The paid reviews conspiracy stuff is still a thing?
Comment on Dragon Age: The Veilguard | Review Thread
vasus@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Please god let these positive reviews be paid off. I don’t want this game succeed, it has nothing to do with the series - complete tonal shift, choices barely carry over and not being able to control companions is just… I wish they made a new series, this isn’t the Dragon age I know. Hope it fails
ampersandrew@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
vasus@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I am not aware of any conspiracy like that, It’s just my personal hope.
ampersandrew@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
People have guessed that a game that reviewed well, that they didn’t want to review well, has been because of paid reviews for decades. It’s not a thing. If it was, EA wouldn’t have “forgotten” to pay for Anthem reviews, for instance. I get that this may not be what you want, but that happens sometimes. Rainbow Six is now GI Joe for some reason. The best thing you can do is enjoy the ones you enjoyed and then play the next great game that comes out that was inspired by the ones you like. Getting too invested in a given franchise is what allows them to mutate into things you don’t want. At least this game finally did away with the usual EA DRM, so part of voting with our wallets is working.
djsoren19@yiffit.net 3 weeks ago
You don’t have to pay people to generate good reviews. You can also just only choose to give review keys to friendly media outlets you’ve already built a relationship and know will treat you uncritically.
scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech 3 weeks ago
God this, this right here is what I’m sick of in gaming. The negativity and hoping that things fail. Gaming has always been negative but ffs lately it’s just been awful. There used to be a time where people would say “Eh, it’s not for me”, now it’s “I hate the style and everything about it one star bandwagon folks let’s all talk about how terrible and awful this game is and shit it down and out”
I don’t care if it’s the dragon age I knew. I want it to be a fun game. I don’t care if it’s spongy, or the fighting is a little off, if they can get me to have fun - that’s my metric. More importantly, I know others do care about those things. What I won’t do is rage online or hope it fails because it doesn’t cater to me.
vasus@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
It’s not just gaming - people had a similar reaction on the trailer for the Megamind animated TV series. I think it’s a difference in mindset, some people don’t care while others see it as disrespect to their beloved franchise.
I am not hoping for a franchise I love to fail. What I am hoping for is that this imposter, which wears the series’ skin purely for brand recognition, fails.
scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech 3 weeks ago
It’s not what you think Dragon Age should be. I personally am excited for that. I loved Inquisition and hated Origins, I loved the high fantasy romp with Sera and Varric making quips all day. To me, that was the best story and characters in the entire franchise, and my opinions are just as valid as yours. If you didn’t like it, fine, but I think it’s weird to judge a game negatively because it changed.
To give a reverse example for me. I don’t like where Halo went, but I have a lot of friends who love Infinite’s multiplayer. Now, I could go online and tell people that they shouldn’t play it because 2 and 3 were the best ones - or I could say nothing and let people enjoy things.
vasus@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I went and checked my copy of Dragon Age Origins, and thankfully I’m not misremembering nor is it “just what I think”, as on the back it says “A Dark Fantasy epic”. That’s what the series was, directly quoted from the creators behind it. Same thing with Inquisition, it was bleak, had tough choises, things were at stake. This new game couldn’t be further from the previous titles - it doesn’t belong.
I don’t think it’s right to keep your head down and say nothing when something you like is being taken in a direction you don’t enjoy. Saying something critical against it doesn’t hurt anyone, worst thing that could happen is not enough people agree and nothing changes.
shani66@ani.social 3 weeks ago
Then why play dragon age? I wouldn’t be happy if mass effect abandoned it’s fans to cater to my tastes, that’s fucked up.
Doburoku@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
This was refreshing to read.
I too am just tired of all the damn negativity.
Thank you for the validation.
shani66@ani.social 3 weeks ago
Would it be better to become a darkspawn or die? Generally I’d prefer a series cater to the heart of the series instead of fuck off into an unwanted and disconnected direction.