When it comes to political or economic news, the "fake news" mainstream media is notorious for their lack of objectivity. I'm finding the same to be true of professional video game outlets when it comes to gaming-related subjects. Here are examples from just two games that I've been playing a lot of recently.


Total War: Warhammer (my review - 3.5 stars out of 5)

• Summary: Really cool game conceptually, but has a number of major balance issues
• Pro reviewers: It's running an 86%. Not one review I've read pointed out any of the issues within the game
• User reviews: Only 69% view the game positively. This is amongst actual people who have bought and played the game. Skimming even just a handful of these reviews paints a very fair, balanced picture of the game's strengths, and its sometimes serious issues-- plus some obnoxious DLC policies that plagued the game at launch

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (my review - 4 stars out of 5)

• Summary: Solidly designed open world game, but kind of bare bones compared to its contemporaries
• Pro reviewers: It's running a record-setting 98%. Reviews are universally gushing; everyone should name their first-born kid after this game
• User reviews: It's running a 7.6 amongst actual people who have bought and played the game. Skimming even just a handful of these reviews paints a very fair, balanced picture of the game's strengths, and its shortcomings. A good example is here.

Having sunk a significant number of hours into these two games, then looking back, the professional reviews are utterly worthless at painting an accurate picture of what the games' experiences are like. Conversely, the reader reviews are extraordinarily reflective of my own experiences with both titles.

There was a time in the near past-- perhaps as recently as ten years ago?-- where I thought professional reviews were very helpful. From here on, I'm not even going to bother looking at these "fake news" critiques, and just skip to the user reviews directly.