Unpopular Opinions about Video Games

[Caddo Cobgang]

Gaming forums, or at least the ones the casual or "normie" gamer is most likely to visit

game forums really don't exist anymore, its mostly twitter and reddit now, Reddit is the more totalitarian of the two, Twitter is surprisingly less bad with moderation, but far easier to get drowned out by fanboys and botted shills, im sure if publishers had their way they would have every critic permanently banned from posting on any website, but the fight is far from over, I still see people shit on EA for example

Publishers don't want any dissent. Whenever a game gets "review bombed", it's serious business. It's like voting for a presidential candidate who gets smeared in the media. Yes, of course we have Our Democracy™, but it's not supposed to look like this!! Remember when you could see the number of dislikes under Youtube videos? This is just an example.

its a sad state of affairs that people make their political views their entire personality to a point where they will support whatever media affirms it even if said media is shit (Star Wars Sequel Trilogy fans a big example of this)

 

[Imperial Commandos]

game forums really don't exist anymore, its mostly twitter and reddit now, Reddit is the more totalitarian of the two, Twitter is surprisingly less bad with moderation, but far easier to get drowned out by fanboys and botted shills, im sure if publishers had their way they would have every critic permanently banned from posting on any website, but the fight is far from over, I still see people shit on EA for example

its a sad state of affairs that people make their political views their entire personality to a point where they will support whatever media affirms it even if said media is shit (Star Wars Sequel Trilogy fans a big example of this)

Spooks are nothing but a cancer to society. They have effectively murdered the very cultures they were created to protect from foreign and domestic enemies.

 

[Achtung Bitter]

game forums really don't exist anymore

They do, just to a lesser extent, from the isufferable Gaf through tombraiderforums and the such.

I mostly visit Steam boards for info.

 

[BunchaBabyDucks]

Maybe this is more of a conspiracy but whatever.

Gaming forums, or at least the ones the casual or "normie" gamer is most likely to visit, are astroturfed beyond hell. And any game that has an "offical" forum, especially if it's run by the devs/publishers, are used as nothing more than containment zones to quarantine critical opinions.
Your only hope of ever having worthwhile discussion on video games is in lobbies with actual people, forums like this, or by making youtube videos where your opinions can't be shadow banned or down voted until they no longer exist.

And this is part of why the gaming industry is so fucking shit now. Not only have the games gotten worse, these cunts have infiltrated online communities to control the narrative. A combination of sock puppet and bots being used to drown out legitimate discussion in favor of low effort memes and blatant engagement farming posts.

What's that? There's a surge in critical opinions? Well Golly Gee, can't let people complain! Quick do something!

"I just wanted to say thanks to the devs for making such an amazing product. I've never had more fun in my life. I've been so depressed lately and lonely and this game has allowed me to connect with super awesome people! This community is SO GREAT! THANKS AGAIN DEVS! DONT LET ANY OF THESE ENTITLED BABIES DISCOURAGE YOU!"

Go to any subreddit for a niche gaming community. I literally saw one defend EA. It’s the age of shills baybee!

 

[Hentai-Semitism]

You stupid chuds disliked one too many brownwashed, woke remakes of classic movies. Also, don't forget Netflix removed user ratings across their entire platform because people hated Amy Schumer's special.

I remember Bethesda not allowing negative reviews on Steam or something like that. It happened 7+ years ago, I think. Does anyone know what I mean?

 

[Asian tech support]

I remember Bethesda not allowing negative reviews on Steam or something like that. It happened 7+ years ago, I think. Does anyone know what I mean?

I remember them blacklisting outlets who wouldn't suck their ass but as far as Steam reviews go, I only remember them attempting to Correct the Record™ in the comments sections of Starfield reviews, which I didn't know existed until that happened. Did what you're remembering have something to do with the paid mods fiasco?

 

[Hentai-Semitism]

I remember them blacklisting outlets who wouldn't suck their ass but as far as Steam reviews go, I only remember them attempting to Correct the Record™ in the comments sections of Starfield reviews, which I didn't know existed until that happened. Did what you're remembering have something to do with the paid mods fiasco?

I know about the paid mods thing, but I don't think it had anything to do with that. It was some kind of review embargo. All I remember is that it was serious for the time and made me think "yep, that's where we are now, they will do anything to sell a product and Steam won't stop them".

 

[Super Hans v2]

I remember them blacklisting outlets who wouldn't suck their ass

It was specifically Kotaku and specifically because of how cunty they acted during and after leaking Fallout 4.

