That’s not entirely true. If a person isn’t familiar with that type of game, or goes into it unsure of whether it’s their type of thing - it’s perfectly legit to give it a thumbs down. Maybe they didn’t like the story. Maybe they didn’t realize walking around and only observing would be as boring as they did… If I had rated it, I would have just barely given it a thumbs up. The story and presentation were good, but I was kinda bored. If I felt my experience as a whole wasn’t worth the time I put into it I would have felt OK about downvoting it even though I’m not typically a walking simulator
Downvoting because you’re prejudiced against gays and lesbians, not good.
Not liking something is perfectly fine, but an enormous portion of the “it’s a walking simulator” reviews (for any of the walking simulators I checked the reviews on - there’s also Proteus and Dear Esther) don’t read like “eh, I didn’t like it.” They read like “this isn’t a real video game,” and sometimes that’s almost verbatim. It’s a sentiment you see all over the place these days, on walking simulators, visual novels, and interactive fiction. Should we be defending “this isn’t a real video game” as valid criticism?
There are different ways people can use the Steam recommended % rating, two being to answer the questions:
Is this a good game of it’s genre.
Is it a good game period.
If someone is just browsing games looking for something to new to play, using the recommended % to find a game that appeals to a wide variety of people - allowing people to downvote something because they don’t like it for any reason can be helpful. Walking simulators might not appeal to the majority of gamers and therefore may have a lower recommended % - that seems reasonable. That does make it harder to use the recommended % for case 1 above, but it’s still valid in my book.
That doesn’t answer my question. I couldn’t care less about the percentage of positive reviews shown on the page; it’s incredibly easy to game (hence the subject of another thread) and tells you only slightly more than a Metacritic user score, due to the ownership requirements.
Should we be defending “this isn’t a real video game” as valid criticism, in the context of walking simulators, interactive fiction, visual novels, and other similar genres where the moment-to-moment gameplay is not the point of the game? (Obviously not in the context of Unity asset packages sold as games to rip people off, which were this thread’s original topic!)
I guess I do. I think people should be free to give a thumbs up or down for the reason they choose. Ideally I’d like them to at least mention their reason(s) in the text so I can decide to make my decision as to whether it is relevant. I may not agree with some reasons, but I don’t want to limit them based on my values. (Yes, we can find more nefarious reasons that would make exceptions for if I could).
I’d like to add that if by ‘valid criticism’ you mean ‘an intelligent discussion about the merits and flaws of a piece of work’, than no I’m not saying “this isn’t a real video game” is a valid criticism. I’m just not expecting Steam ratings to always be a ‘real critique’ of a game.
Valve can do whatever they want, because they own the platform.
However we do not own steam and nobody gave us the right to decide which opinions are valid or not in reviews. We’re free to agree/disagree on the validity or game length affecting rating. We’re free to think someone should/shouldn’t rate a game down because they don’t like the genre. However once we start trying to get their opinions blocked solely because we disagree with them, we enter Digital homicide territory.
The only time reviews should be removed is when they are CLEARLY fraudulent. Generally this is fake positive reviews.
Everyone needs to calm down. It isn’t the end of the world if your favorite game gets a low score on steam because other people didn’t like it. When this happens to me i just blame it on the unwashed masses not liking RPGs with depth.
“Walking Simulator” and such is absolutely valid criticism. It is the poster’s true opinion of the title, and that informs other players who may dislike that style of game.
It’s much like a review panning Falcon 4.0 because it’s too complicated. That’s why the game didn’t appeal to them. The fact that complexity is the entire point of Falcon 4.0 really isn’t material to their opinion. Same deal with “too short”. Completely valid criticism. You may disagree, and that’s fine.
“SJW trash” and such is not valid criticism, because it’s not sourced from the game itself but statements from the makers or other prejudices from the poster. Steam should remove those reviews.
This is why you need to take the text of reviews into account and not just the score at the end.
I have no problem with people injecting cultural context into their opinion on a game. Someone thinking the content of a game is “SJW trash” or “misogynistic trash” or whatever cultural subjectivity is applied to a game is completely valid as long as one views criticism as inherently subjective. I will agree that when criticism leaves the content of the game and goes to the creators then it not longer becomes valid.
How is saying “SJW Trash” hate speech? I loved Gone Home and it’s probably one of the few “walking simulators” that I’ve really gotten into. But if someone thought it was too preachy and pushing a stilted point of view, or however they interpret the term “SJW trash”, than I’d have no problem with them calling it “SJW trash”. I’d think they are wrong and are missing out a fair bit, probably wouldn’t take their views seriously when reading on games, but it’s a fairly innocuous short hand that conveys the critics feelings.
Was there a homophobic character rendered as a smallminded buffoon? Did he have a change of heart at the end and embrace his lesbian friend’s lifestyle? Did the G.I. Joe platoon come out at the end and deliver the moral, because knowing is half the battle?
Even if it was preachy, “SJW trash” has offensive connotations. It’s possible to say a game is preachy without being insulting. Just literally say it’s preachy, and condescending, and tries to push politics with which you disagree. That is all certainly valid criticism-- if it’s in the actual game.
I think people are entitled to their opinions. If someone thought Gone Home was too preachy, then so be it. I wish they’d actually detail what they found preachy instead of just vaguely asserting the game is SJW whatever, but user reviews are always going to vary in quality. (Not everyone is as eloquent as Tom.) Certainly, if I can find Hatred reprehensible for its violent and ugly content, then I won’t begrudge someone else for thinking Gone Home was objectionable based on its subject matter.
I obviously disagree with someone that disliked Gone Home based on its lesbian character or twee story, but if someone has a good argument about it, I don’t mind discussing it.
No they should not. If a developer was a supporter of the ULFA or of Blood & Honor I would certainly want to know that. After all it is possible that the dollars I spend on that purchase may go to supporting such an organization. Steam should not be in the business of censoring reviews of legitimate buyers due to political or social commentary whether it be related to the game or just because of the developer. There is a much better way to handle this and you mention it in the very next sentence.
I didn’t think so but I could understanding someone thinking the ending was exactly a knowing is half the battle scene. I could see someone viewing the writing as stilted and preachy, even though I’d vehemently disagree. Certainly shouldn’t be censored, it’s a valid opinion of content, even if we both disagree with it.
“SJW trash” I’m sure is offensive to some, but there really isn’t many ways of conveying a subjective opinion without offending someone. “Hate speech” has a specific meaning that I don’t think “SJW trash” rises to.
I disagree, and there’s a false argument between “you can’t make an argument without offending someone” and defending a phrase blatantly intended to be offensive. I gave several examples of how to make the same argument with less aggressive language.
I’m OK with Steam reviewers writing “SJW trash” since it allows me to immediately disqualify their review from my consideration and makes me even more likely to give money to the dev in question.
