Thanks for explaining the reality of bias. A reviewer isn't required to (nor can they be) unbiased, but should feel obligated to disclose those biases when relevant.
If expressed this same sentiment. I think theres a value of someone rating games that don't typically like a certain genre or you love it. Just be transparent about it. I read reviews from the whole spectrum. Just going to reviewers that typically think like you might have you miss some gems.
I agree with you for the most part but not everything 😬 11:15 you don’t need to be a pro gamer but you need to at least beat the game, which half of the reviewers don’t. You don’t need to get to a beat screen of a game that loops either but you need to complete 1 loop. If you can’t complete 1-loop it means you didn’t even take the time to learn the game’s mechanics and what the game wants you to do. Imagine watching half of a movie and reviewing it, it wouldn’t make sense. Why would it be okay with video games? Also, I can’t stand ProJared, he’s a predator who sends unsolicited nudes. Not sure why he still has a platform. I agree that everyone is biased, including me.
Yeah, like I said, it’s a case by case situation. I think there’s a new Tetris game coming out, it doesn’t take long to learn the mechanics of a game like that. But if you’re reviewing outrun on Sega Genesis, I think it’s more than reasonable to ask a reviewer to complete each goal ( which I did ) for a review because each path you go down it’s pretty different, especially if you’re gonna speak about the difficulty of each path in a review. And I would also say that a lot of reviewers who are doing , like really underhanded stuff like getting steam keys from developers, and then only playing the demo and then selling the steam keys are obviously scummy and that’s a whole other video I have planned. At the end of the day we like what we like, and I think a lot of these reviewers are in a situation where they foolishly accepted a game for a review , and later wish they hadn’t, but now they’re still stuck making the review because they said they would. I thank my lucky stars I don’t do this for a living. He is a weird guy, his review of quest 64 was very lazy and people have indirectly parroted him for years about the game , and it kind of bugs me .
Another great video, you are such a good commentator and i love your thoughts and opinions on reviews of video games, you always have something interesting to say
Great video! I have both watched and made video game reviews. Some are just a few sentences long that give my opinion on the game, some are where I review the game as I am playing it. I used to be a fan of the score system but now I am not a fan of it because it is completely meaningless. I review games going by how much I enjoyed them. Reviews for games should just give the audience the basics of the game and how they felt about the game. As long as you have played the game enough to understand how everything in the game works, you should have enough experience to review it.
Yes! It's funny timing on this video, I (briefly) stated similar points when I filmed my Power Rangers video last week. Some peeps will call me harsh for saying so but I think the standard journalistic game review is obsolete, especially if it uses a number/star rating system. Besides usually being boring and trite, it's like, okay, what the hell is 9/10 supposed to even mean, by whose standards, compared to what games, in what genre, on what platform, from which generation, with what specs or hardware? When I see review scores printed on a box it's extra obnoxious, because those reviews are being printed as if they are facts and not opinions. This is one reason why I fell so heavily into getting my review fix for older games from shows like Classic Game Room, because the main point that show was trying to get to is, "is this game FUN or not?" That the videos themselves and the presentation is also fun is a bonus, I prefer when shows don't take themselves too seriously. If I need an extra perspective on Sega in particular I'll also check out Sega Guys or Sega Lord X because I like the down to earth retrospective and insight from someone who lived and breathed Sega through the heart of the 80s and 90s. Honestly too, I'm surprised by how many people still turn to sources like IGN to get reviews. It's so homogenous and corporate and boring. At least gaming magazines in print had other interesting things to offer even if the reviews were kinda bleh. Also yes you should complete a game (if it's completable) to review it, it's absolutely a fair comparison to say that you need to have watched a whole movie to give a reasonable review of the piece.
Yeah, review scores don’t mean a lot. Gaming magazines were so great for giving previews of upcoming games. Things were a lot simpler back then. I used to binge watch CGR all the time. Sega Lord X is awesome. It’s all about fun at the end of the day. The thing is anybody can watch a movie , but it’s also possible to watch a movie from start to finish and have no idea what the heck just happened. Should we listen to an opinion about it if the person didn’t even really understand the movie? And that’s saying something because movies require way less brain power than a video game most of the time anyways . Something like a visual novel, obviously should be completed , it wouldn’t make sense not to . Like I said, it’s a case by case situation. It’s not an apples to oranges comparison, but it’s definitely an apple to pears comparison. They are part of the same family, but they are not the same. But hey, it’s like I said reviews are just opinions at the end of the day.
@@PKInTheUniverse Yeah it does have to be case by case, I've seen some movie reviews that leave me wondering whether the person making it went into the theater with any working brain cells.
