Sekiro review embargo is very peculiar

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

I don't read reviews before having finished games cause they tend to have spoilers. Even when I do read some it's always just to laugh at how bad at the game reviewers are or at some of their bad opinions.

I still remember the guy who reviewed a visual novel game, who skipped parts of the story cause he was getting impatient and wanted to get to a gameplay segment (-getting impatient at a visual novel game having cutscenes), and then went on to complain that the story didn't make sense.

If you didn't SKIP the story it would make sense! Gah!


I think people are confused that it's 1997 and you need your game magazine's review to tell you if you'll like a game or not. You can just watch half a dozen hours of trailers and footage and reporting about games before they come out if you want to learn that and don't care about spoilers.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

That's a very negative take on gaming criticism. While I agree that there are a lot of issues with it, it doesn't deserve to be dismissed as pure advertisment either. A critics work is important and deserves at least some acknowledgement.

How can you actually have a positive outlook professional game criticism in the state its in right now? You can basically go to IGN and see a game got a 9.0/10, then chances are high GameSpot gave the game 0.5 lower at an 8.5/10. I just picked 2 current releases and that rule holds true; DMC5 got a 9.5/10 from IGN and a 9.0/10 at GameSpot and Anthem got 6.5 from IGN and 6.0 from GameSpot. Reviewers in any medium are supposed to have their own opinions but games are treated like they are objective products. I have guess what a Metacritic score is going to be for a game without even playing the damn thing and just watching a single 10-minute video about the game. For example, I've only seen a single Laymen Gaming video about the Division 2 and I'm guessing that the Metacritic score will end up between 80-85 (there is currently on 2 reviews up for it and they are 75 from Gamersky and 56 from Cheat Code Central). I'm also guessing that IGN and GameSpot will be 0.5 away from each other as well. Siskel and Ebert would greatly disagree with each other but where is that in professional game journalism, games are subjective, it's OK to not like a game (just like it is with a movie). Back in the EGM magazine days where 3 people reviewed a game (only giving a couple short paragraphs too), you got more differing opinions that you do now with 50+ Metacritic reviews. A love/hate game like FFXIII only has one negative review (from Jim Sterling, who doesn't treat games like objective products), that alone shines a bright light on the state of reviews (and shocker, IGN and GameSpot 0.4 away from each other on FFXIII).

There's some Youtubers who put out really quality criticism like Errant Signal, Super Bunnyhop, Raycevick, etc. What professional review of GTAV is anywhere near as insightful as Errant Signal's GTAV video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZcX_ZdlW3Q&t=920s]?

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I've seen enough gameplay videos of the game to be relatively sure of its quality, regardless of any review embargo. I also have a decent amount of faith in From Software and Miyazaki to not botch this game.

I'm not sure what the embargo is about but at the moment I still have my preorder in. I rarely preorder games, and only do it when it's coming from a developer whose products I trust.

If this comes back to bite me in the ass I'll be pretty disappointed, and from then on will no longer preorder From Software games. Until such a time though, I want From Software to succeed, and I want this game to have a good release, so I'm still buying it on release day despite the lack of reviews.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

I've seen enough gameplay videos of the game to be relatively sure of its quality, regardless of any review embargo. I also have a decent amount of faith in From Software and Miyazaki to not botch this game.

I'm not sure what the embargo is about but at the moment I still have my preorder in. I rarely preorder games, and only do it when it's coming from a developer whose products I trust.

If this comes back to bite me in the ass I'll be pretty disappointed, and from then on will no longer preorder From Software games. Until such a time though, I want From Software to succeed, and I want this game to have a good release, so I'm still buying it on release day despite the lack of reviews.

I?m more concerned about Activision pulling a fast one, but then again FROM should know well their reputation and at least have their interests safeguarded from a legal standpoint. Whatever happens it?ll be a clear case of either being cool with collaborating for future projects or absolutely not.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I've seen enough gameplay videos of the game to be relatively sure of its quality, regardless of any review embargo. I also have a decent amount of faith in From Software and Miyazaki to not botch this game.

