![]() ![]() And yet, the game got ripped to shreds for the Xbox One. Considering that the stealthy mass murder simulator enjoyed similarly positive (if somewhat middling) scores when ported from PC to PS4-an insignificant difference of 1 point via Metacritic-the “bad port” option seems unlikely. Unfortunately for Party Hard, none of these really explain the situation. Did the developer make a really bad port? Is some content locked behind a paywall on one device, or perhaps a timed exclusive? Is it just a fault in the law of averages, as most of the reviews were done on one platform, thus homogenizing the scores there, but not elsewhere? When a multi-platform game has review scores divided starkly down platform lines, a few thoughts often come to the savvy gamer’s head. Even much of the technical issues could be resolved with better specs or, you know, playing the console version, begging the question whether the circumstances of the game’s conception had a role in its less-than-stellar reception. In spite of this, though, the game delivers on its premise, highlighting famous franchises sure to induce nostalgia in a package commensurate with what you’d expect from a Toy Soldiers game. You have all the basics that might otherwise make for a critical review: published by a company with terrible business practices (Ubisoft), it is of a genre that many people despise (tower defense), and, admittedly, it does have several technical issues that might impede an otherwise fun experience (running poorly at 30fps, for example). Unlike many of the other titles, it’s a hodgepodge of those issues. Like many of the titles on this list, Toy Soldiers: War Chest is confronted with non-mechanical issues which render it anathema to many reviewers (and players). The fact that the game utilizes its narrative to inform its gameplay through a unique echolocation mechanic-in survival horror, no less!-seems to breeze past most critics when they should be singing its praises. And this is from the supposed liberal side.ĭiscounting this sophomoric hyper-focus on identity politics quips, Perception reveals itself to be a much more nuanced experience. Unfortunately, even among well-meaning people, this context is impossible to avoid take Destructoid ’s review, which manages to cram in references to SJWs, diversity, and self-deprecating presumptions about the game that the author fully admits are incorrect, yet cites as evidence of the game’s lack of quality. When you hear the that a game is headed by a female protagonist, who has a disability, in a game that a heavy focus on story, there’s a good chance you’re either gearing up to play or just counted the strikes in your head. Perception is a game that is intrinsically tied to its cultural context. Of course, if you’d rather get our hot take on terrible games that really shouldn’t be all that popular, why not check out 15 TERRIBLE Nintendo Games That Sold Incredibly Well? So give them a shot, you might even find that they’re really quite good! The games listed might not be the best of the best, they might even be deeply flawed, but they’re not as bad as some critics out there want you to think. We’re here to set the record straight on 20 games that critics hate in some capacity-be it a single, influential, clueless reviewer or an anomaly in consensus. Maybe it’s a case of hysteria surrounding the hype of a game’s release, a scandal broke out weeks before, or the game just happened to exist in the wrong genre at the wrong time, but it’s a reality that some games just get a bad rap. Good reviewers find a way to make this obvious, either by excelling at maintaining objectivity or by fully admitting their subjectivity, but in either case, there’s a good chance that critics sometimes just get things wrong. A specialist, by contrast, is necessarily limited by the biases of its source, potentially poisoning the well if the person in question has a specific political agenda or mechanical preference. Going with the consensus often means ignoring those who have specialized knowledge about a given genre or subject, giving an unsatisfying, cursory look that appeals to the widest audience possible. Games media has such a wide array of opinions, it’s hard to tell who you can trust.
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