 

[Retarded Weeb]

Spooks are nothing but a cancer to society. They have effectively murdered the very cultures they were created to protect from foreign and domestic enemies.

That's because spooks were never really for protecting countries, people, or cultures. They're for protecting the government, and governments are almost never as worried about losing power from foreign enemies as they are at losing power from their own dissatisfied citizens thinking maybe they should put someone else in charge.

 

[BigBadBastich]

Gaming forums, or at least the ones the casual or "normie" gamer is most likely to visit, are astroturfed beyond hell. And any game that has an "offical" forum, especially if it's run by the devs/publishers, are used as nothing more than containment zones to quarantine critical opinions.
Your only hope of ever having worthwhile discussion on video games is in lobbies with actual people, forums like this, or by making youtube videos where your opinions can't be shadow banned or down voted until they no longer exist.

Theres truth and logic to this but it really depends on three things. The fandom and the topic they like, the devs and the popularity of the forum before AND after the rise of social media, reddit and discord. For example, the WoW forums at one point could voice a number of complaints or issues against the game and staff despite its popularity and playability. Now? Any dissident opinions get you labeled a troll, someone accuses you of being racist, sexist, demanding, ungrateful etc all for a game thats a shadow of itself and you'll probably get messaged or banned by a mod. And the thing is most gaming forums are KIA now, even for large AAA companies. No more Bioware forums or niche little places where a dev might pop in to talk to people, its all just reddit and twitter validation now. Hell there were forums where comic creators would talk to fans, now they only do AMA and anything that might offend or challenge them is silenced.

Ultimately a playerbase needs to not be comprised of blind consumer shills who only follow a brand out of habit and the developers need to understand they make mistakes and aren't exempt from criticism.

 

[Thiletonomics]

Theres truth and logic to this but it really depends on three things. The fandom and the topic they like, the devs and the popularity of the forum before AND after the rise of social media, reddit and discord. For example, the WoW forums at one point could voice a number of complaints or issues against the game and staff despite its popularity and playability. Now? Any dissident opinions get you labeled a troll, someone accuses you of being racist, sexist, demanding, ungrateful etc all for a game thats a shadow of itself and you'll probably get messaged or banned by a mod. And the thing is most gaming forums are KIA now, even for large AAA companies. No more Bioware forums or niche little places where a dev might pop in to talk to people, its all just reddit and twitter validation now. Hell there were forums where comic creators would talk to fans, now they only do AMA and anything that might offend or challenge them is silenced.

Ultimately a playerbase needs to not be comprised of blind consumer shills who only follow a brand out of habit and the developers need to understand they make mistakes and aren't exempt from criticism.

Even back in the past, official forums would ban people for speaking out against a game. Back when The Sims 2 had its BBS (which is just a forum), EA added the infamous SecuROM DRM to the game, starting with the Bon Voyage Expansion Pack. Many people were upset with that addition and said so on the BBS, but one moderator (SimMasterBurpie) started mass banning people just for even TALKING about SecuROM.

MapleStory's various fan forums, i.e. MapleTip, Sleepywood, and Basil Market, also had their shares of mass toxicity and ban-happy mods. Basil Market's forums in particular were filled with mods that slap the BAN button as if their lives depended on it.

 

[The Ugly One]

Unpopular opinion:

Metro 2033 isn't a terribly good game. It's moody and atmospheric, sure, but it's also basically a walking simulator with the occasional low-mobility firefight.

 

[Agent Abe Caprine]

Even back in the past, official forums would ban people for speaking out against a game. Back when The Sims 2 had its BBS (which is just a forum), EA added the infamous SecuROM DRM to the game, starting with the Bon Voyage Expansion Pack. Many people were upset with that addition and said so on the BBS, but one moderator (SimMasterBurpie) started mass banning people just for even TALKING about SecuROM.

MapleStory's various fan forums, i.e. MapleTip, Sleepywood, and Basil Market, also had their shares of mass toxicity and ban-happy mods. Basil Market's forums in particular were filled with mods that slap the BAN button as if their lives depended on it.

Remember people getting banned from playing EA games they bought because of a "glitch" about a decade ago. Supposedly, the bans were supposed to just be from the forums. Sure, EA.

 

[The Last Stand]

Resident Evil 4 is commonly known as a PS2 exclusive despite being a GameCube exclusive. I think it should've been a PS2 exclusive from the get-go. Of course, my money is on Resident Evil 2.