I'm not sure what the embargo is about but at the moment I still have my preorder in. I rarely preorder games, and only do it when it's coming from a developer whose products I trust.

If this comes back to bite me in the ass I'll be pretty disappointed, and from then on will no longer preorder From Software games. Until such a time though, I want From Software to succeed, and I want this game to have a good release, so I'm still buying it on release day despite the lack of reviews.

I?m more concerned about Activision pulling a fast one, but then again FROM should know well their reputation and at least have their interests safeguarded from a legal standpoint. Whatever happens it?ll be a clear case of either being cool with collaborating for future projects or absolutely not.

But how exactly does Activision even have the capacity to "pull a fast one" in this case?

Activision is publishing the game, yes, but it's not developing anything. It's a single player game so Activision isn't providing any help with online architecture. The game doesn't have any loot boxes or micro-transactions so Activision can't futz with item drop rates or anything of that nature.

The only nefarious thing I can possibly think of that Activision could have done to the game would be something like forcing From Software to speed up their production timetable, causing the game to end up unfinished. The thing is, that's something that From Software is already known for. Demons Souls and Dark Souls 1 and 2 were all unfinished when they came out, and are still games that are beloved despite their shortcomings and some incomplete areas and boss fights. So the worst thing I can possibly anticipate from this game wouldn't even necessarily be Activision's fault since From Software is kind of notorious for their games being a bit unfinished and we still love them.

This is a game where the amount of meddling Activision can do is actually quite limited from what I understand.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

I?m more concerned about Activision pulling a fast one, but then again FROM should know well their reputation and at least have their interests safeguarded from a legal standpoint. Whatever happens it?ll be a clear case of either being cool with collaborating for future projects or absolutely not.

But how exactly does Activision even have the capacity to "pull a fast one" in this case?

Plus, when Activision pulls a "fast one" it's usually after launch anyway so you won't find that stuff in reviews obviously.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Activision already pulled a fast one by being the publisher when From could have gotten the game published by themselves and earn all their deserved reward for this amazing game and not share some of it with Activision. They have no need to pull another fast one at this point. The only time they do so around review times is when they're releasing bad games.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Activision already pulled a fast one by being the publisher when From could have gotten the game published by themselves and earn all their deserved reward for this amazing game and not share some of it with Activision. They have no need to pull another fast one at this point. The only time they do so around review times is when they're releasing bad games.

There appears to be some logical inconsistency in your post.

Sekiro is apparently an amazing game, but it has a review embargo, which activision only does when they're releasing a bad game.

You want to maybe fix your post to make the point you were actually trying to make?

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Activision already pulled a fast one by being the publisher when From could have gotten the game published by themselves and earn all their deserved reward for this amazing game and not share some of it with Activision. They have no need to pull another fast one at this point. The only time they do so around review times is when they're releasing bad games.

There appears to be some logical inconsistency in your post.

Sekiro is apparently an amazing game, but it has a review embargo, which activision only does when they're releasing a bad game.

You want to maybe fix your post to make the point you were actually trying to make?

I just don't consider a review embargo them pulling a fast one and more of them just having this policy in general. Pulling a fast one would be trying to pay people to review it positively.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Activision already pulled a fast one by being the publisher when From could have gotten the game published by themselves and earn all their deserved reward for this amazing game and not share some of it with Activision. They have no need to pull another fast one at this point. The only time they do so around review times is when they're releasing bad games.

There appears to be some logical inconsistency in your post.

Sekiro is apparently an amazing game, but it has a review embargo, which activision only does when they're releasing a bad game.

You want to maybe fix your post to make the point you were actually trying to make?

I just don't consider a review embargo them pulling a fast one and more of them just having this policy in general. Pulling a fast one would be trying to pay people to review it positively.

Or simply not having faith in the product. Wondering if some suits heard about how difficult the game is and thought, ?Gee, that won?t attract all the newcomers we?re after. We don?t want people pulling their preorders so how about we pull review copies until it?s out.?

