Do you listen to the critics when it comes to the Sonic the Hedgehog games?

[Scritch the Cat]

Game critics are not inherently bad people but I feel they're all-but obsolete in the modern era, and furthermore that many of the more obnoxious ones are a result of the industry coming to reckon with that.  Critics are inevitably going to be biased, and while that is also true of other people, the once-esteemed title of professional game critic no longer means much in an era when you can seek out people whose opinions and tastes you know are more similar to yours, and many of them are willing to post their opinions of a game on forums, free of charge.  I feel many gaming media publications are aware of that, and it feels like in an effort to stay relevant, many of them have abandoned what used to be professional language and at least attempts at impartiality, and instead attempted to be more like The Angry Video Game Nerd.  That's why you get just-plain bad-faith takes like the reviewer of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle calling its soundtrack goddawful simply because of not liking the genres of music on display, further undercutting his legitimacy by misrepresenting what genre Rouge's levels used, or the even worse bits about claiming Sonic was never good and accusing all of its remaining fans of Zoophilia.  Such inflammatory rhetoric doesn't make people respect your opinions, but it does get them to pay attention.

Of course that's the fringe, and these days I don't really mind reading/watching/hearing more-polite critics' takes, but they'll never be a substitute for what dyed-in-the-wool Sonic fans say about the games.

[Rabbitearsblog]

6 hours ago, Scritch the Cat said:

Of course that's the fringe, and these days I don't really mind reading/watching/hearing more-polite critics' takes, but they'll never be a substitute for what dyed-in-the-wool Sonic fans say about the games.

"Dyed in the Wool?"

[Scritch the Cat]

16 hours ago, Rabbitearsblog said:

"Dyed in the Wool?"

Maybe a dated expression outside of the clothing industry.

[Rabbitearsblog]

4 minutes ago, Scritch the Cat said:

Maybe a dated expression outside of the clothing industry.

Like does it mean the more faithful Sonic fans?

[King Conne]

I really don't care about what critics are gonna say... well, in fact, when from time to time I read critics, I wonder if they know how to play a SONIC game!!...
The only mark that is important for me is Famitsu's... well, not so important indeed because what really matters is the fact that I have a great time playing my SONIC games and enjoying their stories!!...

[Scritch the Cat]

4 hours ago, Rabbitearsblog said:

Like does it mean the more faithful Sonic fans?

Yes.  Or at least, fans of some Sonic games that have many other fans.

[ma-kun Markus the Hedgehog]

I don‘t listen to Critics, I’m who decide if i would buy it. Sometimes i would watching Reviews when the Critics is too harsh or completely misleading. Basically same what the Thread Creator already has said.

In case of Sonic, its like some Critics have a bias about Sonic there or Critics just making literally Clickbait. Also i noticed that Reviews depends who wrote this Reviews, which Person or Gaming News Outlet doing it.

[Rabbitearsblog]

6 hours ago, ma-kun Markus the Hedgehog said:

I don‘t listen to Critics, I’m who decide if i would buy it. Sometimes i would watching Reviews when the Critics is too harsh or completely misleading. Basically same what the Thread Creator already has said.

In case of Sonic, its like some Critics have a bias about Sonic there or Critics just making literally Clickbait. Also i noticed that Reviews depends who wrote this Reviews, which Person or Gaming News Outlet doing it.

I also don't listen to the critics that much.  At the end of the day, you are the one who will decide if this product is good for you or not.

[Amy2023]

I never listened to critics when It comes to Sonic games or reviews etc. I go by my own opinions on the Sonic games I can understand the critics gotta do there jobs. But at the end of the day I go by my own opinions. And I respect everyone's opinions on here as well.

[Rabbitearsblog]

2 hours ago, MikeTheHedgehog said:

I never listened to critics when It comes to Sonic games or reviews etc. I go by my own opinions on the Sonic games I can understand the critics gotta do there jobs. But at the end of the day I go by my own opinions. And I respect everyone's opinions on here as well.

Same here.

[BunnyVidsYT]

I'll hop in and say that I've never listened to critics on anything, ever.

Just because it's an opinion from a critic - it's just that, an opinion - and mine could be completely different. In fact, most of the time, it is! I tend to like games that get critically panned anyways - or dislike games that generally get good critic reviews - so when it comes to Sonic games, where everyone's opinions are going to be mixed in some way, I generally just see how the game looks myself and see if I'm interested in buying it.

