Do game reviews really matter?

The bad-to-mediocre reviews that some of the recent Sonic games (between Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic and the Black Knight), got me wondering this. Since it's more of a general gaming topic, I decided to put it here.

Anyway, when I was a kid and started gaming, I didn't even know about game reviews. As far as I knew, if I was enjoying a game it's good, and if I didn't it was bad. It was just like any other form of entertainment. Lots of the games I like include classics such as Mario and Sonic, and even games like Home Alone, which I didn't know until the Internet that it was a "bad" game. Still I enjoyed them when I was a kid.

With the Internet, reviews seem to be the topic in gaming. Even though reviews are opinions, some gamers tend to treat it as fact. For example, if I said "Sonic is good", someone will point out the reviews and say it's not, like it's a fact. Or even uses a Metacritic score to prove it's "bad".

So do game reviews matter to you? Call me old fashion, but I play games and I decide for myself if it's good or not.

Also, considered this scenario. You played a game when you were a kid, and liked it a lot. When you're older you read a review about it, and the review is bad. Would this change your opinion on the game? Just something to think about.

Yes, to an extent. Reviews matter to me because they tell me what to expect in a game's contents. That said, whether or not I or anyone else enjoys something is strictly opinion based. But a review will let me set a level of expectation.

To me them matteer if I trrust the person who reviewed it.

Like i trust ONM, or my best friends.

But no pure COD gun-slionging manics

Thorn wrote:

Yes, to an extent. Reviews matter to me because they tell me what to expect in a game's contents. That said, whether or not I or anyone else enjoys something is strictly opinion based. But a review will let me set a level of expectation.

Now that I think about it, I was thinking more of the opinion aspect of a review. Yes they do say what's in a game's content.

Shogun, I also talk about games with my friends. If a friend recommends me a game, I'll look at some videos, maybe play a demo, or even rent it.