Where are all the Good game Reviews these days?

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
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Was looking into Horizon Zero Dawn recently and began watching various Reviews/Tips vids about it. They just left me with a ton of questions that the late TotalBiscuit would go into fine detail answering.

Did good Gaming Reviews die with TotalBiscuit?

Are there any Good Review Sites/Channels?
 
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Stg-Flame

Diamond Member
Mar 10, 2007
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No idea about reviews, but if the game looks good, buy it. Or ask about it here. I've played through HZD on the PS4 a few times and it's one of the few games I actually got the platinum trophy for (I don't care about achievement hunting). It's a really fun game and well worth the money.
 

GodisanAtheist

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2006
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Steam reviews, discussion boards, as well as the sheer tonnage of content/releases killed off in depth game reviews.

Always blows my mind to learn that some systems like the N64 only had some 400 games total released during their lifespan. Feels like we get that many games a year now on PC.
 

Stg-Flame

Diamond Member
Mar 10, 2007
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A year? It feels like we get 400 new games on just Steam every six months. Seems like every time I open Steam I see 10 new games I never heard of on the front page of the store.
 
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simas

Senior member
Oct 16, 2005
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I think it comes to sites you find on youtube for
- people you trust (enough)
- people into the same thing as you are (i.e. tactical RPG, etc)

reviewing everything that comes out is next to impossible given the amount of time it would require
 
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sze5003

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Aug 18, 2012
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Check out ACG on YouTube he does decent reviews and is one I trust most when it comes to getting a game. He goes into different aspects, music, style, art direction, gameplay, and then rates it based on a buy now, wait for sale, or don't touch.

He doesn't usually get review copies and buys all the titles he reviews but when he is given a review copy he purchases one extra and gives it away to one of his followers. He's got pretty good track record based on titles I've checked out and purchased.
 

DigDog

Lifer
Jun 3, 2011
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Did good Gaming Reviews die with TotalBiscuit?
good reviews =/= totalbiscuit.

i had 3 main issues with the guy; first, he takes 45 minutes to say nothing, and will happily say tons of nothing over common commercial titles. God forbit he actually has a point, after which he's repeat the same things in different phrasings for over an hour.

second, he constantly claims to be a game journalist. If you don't have an editor who is liable to libel laws lawsuits, for your work, if you don't have to abide to anti-bribery laws, if there is no external body that checks whether what you say is fact or bullshit, you are not a journalist, you are, as david mitchell puts it, JUST SOME GUY.

third, he's not a particularly insightful gamer.

On the last bit i have to explain that i get my game reviews from many different reviewers who have different opinions but who have integrity, for whatever that is worth, so i know if X guy likes a game, i won't, and if Y guy loves it, i may find it interesting, and so forth.
So, there's the guy who reviews only strategy titles, Hearts of Iron, Civilization, Europa Universalis, and i don't play 90% of his titles because they are not my style, but i can get his subjective view which is consistent over the reviews.
Then you got the shooter guy who likes to pwn noobs, there's the arcadey platform guy who loves a game for the artstyle, and so on. Each one of the is good at something, and none would probably like the next guy, as different as they are, but i'd rather get the advice of someone who is deeply involved into one particular style of game, than someone like TB that only reviews mainstream shovelware. And by god, he did review constantly the buzz game of the week.

I always make an exception to watch Jim Sterling, even though his reviews are 0% relevant to me as i never ever ever play the games he plays, but i respect him - far more than i could have ever respected totalbiscuit twonames thecynicalbrit.

I really, really did not like TB.

Aside from how much i didn't like him as a game reviewer, he's one of those who spearheaded the "create content for money" movement that turned youtube from a social platform into 2020's version of television. I have zero respect for someone who went into YT for the money and not for the passion.

i think this video truly emcompasses what TB is, when compared to an actual game journalist:
i'll be happy to explain to those who don't get it.
 
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Leeea

Diamond Member
Apr 3, 2020
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i'll be happy to explain to those who don't get it.

I never watched a total biscuit video. Did not even know who he was. Never played Quake either.

But after watching that video, I suspect his reviews would have been perfect for me. My experience would have been much more similar to totalbiscuits. Map ignorance, confusion, trying to understand the game. That would 100% be me.

Now, if I was a professional gamer, perhaps my perspective would be different. But sadly, I will never be a professional gamer.
 
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DigDog

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Jun 3, 2011
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I never watched a total biscuit video. Did not even know who he was. Never played Quake either.

But after watching that video, I suspect his reviews would have been perfect for me. My experience would have been much more similar to totalbiscuits. Map ignorance, confusion, trying to understand the game. That would 100% be me.