The ironic part is who knows what effect on preorders the lack of reviews will have. Apparently there are quite a few people that have gotten cold feet, and this ?policy change? isn?t even really a story yet.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Activision already pulled a fast one by being the publisher when From could have gotten the game published by themselves and earn all their deserved reward for this amazing game and not share some of it with Activision. They have no need to pull another fast one at this point. The only time they do so around review times is when they're releasing bad games.

There appears to be some logical inconsistency in your post.

Sekiro is apparently an amazing game, but it has a review embargo, which activision only does when they're releasing a bad game.

You want to maybe fix your post to make the point you were actually trying to make?

I just don't consider a review embargo them pulling a fast one and more of them just having this policy in general. Pulling a fast one would be trying to pay people to review it positively.

Or simply not having faith in the product. Wondering if some suits heard about how difficult the game is and thought, ?Gee, that won?t attract all the newcomers we?re after. We don?t want people pulling their preorders so how about we pull review copies until it?s out.?

The ironic part is who knows what effect on preorders the lack of reviews will have. Apparently there are quite a few people that have gotten cold feet, and this ?policy change? isn?t even really a story yet.

That's even more unlikely imo. Why go out of your way to publish something you have such low confidence on. Ah well, it's activision so I'd put nothing past them.

 

[EvilRoy]

Activision already pulled a fast one by being the publisher when From could have gotten the game published by themselves and earn all their deserved reward for this amazing game and not share some of it with Activision. They have no need to pull another fast one at this point. The only time they do so around review times is when they're releasing bad games.

There appears to be some logical inconsistency in your post.

Sekiro is apparently an amazing game, but it has a review embargo, which activision only does when they're releasing a bad game.

You want to maybe fix your post to make the point you were actually trying to make?

I just don't consider a review embargo them pulling a fast one and more of them just having this policy in general. Pulling a fast one would be trying to pay people to review it positively.

Or simply not having faith in the product. Wondering if some suits heard about how difficult the game is and thought, ?Gee, that won?t attract all the newcomers we?re after. We don?t want people pulling their preorders so how about we pull review copies until it?s out.?

The ironic part is who knows what effect on preorders the lack of reviews will have. Apparently there are quite a few people that have gotten cold feet, and this ?policy change? isn?t even really a story yet.

That's even more unlikely imo. Why go out of your way to publish something you have such low confidence on. Ah well, it's activision so I'd put nothing past them.

I wonder if its just because the game is so dark souls that it hurts. Like, they went so far down the rabbit hole on this one, they aren't sure if reviewers will even understand what they're dealing with and Activision doesn't trust them not to blackball the game on the basis of it being so out there. We've all heard about how reviewers sometimes get special versions of games that are easier, have cheats, or let you skip sections. If From just said "no" to that we could get another cuphead where reviewers just suck so hard at the game it makes everyone involved look bad.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

It?d be preposterous for a developer like FROM to be hiding something technically so wrong that they?re afraid of reviews. Activision suits I could see making that call based on the difficulty affecting review scores thus affecting preorders, but if something was fundamentally wrong with the game it would have been delayed. It?s tough to see FROM suddenly having a rash of incompetence or shamelessly letting a major issue slide to ?get it out on time?. Previews have all been met with solid praise enough to be awash of any possible incentivized feedback here or there.


Anyways, a new gameplay trailer [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O6rN540rzjY] with mild spoilers (less than the last one at least).

 

[CritialGaming]

Having played the game myself, as well as having seen all the preview builds from notable Dark Souls Youtubers, the game is gonna be great with the one restriction of you will need to devote the time to "get gud" enough at it in order to sink your teeth into it.

But if you like Soulsborne and Nioh, then you will enjoy Sekiro just fine.

I dunno why they are doing this review thing, but I think it symbolizes how little faith they have with the game's media and handling the difficulty (like the fiasco we saw with Cuphead) rather than anything that might be wrong with the game.

