Kajicat wrote:A reviewer of a JRPG should play through at least 70% of the game. Playing, say, only 25% of the game is ridiculous and a review should not be written off such little exposure. Why play more than 50% of it? Because a game can change a lot in the second half. Maybe the story doesn't make much sense in the first half but everything gets tied up nicely by the end. Maybe earlier dungeons and too easy and later ones see an increase in challenge. Maybe the game world opens up much more once a certain vehicle is acquired. Maybe new characters join your party later on that you actually like.
When I see a score given from a reviewer that is an outlier from the median across other outlets and find that the reviewer mentions they didn't finish the game, it immediately raises a red flag. I'm not saying they need to 100% it by collecting all secret items, doing all side quests, and level up all character abilites, but they should at least really hold themselves accountable to try to finish the main game.Rev wrote:if you go 60-70% through the game and you dislike it, why are you going to finish it?
Well, as a reviewer it's basically your duty to really know the ins and outs of the game, if your word is actually to be trusted. Personally, if I said I was going to review a game, I'd be sure to complete the main game at the very least.
Reviewing a game doesn't mean you're always going to enjoy it. You have to gain as much knowledge of it even if you're not having fun doing so. That's the reponsibility of the reviewer.
Question: if a game sucks 70% of the way through, why should I put up with that for 30% of it to be good? Especially if I have no reason to think it becomes good later. Do you expect the Critic to play all the way through Aquaman on XBox on the off chance that it stops being crap on the last level? To me, a developer should aim to make 100% of a game fun and worth playing, not assume that their customers will put up with bad design and poor storytelling because of some unspoken obligation they've put on themselves.