I never get games on launch day, because I just want to watch a little bit of gameplay footage beforehand to see if it looks like something I'll have fun playing. That's all I go by. If it looks fun, I'll get it. I judge my own opinions based on how much fun I personally had with a title. This goes for pretty much everything for me.

[Rabbitearsblog]

3 hours ago, BunnyVidsYT said:

I'll hop in and say that I've never listened to critics on anything, ever.

Just because it's an opinion from a critic - it's just that, an opinion - and mine could be completely different. In fact, most of the time, it is! I tend to like games that get critically panned anyways - or dislike games that generally get good critic reviews - so when it comes to Sonic games, where everyone's opinions are going to be mixed in some way, I generally just see how the game looks myself and see if I'm interested in buying it.

I never get games on launch day, because I just want to watch a little bit of gameplay footage beforehand to see if it looks like something I'll have fun playing. That's all I go by. If it looks fun, I'll get it. I judge my own opinions based on how much fun I personally had with a title. This goes for pretty much everything for me.

This is the same for me.  I tend to judge a game based on how I felt about it, rather than listen to what anyone else thinks about it.

[Technically Inept]

I sort of agree with a thought mentioned earlier, but I'll take it a step further.

I do care what critics say because I feel it determines what the general gaming community thinks of Sonic, and I feel listening to some of the criticisms made by mainstream critics would help Sonic appeal to a broader audience. But while the person who posted this isn't actually that invested in this, I am VERY MUCH so.

Or at least, I used to be. Trying to figure out how to "fix" Sonic was my primary motivation for hanging around Sonic communities and being invested in the franchise.

Now, disregarding their affect on public perception and considering the criticisms themselves...

Whether I put stake in them or not really depends. Some times these guys really seem like they didn't actually play the game. Some times they're dead on.

Oh, and I don't care at all about review scores, only the reviews themselves. Score numbers just seem so arbitrary to me, and don't really say anything of value in themselves. They only say the game's supposed quality based on the standards of the reviewer, but the standards of what is important in determining if a game is "good" are entirely subjective. So I think a checklist of qualities a game does and does not have, given after a review making a case for the game having or not having such qualities, might actually be more beneficial.

Edited February 27, 2023 by Technically Inept

[HedgeKat]

Not really, I'd prefer to judge a Sonic game on my own and come to my own conclusions. I go so far as trying to avoid what they say so my experience isn't stained.

If I've found personal enjoyment of a game, then that's what it'll be to me.

[Eggman Fan]

I'm happy when they praise a game, but I don't listen to them.

If I did then I wouldn't be a Sonic fan.

[small-blue-hedgehog]

Not really. A lot of video game reviewers on the more popular sites seem to hold some sort of strange contempt for Sonic as a franchise, and seem to delight in nitpicking and shitting on every aspect of the franchise... oh, and bringing up the Elise kiss whenever they get the chance to. Seriously, someone even mentioned it in a review of The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog! How was that relevant at all?!

I tend to listen more to my mutuals on Twitter, who share the same taste in games as I do. If they like something, there's a good chance I'll like it too - regardless of whether or not it's objectively good or not. I unironically like Shadow The Hedgehog for example. Do I think it's good? Hell no! Do I love it for being the epitome of 2000s era edgy cringe with a story so bad it becomes enjoyable to watch and the fact that the main menu uses gun noises for the sound effects? Hell yes! 

So I don't really tend to pay attention to mainstream critics for that reason - a lot of them turn their noses up at anything Sonic related, and review it in very bad faith. 

[Rabbitearsblog]

1 hour ago, small-blue-hedgehog said:

Not really. A lot of video game reviewers on the more popular sites seem to hold some sort of strange contempt for Sonic as a franchise, and seem to delight in nitpicking and shitting on every aspect of the franchise... oh, and bringing up the Elise kiss whenever they get the chance to. Seriously, someone even mentioned it in a review of The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog! How was that relevant at all?!

I tend to listen more to my mutuals on Twitter, who share the same taste in games as I do. If they like something, there's a good chance I'll like it too - regardless of whether or not it's objectively good or not. I unironically like Shadow The Hedgehog for example. Do I think it's good? Hell no! Do I love it for being the epitome of 2000s era edgy cringe with a story so bad it becomes enjoyable to watch and the fact that the main menu uses gun noises for the sound effects? Hell yes! 