This is one of those games that I will probably rely on Vatyavidya to review versus Ign or something.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Also for anyone wondering if the game is skimping on content since it?s ?only single player/non RPG?, the slap-dabbitty-doobilicious Future Press guide [https://www.amazon.com/Sekiro-Shadows-Twice-Official-Guide/dp/3869930942] may beg to differ - all 552 pages of it. The upcoming Dark Souls Trilogy Compendium by contrast is only 464 pages, although I?m sure its layout is more concise to fit all three games on less paper.

First play through will be blind of course, but I?m a sucker for these beautiful books. I have all of the SoulsBorne hardcovers besides Demon?s which I don?t think they made one for sadly.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Activision already pulled a fast one by being the publisher when From could have gotten the game published by themselves and earn all their deserved reward for this amazing game and not share some of it with Activision. They have no need to pull another fast one at this point. The only time they do so around review times is when they're releasing bad games.

There appears to be some logical inconsistency in your post.

Sekiro is apparently an amazing game, but it has a review embargo, which activision only does when they're releasing a bad game.

You want to maybe fix your post to make the point you were actually trying to make?

I just don't consider a review embargo them pulling a fast one and more of them just having this policy in general. Pulling a fast one would be trying to pay people to review it positively.

Or simply not having faith in the product. Wondering if some suits heard about how difficult the game is and thought, ?Gee, that won?t attract all the newcomers we?re after. We don?t want people pulling their preorders so how about we pull review copies until it?s out.?

The ironic part is who knows what effect on preorders the lack of reviews will have. Apparently there are quite a few people that have gotten cold feet, and this ?policy change? isn?t even really a story yet.

That's even more unlikely imo. Why go out of your way to publish something you have such low confidence on. Ah well, it's activision so I'd put nothing past them.

I wonder if its just because the game is so dark souls that it hurts. Like, they went so far down the rabbit hole on this one, they aren't sure if reviewers will even understand what they're dealing with and Activision doesn't trust them not to blackball the game on the basis of it being so out there. We've all heard about how reviewers sometimes get special versions of games that are easier, have cheats, or let you skip sections. If From just said "no" to that we could get another cuphead where reviewers just suck so hard at the game it makes everyone involved look bad.

If anything, people were complaining about the souls games being too easy (or about the possibility of them being made easier one day in the future) so I don't think you can go too far down that hole.

It'd just make the fans love it more.


I do enjoy the notion of activision being like "you guys are not gamer enough to review this fairly" though, not gonna lie.

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

*Sigh* Gonna have to break this one out again

Look guys, ?the Cuphead review? was a tired guy on day three of a convention failing miserably playing on the floor show.

It wasn?t a review. It didn?t get slammed by critics. The games media loved it.

Just. Stop.

 

[Erttheking]

*Sigh* Gonna have to break this one out again

Look guys, ?the Cuphead review? was a tired guy on day three of a convention failing miserably playing on the floor show.

It wasn?t a review. It didn?t get slammed by critics. The games media loved it.

Just. Stop.

I?m really glad I decided against going into games journalism. Everyone and their mother would have a hate boner against me for vaguely defined reasons.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

ugh. It wasn't acceptable when Bethesda did it, it isn't acceptable now Activision is doing it. They're just taking advantage of an unquestioning "passionate" fanbase for the developer and a genre that is fairly under-served, meaning fans are willing to overlook more shit that another developer wouldn't get away with. no different from certain fighting game publishers pushing the worse of AAA business practices onto their games while claiming those favourite fighting games will die if they don't, or Capcom shoveling mini-buys into dmcv because they know the fans are desperate enough for the new game to handwave these things. it's pushing what they can because they know they can all in the name of tricking further pre-order profits

I do enjoy the notion of activision being like "you guys are not gamer enough to review this fairly" though, not gonna lie.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

According to this thread [https://www.cheapassgamer.com/topic/369590-sekiro-collectors-edition-back-up-for-pre-order-at-gamestop/page-4] and this site [https://www.spieltimes.com/news/sekiro-shadows-die-twice-reviews-will-start-going-up-on-thursday/] the reviews will be up Thursday morning starting 6am PST. Educated guess would be this was mostly to prevent leaks and misconstrued information based on ?professional opinions?.