God Of War Ragnarök – why is good so bad? (pic: Sony)
A reader gives his verdict on God Of War Ragnarök and why some people get so angry over reviews that they never seem to read.
So, I’ve just finished God Of War Ragnarök and I wanted to sort of compose my thoughts and write down what I thought of it, which is that it’s…. quite good. Pretty good even, but not something I’d hold up as a classic and not as good as the last one. That seems to be largely the conclusion that GC came to in their review and I’ve seen them get a lot of grief for it, even though they were overall positive and gave it an 8/10.
I’d say that was largely accurate. Maybe I’d go for a 7/10, just because I thought the ending was a bit disappointing but, yeah, I thought it was a good game that was not a waste of time or money. Unfortunately though, that sort of positive but not ecstatic appraisal almost seems like it’s not allowed today. Everything being either the best thing ever or the worst is not a new phenomenon, but it does seem as if it’s getting more and more extreme as the years go by.
It was probably to be expected with Ragnarök in particular, because it’s been a long wait, with no other Sony games for a long time, at what is a difficult time for them. But the obsession some fans have with review scores and those that deviate by even a few degrees is creepy and so pointless. As GC pointed out in their post-review article, it would be far more interesting to hear from people that didn’t like the game at all, as long as they could argue their case, than other identikit reviews just following the herd.
Not only is there no longer allowed to be a middle ground in reviews but the lengths to which some fans will go to dispute them is also getting deeply disturbing. Review bombing used to be something that only happened now and again, for very controversial games – usually those that were perceived to be broken or ripping off customers.
I don’t condone that but at least it was a reason you could understand but nowadays it seems to happen with anything anyone even mildly dislikes or just happens to be on a format you don’t own. But why? Nobody ever listens to reviews and yet apparently ensuring they stick to the party line is vitally important.
If people actually read reviews and followed their advice then the sales charts would be filled with excitingly original indie games and obscure left field creations, but instead it’s obvious that it’s marketing and peer pressure that are the real motivators.
I think this comes back to the concept of ‘number wars’, which a number of readers have mentioned recently. That these obsessive game fans aren’t really interested in video games at all, just in being seen to be right about something on the internet.
That’s why 60fps has suddenly become such a talking point and it’s why reviews are so popular as something to argue over, but not take any notice of. Your average review-bombing review obsessive is not going to sit down and write a lengthy review about what they do or don’t like in a game, but they will quite happily sit and complain that 92% is less than 93%.
It all just seems such a waste of energy and anger, especially for games where nobody’s really arguing about the general quality, just exactly how good it is. Which brings me back to God Of War Ragnarök. It is a good game, but I don’t think it’s a great one. I don’t care what score anyone gives it, but it does bother me when other people start insisting that some reviews are wrong because they’re not toeing the line.
By reader Terry Gold
The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.
You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at [email protected] or use our Submit Stuff page and you won’t need to send an email.
MORE : God Of War Ragnarök developer making three new games – happy to do more sequels
MORE : God Of War Ragnarök beats Elden Ring and Call Of Duty for second biggest launch of the year
MORE : It’s God Of War versus Elden Ring in The Game Awards 2022 nominees list
Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at [email protected]
To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.
A reader gives his verdict on God Of War Ragnarök and why some people get so angry over reviews that they never seem to read.