Now, if I was a professional gamer, perhaps my perspective would be different. But sadly, I will never be a professional gamer.
ok, so here's what happens.

In the video, they are shoutcasting a competition game of Quake Live. This is a prize event. The main shoutcaser (the guy who goes off) is 2GD.

While the QL shoutcasters are describing minor aspects of what is happening, leaving the obvious to the viewers, TB is also shotcasting another non-QL game, shouting at the top of his lungs, about basic things such as "HE JUMPS" "HE CHANGES WEAPON" "HE SHOOTS". He is so loud and obnoxious that his yelling bleeds into the mics of the QL shoutcasters.

TB job isn't to inform knowledgeable players of aspects of the game they may have otherwise missed, it's to create excitement in people who do not understand what is going on (BUT OH BOY IT SURE SOUNDS LIKE FUN). He never has been a force for good, he is instead very much representative of the WE SELL - YOU BUY crowd.



also, the biggest another issue with TB isn't the kind of person he is, but the kind of person he isn't. Every review he made was just a ton of time of him describing what is obvious to anyone who has eyes. Like, someone who just fired up the game for the first time.
You know, things like "so this unit here, he's an Orc. Look at him, with his big sword. He looks fierce and mean, oh, i love the sounds he makes. He's a good little orc."

This tell me nothing.

Instead, you would have another reviewer, that - due to working for passion, and being actually knowledgeable, does *not* need to sensationalize everything they do - would say things like "the deployment rate of this turret is too quick, inviting turtling progression, making the game boring if you have secured a higher income of resources."

This actually tells me something that is *not* immediately visible to me. TB never does any of this because .. well, sorry but, he's a crap gamer. Was.
 
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sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
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ok, so here's what happens.

In the video, they are shoutcasting a competition game of Quake Live. This is a prize event. The main shoutcaser (the guy who goes off) is 2GD.

While the QL shoutcasters are describing minor aspects of what is happening, leaving the obvious to the viewers, TB is also shotcasting another non-QL game, shouting at the top of his lungs, about basic things such as "HE JUMPS" "HE CHANGES WEAPON" "HE SHOOTS". He is so loud and obnoxious that his yelling bleeds into the mics of the QL shoutcasters.

TB job isn't to inform knowledgeable players of aspects of the game they may have otherwise missed, it's to create excitement in people who do not understand what is going on (BUT OH BOY IT SURE SOUNDS LIKE FUN). He never has been a force for good, he is instead very much representative of the WE SELL - YOU BUY crowd.



also, the biggest issue with TB isn't the kind of person he is, but the kind of person he isn't. Every review he made was just a ton of time of him describing what is obvious to anyone who has eyes. Like, someone who just fired up the game for the first time.
You know, things like "so this unit here, he's an Orc. Look at him, with his big sword. He looks fierce and mean, oh, i love the sounds he makes. He's a good little orc."

This tell me nothing.

Instead, you would have another reviewer, that - due to working for passion, and being actually knowledgeable, does *not* need to sensationalize everything they do - would say things like "the deployment rate of this turret is too quick, inviting turtling progression, making the game boring if you have secured a higher income of resources."

This actually tells me something that is *not* immediately visible to me. TB never does any of this because .. well, sorry but, he's a crap gamer. Was.

When he reviewed Games, people did not know what the various Game Options were, what the Control schemes were, Gameplay was like, etc. Sure, anyone who bought the Game would soon know all these things, but the Review is there so people know what they are buying in the first place.

You see abnormally obsessed with him and professional Youtubers in general.
 

Stg-Flame

Diamond Member
Mar 10, 2007
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When he reviewed Games, people did not know what the various Game Options were, what the Control schemes were, Gameplay was like, etc. Sure, anyone who bought the Game would soon know all these things, but the Review is there so people know what they are buying in the first place.

You see abnormally obsessed with him and professional Youtubers in general.
Digdog has a point though. He doesn't really tell you anything that you couldn't figure out on your own. If you honestly need a Let's Play to inform you that in an RTS game, you select units with one mouse button and likely move them with another, then there's a bigger issue at hand. TB doesn't add anything of use, but rather only adds white noise and obnoxious fluff. If you're looking for an actual review of a video game, TB is NOT someone to seek out because shouting out obvious things you're actively noticing doesn't constitute as a review. Just an annoying tour guide.
 

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
70,085
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Digdog has a point though. He doesn't really tell you anything that you couldn't figure out on your own. If you honestly need a Let's Play to inform you that in an RTS game, you select units with one mouse button and likely move them with another, then there's a bigger issue at hand. TB doesn't add anything of use, but rather only adds white noise and obnoxious fluff. If you're looking for an actual review of a video game, TB is NOT someone to seek out because shouting out obvious things you're actively noticing doesn't constitute as a review. Just an annoying tour guide.

