Player Subjectivity (Current Focus: Beyond the Veil Launch)
- Key Update: Following the polarized reception of Beyond the Veil on May 4, 2026, "User vs. Critic" score gaps have hit an all-time high, leading to a viral movement encouraging players to "Review it Yourself."
- Status: Confirmed (Industry Trend)
- Last Verified: May 12, 2026
- Quick Answer: Video game reviews are subjective opinions; relying solely on them can cause players to miss personal favorites or fail to develop their own critical taste.
When it comes to video games, they can either be good or bad. People nowadays want to know when it's one or the other as soon as possible, so they rely on reviews. Regardless of where they come from, whether it's from journalists or players themselves, reviews have greatly impacted the decision-making process.
If you see a game that has been negatively criticized, you may think to yourself that you'd rather avoid it, saving you the trouble. While there's no doubt that reviews have helped people from playing something they might not enjoy, I believe that you still should never fully rely on them.
What I mean by that is reviews shouldn't stop you from trying a game, even when they try to convince you that you should. One of the reasons why is that they're not all consistent. Let's say you want to play Alien Isolation, but before you do, you decide to check its reviews.
You'll see that many critics have varying opinions about it, with some giving the game a high score due to the way the enemy Xenomorph behaves and other aspects of the playthrough, while others go the opposite route. In that case, you might get confused. Is it good or is it bad? That's a question that needs to be answered, and the best one who can give it is yourself.
You have to remember that every person who plays video games is unique when it comes to their likes and dislikes, so it would only make sense that different reviews will have different opinions on every aspect of a game. Knowing that they're all unique, it could mean that parts they like might be parts you hate, and vice versa.
So, instead of reading and relying on what they wrote, just give it a go. I understand that you might be apprehensive towards this approach, as nobody would want to play something they won't like. However, let's say you do end up getting something despite the many negative reviews, but after some time, you find out that it actually is bad, as it doesn't match your preferences.
While it is unfortunate, there is still a benefit to playing video games you don't like. By doing so, you can say that you can back up the claim of the negative comments that were made, allowing you some credibility if another person were to ask you your opinion on whether the thing you've played is good or bad.
Another is that it helps you better understand what personally makes for a bad game. Reviews can tell you all they want about why particular aspects of what they're playing are bad, but at the end of the day, whether something is terrible or not is entirely up to you.
By going through the awful parts of the game, or even just segments that are fine but you don't particularly enjoy, you get to learn what exactly it is that you're looking for. It is important that you understand your personal taste, as it can lead to better decisions when getting more video games you actually enjoy in the future.
The other reason why you shouldn't allow video game reviews to dictate whether you should play something or not is that they could prevent you from finding your favourites. Let's say a particular title caught your interest, but you see that many big-name journalists in the industry are saying that you shouldn't waste your time on it.
Given that you're expected to trust them, you decide not to get it, only to find out after quite some time that it has everything that you've been looking for. This is a common problem with many gamers, as they miss out on something they could have had fun with just because a review or two tells them they shouldn't bother with it, or makes them believe they're not supposed to. So, even if something that caught your eye has a lot of negative ratings, play it still, as it could end up becoming a part of your list of best games.
Yes, it may still have some issues here and there that were pointed out by multiple reviews, but you might find them negligible enough that they don't ruin the overall experience. You wouldn't have known that if you relied on reviews to make your decision, which is why I highly encourage you to never fully rely on them.
At the end of the day, reviews still play an integral part in the video game industry, as they can be very helpful in preventing people from making costly mistakes or wasting their time. Still, they are opinions, and ones that aren't always right. So, you have the option to ignore them completely, and doing so might just allow you to find treasures that you would have never discovered otherwise.
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