Splatoon will probably receive mixed reviews

[Deku]

I had a blast with the demo and love the game already. I'm going through withdrawals of not being able to play it, and other games just don't seem as fun. But, critics will probably mark the game down on these points:

- lack of content - a lot of the game won't be there from the get go. Reviewers won't be playing the full game until after their review. They'll feel obligated to dock points. I personally like what they are doing; it gives me the chance to master each of the maps/weapons before a new one comes out, getting me excited every week. If the demo is any indication, the gameplay depth will continue to get deeper.

- it's different - there aren't a lot of games similar to this. They can't rate it based on previous game similarities, so some scores will be all over the place, especially if they grade it on what they think a shooter should be, and not what it is.

- fun is not quantifiable - a game can be the most fun thing in the world, but critics are trained to look for flaws. This is probably why the fan reaction will be really high, but the critic scores lower. I don't mind this because hopefully it'll make the next game (or dlc) much better.

There'll probably be others as well. I personally believe this game is similar to smash 64: a new proof of concept of a tired genre with somewhat limited options, but extremely fun.

 

[Trieste Sp]

You may be right. Then again, the reviews are not out. I already know I'll be purchasing the game. So the opinions of reviewers doesn't concern me other that it can influence the sales of the game.

 

[Kelkador]

...Mixed reviews?

...¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Deku]

You may be right. Then again, the reviews are not out. I already know I'll be purchasing the game. So the opinions of reviewers doesn't concern me other that it can influence the sales of the game.

Same here. The good news is that a game sells better through good word of mouth than review scores.

 

[Trieste Sp]

Same here. The good news is that a game sells better through good word of mouth than review scores.

That's good to know.

 

[Deku]

...Mixed reviews?

...¯\_(ツ)_/¯

C'mon, you got to do it right.

...../ \
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
.....| | |

Yeah, ok, that looks kind of lame.

 

[Flight]

I doubt people will care for reviews.. hmm, well, except those IGN posters who like to bash on Nintendo's stuff.

 

[PrinceOfKoopas]

At the very least, every review site, when Nintendo invited them for a private Splatoon session, said it was really fun as a preview.

 

[Litagano Motscoud]

Whatever score the game gets, let's just try not to go crazy if it gets a low score. Different reviewers will be looking for different things, so if one reviewer gives it a lower score than we think it should get, we should respect that.

 

[Lyn]

Likely. I think it would earn fine reviews if it didn't lack the basic features of an online game, though.

 

[Ryuho]

I can understand if reviews end up taking a point or so off for lack of content. They gotta review what they have, not what the game might be later. The single player seems to be decently long for a shooter but 5 maps and one game mode online is likely going to be considered a barebones.
I know gamefaqs is going to have tantrums over the scores no matter how good or bad they are though. *shrugs* Especially since so many people treat review scores like school grades for some reason :/

 

[WaifuRaccoonBL]

Nah, I see more positive reviews this time around. It actually has quite the decent starting content and we at least have the knowledge of more on the way.

Also, addressing the critics are trained to look for flaws...they aren't. In fact, I doubt they got any training. A critic's flaws range from actual gameplay problems like maybe a game being short, a personal problem like a critic hates squids, or an agenda problem, like girls having boobs in games or something. As you notice, only 1/3 are actually helpful. And even then, they may not even be entire correct on their gameplay problem. So, no, they aren't going to be what massively improve the game.

Overall I think it is going to be rated highly for being an original new ip for Nintendo, with an already decent amount of content with more on the way. Maybe not 9s, but I do expect 7s and 8s.

 

[ThatsSo]

7.8/10 Too much ink

 

[Deku]

I can understand if reviews end up taking a point or so off for lack of content. They gotta review what they have, not what the game might be later. The single player seems to be decently long for a shooter but 5 maps and one game mode online is likely going to be considered a barebones.
I know gamefaqs is going to have tantrums over the scores no matter how good or bad they are though. *shrugs* Especially since so many people treat review scores like school grades for some reason :/

Yeah, that's the reason I made this thread, so people don't freak out if it gets less than perfect scores (though you guys seem pretty cool; I need to avoid ign and other places, I think).

Review scores seem to be based on a 3 point system: 10 is great, your favorite game is entitled to this score; 9 is ok, it's passible but nothing special; and 8 is horrible and you shouldn't buy it. Everything else is unplayable.

 

[WaifuRaccoonBL]

Review scores seem to be based on a 3 point system: 10 is great, your favorite game is entitled to this score; 9 is ok, it's passible but nothing special; and 8 is horrible and you shouldn't buy it. Everything else is unplayable.

Errr...Thats way to big of an overstatement. Even 7 is just a maybe. I still see plenty of people who think games who get 7 are good including myself. 6 is where the games start to look awful. 7-10 are perfectly acceptable to people.

 

[Cloudy]

Eh, I expect this game to get at least a 7 or 8. Going any lower would be a disappointment. The main complaint would probably be the lack of maps or something at launch but the creativity and fun factor will save it. Also the single player campaign will probably be decent

 

[RotomGuy]

They've been pretty positive about the game so far, going so far as to call it the Mario Kart of shooters.

 

[RayneTheSkunk]

I'm more concerned with players than critics. (I apologize if the following is considered off topic)

Reality is a lot of players do not do research before buying the game. Hypothetically if 50% of people purchasing Splatoon have not read the direct they will be met with a lot of things that can be considered bad. "why is there only five maps when omost games come with 6 to 8?" "Why are there only 2 match types when most games start with at least 4" "Why are only 2maps available every 4 hours". From someone who is not already well researched in the game Splatoon seems like an incomplete ripoff. Even people aware of the updates feel this way and like the game shouldn't be released till august.

In a technical sense the game will not be complete until august and this will likely turn off A LOT of people. Game sales are usually at release and it will be hard to tell people to buy it again in august. Those people will also likely tell their friends to not buy it.

The updates are a good idea from a design perspective of easing people into more and more content so the game seems to evolve naturally with the community. From a marketing standpoint a lot of people will buy the game at release and think "is this it" and then stop, return it, and tell other people about their lackluster experience. Of course the real number will probably be nowhere near 50% but it will likely be a signacant number of people dropping off the game in the first few weeks for these reasons.

 

[Bonzi77]

I'd try not to worry about the reviews too much. Ultimately, people are gonna buy what they're gonna buy. Nintendo is going absolutely NUTS with the advertising on this game, I mean REALLY pushing it for Summer Slam, which is way more important. Good (or even mixed!) reviews would just be icing on the cake.

 

[Geistbox]

I'd like to think that if games like Killer Instinct and Ground Zeroes can coast off of positive reception then Splatoon isn't that big of an exception with its positively received game play. It will most likely score anywhere between 75-85 if the current content can back it up and with the knowledge that content of similar quality will inevitably keep it afloat.