I think a big detriment to criticism, especially how it has evolved online, is how the most listened to opinions are
- the most loud
- the most extreme
Like, everything has to be the best or the worst. You can't just be disappointed by something bad in a good game, or you can't find something good in something bad or mediocre.
When I played through the Mass Effect Legendary edition, I still absolutely hated the ending to 3 but I practically love everything else in the game.
Anthem had some VERY fun combat and traversal and some fun world and character stuff if you did all the missions but also it was woefully bereft of content for being a live service game.
AEW Fight Forever does not have a lot of content, especially compared to the 2K WWE games but goddamn is that game a lot of fun to play
Learn how to set your expectations
Put on your good time hat
It's okay to have complex emotions about the media you consume
The other day I read the headline for an article that stated that new Dragon Age combat is outdated and I think it's also a detriment to games as an artform to believe that genres or play styles fall out of favor because advancements in technology.
2D platformers are still great even with the move to 3D. FPS games don't have to all be live service Call of Duty games, you can still have cool single player shooters like Trepang2. Yes, there will always be quality of life features that make newer games easier to play/approach, but just because Dark Souls exists doesn't mean that we can't have more games like Drakengard/Nier
You are not financially invested in something just because you bought a product