I once took a class called “storytelling and style in cinema.” Our professor told us to watch Blade Runner. He didn’t tell us which version to watch, just that we needed to watch it for the next class and come prepared to discuss the movie. It made for a great conversation.
@@PKInTheUniverse I'll bet! Any reason to watch Blade Runner is a good one. That's the main thing that separates us from other animals, our capacity for storytelling. Maybe that's the shortest way to summarize what I think a review should be: a story about how the game impacted you.
Bias really plays into. We are going to gravitate to people that like/appreciate the same games/style as we do. We will probably give those reviewers more weight because we think we can trust their opinion since it is similar to what we like. I played starfield for maybe a couple of hours. I couldn't get into it. I could do a review and talk about the facets that were to slow and that I didn't like and it would be a complete review. The game doesn't have to be played to completion to review it. You just need to play it long enough to get a general feel for the game for you. What percent might that be? 5%? 10%? I don't know the number but I'm not going to play a game for 10+ hours if I didn't enjoy the first hour or two.
I completely agree with everything you said here to be honest. I think every game is different and so your opinion on the game can form quickly or not so quickly depending on what game we're talking about. You understand and have a healthy grasp on the arcade Donkey Kong after 10 minutes and probably can feel comfortable recommending or not recommending it after that. Xenoblade Chronicles on the other hand, you'll have to make quite the time investment before you can really form an opinion on something like that, due to its massive story. A linear platformer is usually easier to get a grasp on compared to an open world adventure game, and so on. Also yes, I personally think that especially with games that just came out, your review shouldn't be all-encompassing. People don't want spoilers, you're there to tell them if it's worth your time. Fantastic video!
I used to love game reviews, both doing them and watching them, but I don’t really bother with them generally anymore. I do watch videos for people talk about games, but the vibe is just different.
I go by two things now. 1) Does the game look like a game I'm excited about? 2) Does the metacritic score indicate the audience largely finds this game worthwhile?
I only watched the first minute but I can say without bias that this is the best video I've seen this morning. 10/10 But seriously, reviews are worthless now. Especially mainstream ones. You need to watch 3 or 4 reviews if you were actually keen on buying the game and not looking for validation
Well at least it wasnt a 1/10 . Yeah it’s always good to look at multiple sources. Just like the old days with game magazines there was never just one person reviewing the whole game.
Any review is just an opinion piece. It can be tough for people to minimize their biases and the personal experiences they bring to a review. Many people bring some weird baggage to the conversation when they talk about a game.
Exactly! They really do bring some weird baggage. Some folks have this strange idea that game reviews are supposed to be hard hitting journalism when it’s just people talking about how they feel about videos games they’ve experienced. And I won’t even get into the conspiracy theories , oh boy.
I like Janky Games and I don't know why :-) I tend to watch only a handful of reviewers that I know like old school janky games and I value their opinion. Gamers that prefer bleeding edge AAA games will most likely not resonate with my world view concerning video games and I wouldn't be that bothered about whether they like a game or not. Great video PK and keep up the awesome work!
Yeah, it’s a struggle for me to watch a lot of newer game reviewers , it’s like I know these reviews will not hold up because whatever problems they’re talking about may very well get fixed with an update. Thank you !
Somebody can have an unbiased opinion if they have absolutely no emotions or feelings towards a certain game.For example, I h know nothing about ghost of tunisia ,heard it's good other than that i know nothing about it, if I were to play and give my opinion ifeel I would be giving a non Bias opinion
Yes , you may know nothing about it, but perhaps you have experience playing open world games or action adventure games. It wouldn’t be hard to find yourself comparing it to playing something of that same genre. That’s a bias. Even people who have never played video games, who for example, are hard-core movie buffs , maybe might have fond memories of watching Akira Kurosawa films and that is something that would definitely inform their opinion on whether they like the game or not. There is absolutely zero wrong with having a bias. We are all formed and shaped by our experiences, which is not a bad thing.
@@PKInTheUniverse But you're saying people can't have an unbiased opinion when in some cases they absolutely can. And it depends on the individual as well. I'm not gonna compare an open world game to a different open world game because they're created by different people and are meant to provide a different experience. Other people might do what you're saying. I on the other hand would not. I could go as far as saying that, I could play that cat game and have absolutely nothing to compare it to and I know nothing about that game. I think it's called stray. If I were to play that I could give a very unbiase opinion.
Then you’ve completely misunderstood what the word bias means. I state it very crystal clear in the video. For further clarification, I’m using it as a verb, not a noun. We are all influenced by all of our experiences no matter what those experiences may be. That is what bias is.
