I refer to games as “bad” because I believe it to be predatory. Utilizing people's psychological vulnerabilities as leverage to obtain payment. When BG3 performed so well, it gave me great joy because it demonstrated that you could succeed without being a predator.

Would you consider non-functioning games to be bad, like The Day Before?

People on the internet love to hate the things they hate far more than they love the things they love. Ig bitterness and anger gets more views usually

Games are such multi-faceted works that even a game you consider "bad" can be a source of inspiration. I've played so many janky old DOS games that are nowhere near fun but still full of creative and brilliant design ideas that I'd love to see polished up.

It is just ludicrous to pretend that games like the asset flip garbage on Steam or Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing are not bad games.

The people who choose vanilla over chocolate are just people who found a way to eat too much chocolate and can't take it anymore.

As my dad used to say, "the world would be a very boring place if all liked the same things".

It's one thing to call some popular game you don't like bad and claim it to be objective truth. But I think there are certainly "games" out there that are so blatantly made as cashgrab products that calling them cheap doesn't really suffice, with stolen assets draped over example scenes, yet still sold for money.

The biggest issue with online media criticism is some people implicitly assume that their opinions are always objective and they build their argument from there. Just because you can cite a few points to support your argument doesn’t make it objective, especially when you’re talking about something as subjective and nebulous as ‘is this good or bad’.

Over the years I've changed my terminology to reflect this objective/subjective issue. If there is an artistic endeavor, be it a game, movie, show, song, etc.., that I do no enjoy I simply say "it's not for me." I don't feel a need to make a judgment on it, only to state that it's not something to which I want to devote time. There are wildly popular games with millions in sales, high review scores, and such that I simply do not enjoy. Does the fact that I have no interest make them "bad"? No. It just means they are not for me. I'm not the arbiter of quality, I'm just a consumer. It's not my business to dictate to others what their opinion should be, or to what they should devote their time. Let people make up their own minds.

Mortim always seems to want to enjoy games, and seeks to understand them on their own terms. He's also very open about his biases. That's what i love about his reviews personally.

Question for a future video. How do devs and publishers think of official reviews vs. user reviews? Has Steam caused any change in which is prioritized?

see, i usually don’t like RPG romances either, but mostly b/c they ruin the element of escapism. i’m in college rn, and “everybody in the world is a horny bisexual person” basically describes my day-to-day. sometimes i want a break from that.

I love Mortismal Gaming for exactly that - his reviews have really helped me start finding new games that I'll actually like.

I definitely agree with what you said about the romance in a lot of games. I do think it can be well done if it is written like a real relationship, not as though all party members will go for anything that moves and has a couple good lines.

I agree with you, but I do find the discussions on certain video games being good or bad interesting. However something can be objectively bad, like technical problems. Another thing to point out that I feel a lot of gamers forget is that criticism doesn't equal hate. You can love something and still be critical about it. I have yet to play a perfect game, and I doubt it exist or ever will. That's part of the charm I guess. After all video games are made by imperfect creatures.

I think it's weird when people claim a game loved by many is objectively bad, but I think its also weird how people claim to like broken garbage. And that exists. I play a lot of random stuff and some people and companies just don't give a damn.

Tangent on romance: Has there ever been a game where there's only one or two people interested in you but you can try with everyone? And there's actual unrequited love? Most NPCs will never be with you? I know of none; it's always hordes of "horny bisexuals".

Mortismal Gaming is THE gaming review channel and, as you say, sometimes I don't agree with him because he may like or dislike different things from what I usually look for in a game, yet I always find him as much objective as he can. He always tries to give an impartial opinion and doesn't let his own ego prevail.

Use it as fuel!