If you wanted to know about how the Game works before Buying it, his Reviews were for you. That's kind of the point of a Review.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
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I usually just check whatever reviews I can find. Ultimately, the important part is to figure out what sort of content the person specializes in and/or favors, and use that as your litmus test to see whether their opinion will work for you. For example, I had pre-ordered Godfall for the PS5 (as part of Target's B2G1 deal), and I was a bit hesitant over the game as it seemed like a fairly shallow over-the-shoulder Diablo-style ARPG. When I checked out reviews for it, a few ARPG-focused channels seemed to have a sort of lukewarm response to the game, but not outright lambasting it. What I looked for were some context clues that related to what I wanted in a game.

Apart from that, if you're worried about technical issues, the Steam reviews are typically a good source for that as people will complain very quickly about any sort of technical problems. Also, make sure to check out the discussions on Steam in addition to the reviews.

Digdog has a point though. He doesn't really tell you anything that you couldn't figure out on your own.

The problem is that you usually had to buy the game to find these things out, and given that Steam didn't introduce refunds until 2015, there was a decent portion of time where you needed to find out the information before making your purchase.

Also, I think that's just inherent to his series "WTF is...?", which served as more of an insight into more of the surface level details of a game. In some ways, it was more about finding interesting games more than it was about reviewing games. (That's more or less the reason why I watched it.)

While the QL shoutcasters are describing minor aspects of what is happening, leaving the obvious to the viewers, TB is also shotcasting another non-QL game, shouting at the top of his lungs, about basic things such as "HE JUMPS" "HE CHANGES WEAPON" "HE SHOOTS". He is so loud and obnoxious that his yelling bleeds into the mics of the QL shoutcasters.

Based upon that description, as I haven't watched the video, I would assume that even TotalBiscuit would've called it garbage casting on his own part. My guess is that he was pulled in as a hype caster for a game that he doesn't know a lot about nor a lot about casting, and it shows. The hype caster's job is to be that bombastic type and also to state the obvious; however, the point is that they essentially segue the other side of the caster duo, the insight/analyst caster, into discussing something. For example, the hype caster could say, "Oh, and Player_X has just taken the top route!", which is followed up by the insight caster discussing why he would do that.

If you want to watch something far more relevant to his work, you should look into ShoutCraft instead.
 

HardWarrior

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Jan 26, 2004
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Since I don't generally trust supposedly official sources, lately, I tend to go for anecdotal accounts from other gamers, like the Steam forums or here.
 

DigDog

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i like ^this guy. I'd ecourage you all to get reviews from *this* kind of independent reviewer, and not from those who are obvious industry mouthpieces.
 

HardWarrior

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Jan 26, 2004
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Talk about demanding? While FS 2020 does seem to be the contemporary Crysis(tm) in terms of demands on a rig, I decided to buy CyberPunk 2077 first. Even though I'm the still configuring control's I can tell that it's a beautiful example of ray tracing and very nice visual features and so far runs fine.

Back to it! :grinning:
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
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Talk about demanding? While FS 2020 does seem to be the contemporary Crysis(tm) in terms of demands on a rig, I decided to buy CyberPunk 2077 first. Even though I'm the still configuring control's I can tell that it's a beautiful example of ray tracing and very nice visual features and so far runs fine.

Back to it! :grinning:
My 1080ti runs MS flight 2020 no issues with great fps. Cyberpunk on the other hand it does not handle so we'll. It's because my card does not support dlss and cyberpunk relies on that a lot.
 

HardWarrior

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2004
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My 1080ti runs MS flight 2020 no issues with great fps. Cyberpunk on the other hand it does not handle so we'll. It's because my card does not support dlss and cyberpunk relies on that a lot.

Thanks for the anecdotal data, SZE. I at least know that FS 2020 won't start the dreaded upgrade countdown. I'm running a EVGA liguid-cooled 2080 super (fabulous customer support, BTW).
 

Borealis7

Platinum Member
Oct 19, 2006
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everything he does is super f***ed up. he is the ultimate meme lord troll gamer.
watch his review of S.T.A.L.K.E.R or Fable. i laughed so hard i had to pause several times to catch my breath and wipe the tears off my face.
for gamers, this is undoubtedly the funniest thing on the internet.
 
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HardWarrior

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2004
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I was also looking for any good game reviews. I want to buy a game and was wondering if buy it or not.

I don't know if such a thing exists. It seems like most people have agenda's when it comes to game reviews. If you want an example of what I mean, take a look at the steam forums.