@@PKInTheUniverse i just went off on a tangent as usual adding my own 2 cents in. Its the main gripe with any reviewer on youtube if they are bought/paid for the review.
Well, that’s not what bias is. Everyone has a bias and is biased. What it seems you mean to say is you think everybody who ever got a review copy is dishonest and has sold their dignity for the $15 indie game. And I have to vehemently disagree with that being the case 90% of the time . People who bought a game with their own money can be dishonest. A lot of people buy a game and told people about it forever and ever and how hyped they were for it and rather than admitting that it wasn’t what they expected they start saying things to cope and make constant excuses for the lack of quality. There are no people reviewing games who are giving you definitive facts , because that wouldn’t be a review. It would simply just be an overview of the game . That’s the point of my video is that these are all opinions, it’s all just commentary and nothing more. Every single video you’ve ever watched, every magazine you’ve ever read about games , every conversation you’ve had with somebody else who enjoys video games, every game you’ve ever played, informs your experience. That is what a bias is.
@@PKInTheUniverse depends who you watch, ive never seen someone who got a "review copy" of anything say one false word or say you dont need this "if xyz" reasons. They always put the item over cause otherwise they wont get freebies anymore. A good example would be channels that put over the @games systems that were junk or some of those retro handhelds that are like $40 and within a few months they are in the bargain bin cause nobody buys them. Its almost like a quick litmus test watching these people and see what items they shill for, then it just makes it easy you unsubscribe and know they are shill baiters. Indy games? Meh these people never review indy games so yeah we are talking about 2 separate types of game reviews. They havent worked their way up to that yet.
Do you ever enjoy anything on RUclips, or is everyone just out to scam you? I get being skeptical, but assuming every review is dishonest seems more like you’re looking for reasons to be upset. At some point, it’s not the reviews, it’s your outlook.
Thanks for explaining the reality of bias. A reviewer isn't required to (nor can they be) unbiased, but should feel obligated to disclose those biases when relevant.
Exactly! We should definitely do our best to be transparent , but people will either trust and respect our opinion or they won’t. It is what it is.
If expressed this same sentiment. I think theres a value of someone rating games that don't typically like a certain genre or you love it. Just be transparent about it. I read reviews from the whole spectrum. Just going to reviewers that typically think like you might have you miss some gems.
I agree with you for the most part but not everything 😬 11:15 you don’t need to be a pro gamer but you need to at least beat the game, which half of the reviewers don’t. You don’t need to get to a beat screen of a game that loops either but you need to complete 1 loop. If you can’t complete 1-loop it means you didn’t even take the time to learn the game’s mechanics and what the game wants you to do. Imagine watching half of a movie and reviewing it, it wouldn’t make sense. Why would it be okay with video games? Also, I can’t stand ProJared, he’s a predator who sends unsolicited nudes. Not sure why he still has a platform.
I agree that everyone is biased, including me.
Yeah, like I said, it’s a case by case situation. I think there’s a new Tetris game coming out, it doesn’t take long to learn the mechanics of a game like that. But if you’re reviewing outrun on Sega Genesis, I think it’s more than reasonable to ask a reviewer to complete each goal ( which I did ) for a review because each path you go down it’s pretty different, especially if you’re gonna speak about the difficulty of each path in a review. And I would also say that a lot of reviewers who are doing , like really underhanded stuff like getting steam keys from developers, and then only playing the demo and then selling the steam keys are obviously scummy and that’s a whole other video I have planned. At the end of the day we like what we like, and I think a lot of these reviewers are in a situation where they foolishly accepted a game for a review , and later wish they hadn’t, but now they’re still stuck making the review because they said they would. I thank my lucky stars I don’t do this for a living. He is a weird guy, his review of quest 64 was very lazy and people have indirectly parroted him for years about the game , and it kind of bugs me .
Another great video, you are such a good commentator and i love your thoughts and opinions on reviews of video games, you always have something interesting to say
Thank you
Great video! I have both watched and made video game reviews. Some are just a few sentences long that give my opinion on the game, some are where I review the game as I am playing it. I used to be a fan of the score system but now I am not a fan of it because it is completely meaningless. I review games going by how much I enjoyed them. Reviews for games should just give the audience the basics of the game and how they felt about the game. As long as you have played the game enough to understand how everything in the game works, you should have enough experience to review it.
Exactly! Very well said!
