Video games can't really be boiled down to a number. Many people may see a middling 5/10 review score — defined as 'Average' on the Nintendo Life scale — and decide to avoid the title at all costs. But what exactly does that 5 mean? We thankfully have a big ol' chunk of text to accompany that number, but the path to deciding on numerical value is complicated.
What we're trying to say is a game with a low score isn't necessarily a bad game. The package might be messy but sometimes there's a lot of good along the way. As with any review, it's all subjective and what some may deem 'Poor' may be viewed entirely differently by others.
For the next few days Alex, Zion and Jon are putting a spotlight on games they agree are troubled but have elements that shine through and give heart. Not everything below a 7 should be avoided and these are a few games we believe are still worth your time despite their problems. We begin today with Zion's pick.
Let us know if you agree below, or if you've got any other nominees for underachieving games that have good points as well as bad.
Comments 32
The video is unavailable...
Btw, i'm curious if the games that considered bad by Nintendolife staffs, they are probably not really bad games from my opinion.
Your video must have gotten removed because it says unavailable.
I've played some shoddy indie games before. Genuinely don't remember the names of any of them though, they were that bad 😅
Yeah the page says the video is unavailable for me as well.
The games are so bad the video is unavailable?! G'Lord! Lol
First three minutes of the video shows three different games. The last 13 minutes? One game. I skimmed through to see the games and didn't watch the entire thing - was your intent to just showcase one bad game?
I like this. Gamer culture often hyper-focuses on the imperfections of a game and not enough on the fun of them. Imagine playing games for fun!
For the most part, many of the "5/10" games that Nintendo Life reviewed...really aren't that bad, in my opinion. Examples, for me, include (but not limited to)...
1) The Legend of Dark Witch Episode 2: The Price of Desire (Amazing game and the best in the series; Dark Witch 3, on the other hand, is "bad")
2) Jump Force (Yes, the mechanics and performance aren't "great", but what's there is still passable, despite the whole package having so much potential. I even liked it more than ARMS, which I thought was okay at best)
3) Touhou Genso Wanderer Reloaded (My favorite "Mystery Dungeon" game prior to its sequel Lotus Labyrinth R for making me actually strategize my moves, which Pokémon Mystery Dungeon just couldn't do for me and I found to be "too easy" as a result)
No Straight Roads got an Encore Edition on Steam recently, breaking its previous Epic Game Store exclusivity.
The Switch version hasn't been updated and I don't know if it will again, but physical versions can be found quite cheaply now, for like a tenner on Amazon UK.
A long dull video trying to justify the low scores they give to not so bad games, maybe just try to revise your scoring system or try to elaborate a scoring system since they don’t have one here they just give a number depending on how they felt when they played a game, and one big problem with the number you give is that they are not consistent with the numbers given on other site so it lower the metascore for no good reason.
Zion: "I won't spoil it for you-"
video continues showing off the boss he's describing, lol
Anyways yeah, guess I'll keep this in mind since I like unique rhythm games. Only indie rhythm game I've played and was addicted to on Switch was Thumper.
Contra: Rogue Corps, probably the worst reviewed game I love to play. I wonder if it didn't have the weight of the Contra legacy in its title if it would've been received better?
Took a break from chores to watch this, I like seeing people appreciate games that get lower ratings. Though I do feel like I'm the only one who thinks just because a game gets a lower review score or rating, does not mean it's bad to everyone who plays it. I've played quite a few games that rated lowly, and I still loved them enough to call them good, or even great, or underrated. It's no different than having an opinion on a movie, a show, a book, music, it's all subjective.
For me, I did enjoy Balan Wonderworld, despite it not doing well critically. That's the only Switch game that comes to mind with me, I could get into other games I've played on other Nintendo systems and PCs that weren't well received, but thought they were great.
Though, I wouldn't consider No Straight Roads to be a poorly received game from the looks of it. It sounds like it was overlooked to me. Then again, I don't usually use MetaCritic or reviews, so I didn't know the reception.
NL largely pooped NBA Playgrounds & WWE Battlegrounds. Neither is some 40 hour epic masterpiece, but both are BRILLIANT in ten minute intervals with friends when you really aren't too invested in a game and want quick fun.
Place, purpose, and context are often overlooked by reviewers.
Well Project zero maiden of Blackwater is one of the top 10 worst scored games of this year on metacritic, and I actually enjoyed it and is in my top 10 games this year.
So yeah, don't go judging all your purchases off reviews
@munstahunta @Anti-Matter trust me if you think that’s bad try looking at destructoid’s game scores lmfao
I don't watch many of these videos, but hearing Zion, Jon, and Alex on the same video...you all have really built up a great team here.
@Magician I like Contra Rogue Corps too. Great fun. But it's definitely rough around the edges and the graphics are shockingly bad at certain times. For me, that's part of its charm though.
@UltimateOtaku91 Project Zero has 73% on Metacritic. That seems about right to me.
@OorWullie total average metacritic score across all platforms is 63, as low as 60 on xbox
@UltimateOtaku91 All top 10 worst scored games on metacritic this year are below 50 metascore. Fatal Frame 5 isn't among those.
@BTB20 sorry was going off this report
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2021/12/metacritic-reveals-the-10-worst-video-games-of-2021
The second list of games in that article but I suppose that is just for the xbox system, though on playstation it scored quite similarly
@UltimateOtaku91 Ah, ok.
I have put many hours into Big Buck Hunter even though it doesn’t have pointer control and should.
@Watchman What?? Big Buck Hunter doesn’t have pointer controls? Who is the genius who made that decision? lol I mean it’s cool you’re enjoying it, but that’s like a Mario game with no jumping mechanic.
The best video game of the year for me was Baldo and it received a 4 from NL so I take their score with a pinch of salt I’d say
I like Zion approach to videogame journalism and this video series (hopefully it will becomes a series) it's not a bad idea at all, a good game or a niche game that may be overlooked by any reason. I like the idea to give exposure to some games that may deserve another chance to shine.
I don't know if "bad" or "worst" is the right word, but I really love the idea of this show... highlighting lesser-known games that may be flawed but are fresh and fun anyways!
@Toshiro_Baloney. Yeah, I didn’t dream of it, so I purchased it for a fiver without even looking it up. I was disappointed, and the controls are terrible and loose, but I’ve still played the game a lot because my 5 year old daughter loves it and I kinda do, too.
I really don't like Zion's voice for some reason. Just my opinion and some feedback.
@Deviant-Dork Hi Zion, could you try having a different voice?
I guess you get some credit that this isn't the typical "accusing a woman of having vocal fry" that used to go around.
My wife would like to say, having never heard Zion before, the only issue was him being in a video with Alex who has the 'sexiest warmest voice on the internet'.
Humph.
@TryToBeHopeful what I'm saying is, I don't understand why they have someone with an annoying voice do voice work.
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