"So I was trying to write reviews of a bunch of hit indie games I played recently. Then I got overwhelmed by the pointlessness of video game reviews these days and had to take a long nap.
And, I mean, pro reviews are pointless, right? If a game has a big enough budget or following and isn’t actively on fire, it gets a 9. If it is a competently made but low-budget indie, like mine, it gets a 7. If you read the actual review (nobody does), it’s a collection of facts about the game you could easily get from watching the trailer. Throw in a couple of comments from the reviewer about whether they like this genre or not, mix in 3 or 4 ham-handed political comments, and you got a review! Hit send!"
I feel like game reviews kinda died off with ‘total biscuit’ RIP. Was was good about his reviews is you could understand his personal tastes which may not have been the same as yours but you could still vibe out if it was good or not. Like he might forinstance give a average for a bolmer shooter because it wasn’t his vibe. But you’d know ‘oh if he’s giving it an average’ that’s actually pretty good considering. But with IGN etc, you get different people reviewing stuff and then everything becomes arbitrary.
I don’t feel it in games as much, but I still haven’t found any film critic whose tastes match mine since Roger Ebert passed, so I kind of know what you’re feeling. Having that one person you trust completely is so good.