Yes! It's funny timing on this video, I (briefly) stated similar points when I filmed my Power Rangers video last week. Some peeps will call me harsh for saying so but I think the standard journalistic game review is obsolete, especially if it uses a number/star rating system. Besides usually being boring and trite, it's like, okay, what the hell is 9/10 supposed to even mean, by whose standards, compared to what games, in what genre, on what platform, from which generation, with what specs or hardware? When I see review scores printed on a box it's extra obnoxious, because those reviews are being printed as if they are facts and not opinions.
This is one reason why I fell so heavily into getting my review fix for older games from shows like Classic Game Room, because the main point that show was trying to get to is, "is this game FUN or not?" That the videos themselves and the presentation is also fun is a bonus, I prefer when shows don't take themselves too seriously. If I need an extra perspective on Sega in particular I'll also check out Sega Guys or Sega Lord X because I like the down to earth retrospective and insight from someone who lived and breathed Sega through the heart of the 80s and 90s.
Honestly too, I'm surprised by how many people still turn to sources like IGN to get reviews. It's so homogenous and corporate and boring. At least gaming magazines in print had other interesting things to offer even if the reviews were kinda bleh.
Also yes you should complete a game (if it's completable) to review it, it's absolutely a fair comparison to say that you need to have watched a whole movie to give a reasonable review of the piece.
Yeah, review scores don’t mean a lot. Gaming magazines were so great for giving previews of upcoming games. Things were a lot simpler back then. I used to binge watch CGR all the time. Sega Lord X is awesome. It’s all about fun at the end of the day.
The thing is anybody can watch a movie , but it’s also possible to watch a movie from start to finish and have no idea what the heck just happened. Should we listen to an opinion about it if the person didn’t even really understand the movie? And that’s saying something because movies require way less brain power than a video game most of the time anyways . Something like a visual novel, obviously should be completed , it wouldn’t make sense not to . Like I said, it’s a case by case situation. It’s not an apples to oranges comparison, but it’s definitely an apple to pears comparison. They are part of the same family, but they are not the same. But hey, it’s like I said reviews are just opinions at the end of the day.
@@PKInTheUniverse Yeah it does have to be case by case, I've seen some movie reviews that leave me wondering whether the person making it went into the theater with any working brain cells.
I once took a class called “storytelling and style in cinema.” Our professor told us to watch Blade Runner. He didn’t tell us which version to watch, just that we needed to watch it for the next class and come prepared to discuss the movie. It made for a great conversation.
@@PKInTheUniverse I'll bet! Any reason to watch Blade Runner is a good one. That's the main thing that separates us from other animals, our capacity for storytelling. Maybe that's the shortest way to summarize what I think a review should be: a story about how the game impacted you.
Bias really plays into. We are going to gravitate to people that like/appreciate the same games/style as we do.
We will probably give those reviewers more weight because we think we can trust their opinion since it is similar to what we like.
I played starfield for maybe a couple of hours.
I couldn't get into it. I could do a review and talk about the facets that were to slow and that I didn't like and it would be a complete review.
The game doesn't have to be played to completion to review it. You just need to play it long enough to get a general feel for the game for you.
What percent might that be? 5%? 10%? I don't know the number but I'm not going to play a game for 10+ hours if I didn't enjoy the first hour or two.
💯! I Completely agree.
I completely agree with everything you said here to be honest. I think every game is different and so your opinion on the game can form quickly or not so quickly depending on what game we're talking about. You understand and have a healthy grasp on the arcade Donkey Kong after 10 minutes and probably can feel comfortable recommending or not recommending it after that. Xenoblade Chronicles on the other hand, you'll have to make quite the time investment before you can really form an opinion on something like that, due to its massive story. A linear platformer is usually easier to get a grasp on compared to an open world adventure game, and so on.
Also yes, I personally think that especially with games that just came out, your review shouldn't be all-encompassing. People don't want spoilers, you're there to tell them if it's worth your time. Fantastic video!
Very well said ! Exactly, it’s all a case by case situation.
I used to love game reviews, both doing them and watching them, but I don’t really bother with them generally anymore. I do watch videos for people talk about games, but the vibe is just different.
Absolutely! My sentiments exactly!
I go by two things now. 1) Does the game look like a game I'm excited about? 2) Does the metacritic score indicate the audience largely finds this game worthwhile?
I only watched the first minute but I can say without bias that this is the best video I've seen this morning. 10/10
But seriously, reviews are worthless now. Especially mainstream ones. You need to watch 3 or 4 reviews if you were actually keen on buying the game and not looking for validation
Well at least it wasnt a 1/10 . Yeah it’s always good to look at multiple sources. Just like the old days with game magazines there was never just one person reviewing the whole game.
Any review is just an opinion piece. It can be tough for people to minimize their biases and the personal experiences they bring to a review. Many people bring some weird baggage to the conversation when they talk about a game.