 

[pyrinyx]

There are some game franchises that do have mileage and I think there's no reason to really squeeze them anymore than they have been. For example, Nintendo's reasoning for not wanting to pick up F-Zero is because they legitimately believe that there is nothing more that they can do for the series. And that is something I find myself agreeing with, however, it would not hurt for Nintendo to try and get a compilation of some kind of F-Zero games to introduce new players to them but that's another story. Point is - not every game series needs to be like an annual sports series. If a series is done at a certain point, it could likely be that nothing more can be done and that is up to the creator.

Speaking of Nintendo, I do fully believe that they rightfully should protect their IPs. There are so much fan screeching and crying everytime a fan-made game of an IP is made both profit or none, that get shut down. Most of the time, fans don't really go and talk to the creators for any permission to make a game based on an IP. They just think it's A-OKAY to go about it anyways, not caring that they're setting themselves up over copyright liability and act stupid when they're sent cease and desist orders from Nintendo. Besides, the fans didn't create Mario, Samus, Kirby or Pokemon. Nintendo did. Get over it.

At least Nintendo is doing something with their IPs when a lot of video game companies sit on IP after IP, doing fuck all with them for years and only profiting on them over lawsuits.

I think ranked mode in fps games turned me into a worse person.
I would delete Rainbow Six and Overwatch from this planet without a second thought for all the mental retardation I’ve put into those two

I'm behind you on this. Ranked/Competitive modes of games turns me into an absolute disaster to be around. I admit, I am a sore fucking loser who can't stand seeing their ranks damaged or having their game ruined because of any kind of griefing. I've gotten banned from Rocket League permanently because of this off/on episodic issue of getting confrontational with support staff and elitist players over grounds of foul play of any kind. I just had to stop all levels of competitive play and quietly step away from doing any multiplayer gaming because of how much of a wreck it is.

And we see what competitive gaming has turned people into, most being lolcows.

 

[Prophetic Spirit]

Speaking of Nintendo, I do fully believe that they rightfully should protect their IPs. There are so much fan screeching and crying everytime a fan-made game of an IP is made both profit or none, that get shut down. Most of the time, fans don't really go and talk to the creators for any permission to make a game based on an IP. They just think it's A-OKAY to go about it anyways, not caring that they're setting themselves up over copyright liability and act stupid when they're sent cease and desist orders from Nintendo. Besides, the fans didn't create Mario, Samus, Kirby or Pokemon. Nintendo did. Get over it.

Yeah, i would agree too, but the problem is Nintendo shitting on non-profit fan games or even mechanics. See the Palworld thread for more details.
If Nintendo can be a better cease & desist, even all the Mario rip-offs which are fucking still in Google Play & Apple Store are needed to be eliminated.
But no, the company only do those when cornered.

 

[pyrinyx]

Yeah, i would agree too, but the problem is Nintendo shitting on non-profit fan games or even mechanics. See the Palworld thread for more details.
If Nintendo can be a better cease & desist, even all the Mario rip-offs which are fucking still in Google Play & Apple Store are needed to be eliminated.
But no, the company only do those when cornered.

It just goes back to my point of - did the fans who made those projects contact Nintendo in any way to gain their blessing? I'm sure if the fans were clear and concise and even stress to Nintendo that no money whatsoever (including donations) is being handed to them, then I think it might've been okay.

Palworld is not necessarily non-profit, so I don't see what your point is there.

And you have to know that it is playing whack a mole when it comes to app games on those stores. It would tie anyone's hands up in legal fees just trying to pursue even one. If I was Nintendo, I'd probably be pressuring both Google and Apple to stop them since their pockets are obviously bigger to deal with in comparison. But even so, it's a matter of if it is all worth it.

 

[Jace on ice]

I remember Bethesda not allowing negative reviews on Steam or something like that. It happened 7+ years ago, I think. Does anyone know what I mean?

An absolute fuck ton of negative reviews got deleted from Starfield's Steam page. It went from mixed to very positive twice.

To be fair to derpthesda though EA and Ubisoft both also do this frequently, it's scummy dishonest company 101.

 

[The Ugly One]

For example, Nintendo's reasoning for not wanting to pick up F-Zero is because they legitimately believe that there is nothing more that they can do for the series.

They last published a mainline F-Zero game 22 years ago. You don't need an EA/Acti-style annual update to come up with a few new tracks and a new graphics engine in a quarter century.

 

[pyrinyx]

They last published a mainline F-Zero game 22 years ago. You don't need an EA/Acti-style annual update to come up with a few new tracks and a new graphics engine in a quarter century.

It was an example. Besides they tried releasing F-Zero 99 in 2023 and it periodically got updates and stuff added to it. You may not like it but release history says that the 22-year release gap has been broken.