So I don't really tend to pay attention to mainstream critics for that reason - a lot of them turn their noses up at anything Sonic related, and review it in very bad faith. 

Yeah, I'm the same way.  Actually, I feel that way about critics in general (if the Mario movie was evidence of this).

[Blueknight V2.0]

I'll just say this. When it comes to reviews of anything, I tend to stick to the positive reviews (critic or audience) & steer clear of the negative ones. Reason why, is the positive ones tend to be the most balanced. Like me, I can really enjoy something I'm reviewing, but point out the negatives without acting like it's a detriment to everything else in association to it. Or letting something from the past effect the current status.

Whether it was Sonic Frontiers, the Mario Movie, SpongeBob Cosmic Shake. Whatever the case, I feel that's what we need more of. Balance, instead of leaning too far in either direction. Bias is fine in it's own right, but I feel it shouldn't go beyond a simple comparison.

[Merri]

If I take the time to see what critics have to say about a Sonic game, it's usually to see if there are any gamebreaking problems with them and to see how the graphics have improved (or not).

In the end, I'll usually play a Sonic game just because it's Sonic, but after all the problems with Rise of Lyric, I'm a little more wary about them and like to make sure they run nicely before purchasing.

[sonicclaasic]

Critics are there for a reason to do there job and get paid for It that's all there after the money side to It. I never listened to the critics I go by my own judgement when It comes to the Sonic games and playing them as well.

[PinkFloydMania]

I check out critic reviews for things like performance issues or major bugs, because I don't want to sink money into something that just doesn't work right. But as for whether or not the game will be enjoyable to play... well, the only person who can tell if I'll enjoy a game is myself. And I'm one of those weirdos who kind of likes how inconsistent the Sonic franchise is (keeps me on my toes lol), so as long as it runs I'll give it a shot no matter what most likely.

[MetalSkulkBane]

While I am a huge Sonic fan, I don't buy every Sonic game (until the Steam discount sale anyway). Generally speaking, I'm on the poor/stringy side and rarely buy more than 2 full prices games a year (not counting some retros or indies).

I think it's perfectly okay to love the franchise, why also not blindly give it money regardless of the quality of the product.

So yeah, I listen to critics, fans, the general audience, and my own guts, before making the purchase. Obviously, some critic's opinions matter more (SomeCallMeJohnny, KingK), some less (IGN, Zero Punctuation).

 

[Ghelatlishol]

The reason I listen to critics of a Sonic game are to catch the bits and pieces I may not have noticed (and that always happens) and to see things from a different perspective, of course. More opinions tend to make the experience richer, I think, but they can also serve to irritate.

I remember watching ExoParadigmGamer on YouTube discuss his opinion on SA1 & SA2 and I thought those were very well balanced. Plus, outside the Sonic fanbase, SA2 seems to be very maligned. He blames that phenomenon on the likes of SomeCallMeJohnny.

But then there was this one video titled something like "You've only played 25% of Sonic 3." With a title like that, I had to see what was going on. The critic argued that the true and intended style of gameplay involved using no power-ups or emeralds, speeding through the levels and keeping track of your points. It was a nice idea, and I did go back and try to play Sonic 2 without item boxes or emeralds. It was fun to try, but the whole premise of the video/argument came off as elitist.

Probably one of the greatest things about a video game is the ability to replay it (the replay value I've heard it called,) and to try new things out. 

So, yes, I do listen to critics but only to get a different perspective. They've never influenced whether or not I've purchased or at least tried a Sonic game out.

[SonicSmoocher]

if i'm studying a sonic game because i want to buy it, i'll obviously do some research on why people think its good & bad, but otherwise im not really interested. not to pull a "i understand this more then they ever will!!1!!11", but listening to non sonic fans critique a sonic game can be tiring, since they don't really know what they're talking about story-wise. obviously only listening to hardcore sonic lover's opinions will be biased, but i feel like its also the best way to get a solid opinion sometimes, because at least they're honest lol. basically- critics? no. fans? yes.

[Ardisan]

Yes I would listen to reviews. By listen I mean listening to what they have to say and not just looking at arbitrary numbers and stars that mean nothing. I look at reviews to see if a game has things I don't care for in it or do. I don't check to see if they validate my purchased product or personal takes.

Reviewers on metacritic or reviewers on YouTube are the same to me. They both have their own opinions (just like us) and they both do it as a job.