Exactly! They really do bring some weird baggage. Some folks have this strange idea that game reviews are supposed to be hard hitting journalism when it’s just people talking about how they feel about videos games they’ve experienced. And I won’t even get into the conspiracy theories , oh boy.
@@PKInTheUniverse Yeah. It gets really weird sometimes.
I like Janky Games and I don't know why :-) I tend to watch only a handful of reviewers that I know like old school janky games and I value their opinion. Gamers that prefer bleeding edge AAA games will most likely not resonate with my world view concerning video games and I wouldn't be that bothered about whether they like a game or not. Great video PK and keep up the awesome work!
Yeah, it’s a struggle for me to watch a lot of newer game reviewers , it’s like I know these reviews will not hold up because whatever problems they’re talking about may very well get fixed with an update. Thank you !
That’s like… deep, man
Thank you
Somebody can have an unbiased opinion if they have absolutely no emotions or feelings towards a certain game.For example, I h know nothing about ghost of tunisia ,heard it's good other than that i know nothing about it, if I were to play and give my opinion ifeel I would be giving a non Bias opinion
Yes , you may know nothing about it, but perhaps you have experience playing open world games or action adventure games. It wouldn’t be hard to find yourself comparing it to playing something of that same genre. That’s a bias. Even people who have never played video games, who for example, are hard-core movie buffs , maybe might have fond memories of watching Akira Kurosawa films and that is something that would definitely inform their opinion on whether they like the game or not. There is absolutely zero wrong with having a bias. We are all formed and shaped by our experiences, which is not a bad thing.
@@PKInTheUniverse But you're saying people can't have an unbiased opinion when in some cases they absolutely can. And it depends on the individual as well. I'm not gonna compare an open world game to a different open world game because they're created by different people and are meant to provide a different experience. Other people might do what you're saying. I on the other hand would not. I could go as far as saying that, I could play that cat game and have absolutely nothing to compare it to and I know nothing about that game. I think it's called stray. If I were to play that I could give a very unbiase opinion.
Then you’ve completely misunderstood what the word bias means. I state it very crystal clear in the video. For further clarification, I’m using it as a verb, not a noun. We are all influenced by all of our experiences no matter what those experiences may be. That is what bias is.
@@PKInTheUniverse Is great video regardless
I am biased against this video.
I’m biased for this video
@@PKInTheUniverse This is not a serious comment.
Exactly!
anytime a youtuber says "I was sent this for review" its basically gonna be 100% biased, with them almost reading off a script
You missed the point of the video and I don’t know how to say it any other way.
@@PKInTheUniverse i just went off on a tangent as usual adding my own 2 cents in. Its the main gripe with any reviewer on youtube if they are bought/paid for the review.
Well, that’s not what bias is. Everyone has a bias and is biased. What it seems you mean to say is you think everybody who ever got a review copy is dishonest and has sold their dignity for the $15 indie game. And I have to vehemently disagree with that being the case 90% of the time . People who bought a game with their own money can be dishonest. A lot of people buy a game and told people about it forever and ever and how hyped they were for it and rather than admitting that it wasn’t what they expected they start saying things to cope and make constant excuses for the lack of quality. There are no people reviewing games who are giving you definitive facts , because that wouldn’t be a review. It would simply just be an overview of the game . That’s the point of my video is that these are all opinions, it’s all just commentary and nothing more. Every single video you’ve ever watched, every magazine you’ve ever read about games , every conversation you’ve had with somebody else who enjoys video games, every game you’ve ever played, informs your experience. That is what a bias is.
@@PKInTheUniverse depends who you watch, ive never seen someone who got a "review copy" of anything say one false word or say you dont need this "if xyz" reasons. They always put the item over cause otherwise they wont get freebies anymore. A good example would be channels that put over the @games systems that were junk or some of those retro handhelds that are like $40 and within a few months they are in the bargain bin cause nobody buys them.
Its almost like a quick litmus test watching these people and see what items they shill for, then it just makes it easy you unsubscribe and know they are shill baiters.
Indy games? Meh these people never review indy games so yeah we are talking about 2 separate types of game reviews. They havent worked their way up to that yet.
Do you ever enjoy anything on RUclips, or is everyone just out to scam you? I get being skeptical, but assuming every review is dishonest seems more like you’re looking for reasons to be upset. At some point, it’s not the reviews, it’s your outlook.
There is so much wrong with the review space of gaming.
There is no consistency, and nothing’s ever going to fix that.
@@PKInTheUniverse the ONLY thing that's consistent is the 7 out of 10 being thrown around like a baseball