The Fondest of Farewells

Kevin, thank you so much for the work you've done here. You're a great writer. Don't be scared of the next step. I'm so convinced you'll be great, whatever it is you work on may be the first MMO I pick up. If you do have to leave, I, for one, I am grateful that you're staying in games. We need people like you.

Selfishly, I'm stunned and saddened by this. But also excited and thrilled for you. Good luck, keep in touch, never lose your passion for the greatest art form of our age.

Damn Kevin, really sad to see you go but I wish you nothing but the best. You are/were one of the best reviewers in the industry, definitely my favorite, my go-to.

Gamespot will not be the same without you.

Good luck.

We at Controller Issues want to thank you Kevin for all that you have done for the gaming community. And though, at times we may not ave completely agreed with what you have written, we admired you for your honesty and for sticking to your guns. After all, we are all gamers, we al love to play.

It's not about the review, but the experience. Yours have differed from others, but we cannot deny the fact that you are doing what you love and you are sharing that experience. We respect you sir, and we wish you all the luck in the future & can't wait to see and hear from you again. #LoveYourWork

Holy crap, are any reviewers left in gamespot? What next, will Eddie start writing clickbait reviews?

Its really sad to see you go Kevin. You will be missed.

Kevin,

I've long enjoyed your writing and reviews. Over the years, I would say you've become my favorite writer on the site.

I hope your new venture leads to some great original content for the community to enjoy! Best of luck to you!

Congrats and good luck with the new gig Kevin. Was a pleasure to have the opportunity to have worked along side you.

Every article/review you wrote I thoroughly enjoyed, your opinions tend resonate with me and even when they don't I have such respect for your work that I like it anyway... Sad to not see you work on Gamespot anymore but I will definitely keep an eye out for anything you write in future

All the best!

:( you will be missed :((((((( Good luck mate .

Good luck with your future plans!

I appreciated your reviews.

I've always enjoyed your writing, Kevin. All the best to you for the future!

Sad to see you go. I've always admired your work and commitment to reviewing games as objectively as possible. Good luck in your future endeavors, and thank you for everything!

we love you Kevin and you have been one of the high points of this site throughout the years and we wish you luck in your future.

Gamespot has changed a lot over time. Is there really that much left for the mods to do?

Trion Worlds is lucky to have you.

I'm going to echo the rest by saying congrats and good luck.

Good luck in you're future endeavours !

Gamespot will suck without you, I remember the first time I saw a review of you it was AC2, enjoyed alot it then after some time you became my favourite reviewer even if I don't always share your opinion, I respect you. Good luck! :)

Good luck Kev and congratulations!

No, say it ain't so! We'll miss you Kevin.

Enjoyed many of the reviews over the years, best of luck making new stories

Kevin, your words have been a cornerstone of the foundation that GameSpot was built on. For as long as you have been writing for GS, I have been one of your eager readers. Trion is getting a wordsmith of the highest order and I have no doubt that you will do wonderful things there.

From one writer to another, "May your words ever flow like a river, and cascade like a waterfall, nourishing the lush greenery that are our stories. Create those worlds that yearn to be built, those tales still untold. Every word we write contains a small piece of ourselves and the more we write, the more we share, not only of our words and emotions, but also of ourselves.. What of you will you share with us on this new adventure?"

NOOOOOOOOO :(

You have my best wish, Kevin. I'll forever thank you for giving Demon's Souls GOTY of 2009. And I look forward to experience your new adventure!

Sad to see you go. You were essentially the heart of Gamespot and one of the few (if only) reviewers worth watching over the past five years or so. With the changes to the site over the last few years, I'm not sure I'll bother with it any longer once you're gone. It's gone from a respectable (for a mainstream) review site to something closer to a blogspot with irrelevant "news" snippets every few hours. Sometimes multiple articles or updates on the same game in the same day.

Good luck.

didn't always agree with your conclusions but i always enjoyed the flow and pacing of your reviews. a big loss for gamespot

Dang it Kevin, why do you have to leave, your the best reviewer this site has, your track record is amazing. Good luck on your new gig, you will be dearly missed. Congrats mate, cant wait to see your new work. I think youll make a great writer for games with your experience in the this industry, would be awesome to play a game written by you.

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own, but never alone. . And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”

― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Good bye kevin van ord. I hope you do well in you new job. I'll miss your reviews because you seemed like you genuinley enjoy games...

and now every1 from the "old" Gamespot is gone :c, good luck.

best of luck and good fortune to you on your new journey. Your voice on this site will be sorely missed. :)

Well, godspeed with whatever you will write up Kevin V. It's only fitting you send it off with the very first game you reviewed, with a live stream of that Crime Life thing by D12.

I haven't been here in awhile. That being said, I'm saddened to see this post and to see you go. After Greg left Gamespot years ago, there was only a few other reviewers that I could read and understand well enough to see what games were beneficial or a detriment to my gaming and you were one of them. To see you go is depressing, to say the least. With that also said, congrats on the new role and I wish you luck on your future endeavors. You, of all people, deserve to have great success in your new venture and I'm looking forward to seeing what your writing skills are capable of in another way in gaming.

Sad to see you go Kevin. Always enjoyed your writing on Gamespot, and even when I disagreed with your reviews I still found them to be well argued and honest.

I hope you find fulfillment in your new role, any time you get the opportunity to get paid for being creative you should grab it with both hands. Good luck and best wishes :)

As my favourite reviewer here on Gamespot, it's truly sad to read your farewell.

However you must move on and I respect that. Best of luck with your writing at Trion Worlds.

Doumo arigatou gozaimasu.

It's a sad day for Gamespot and those who frequent their shadowy review corners.

I always liked what you had to say, even if I didn't quite agree with it.

Cheers, prost, and all hail the Next Big Step in Life. I've taken a few such Steps, and I salute all who do the same.

Even though I don't always agree with you, I deeply admire your honesty, and you have been the reason why a come back here to Gamespot. I grew up with your reviews, thank you very much for helping me develop my own criteria. You will be missed!

Even though I don't always agree with you, I deeply admire your honesty, and you have been the reason why I come back here to Gamespot. I grew up with your reviews, thank you very much for helping me develop my own criteria. You will be missed!

Good luck in your future endeavors.

Man, been following your reviews over 8 years I think, well goodbye Kevin and good luck on your future career, hope it works out for you. Must be exiting finally working in the industry after being a follower for so long. Hope whoever takes your stead is up to the task.

Good reviews!

I've been following your reviews for nearly a decade. Good luck at your new job.

PS: You should review one more game just so Godzilla isn't the last game you reviewed here

Godspeed Mr. V and good luck with your future endeavors. Your work here stood out, much like Greg K's.

It feels like your reviews on Gamespot were akin the last strong support beam holding up an old home in its final days.

That's an awesome opportunity Kevin! I've been following gamespot and later giantbomb for a long time and you are definitely one of my favorite reviewer/writer. With gamespot now tilting towards video production i think a writer position at a MMO studio would suit you so much better. I played Rift for a bit and i think the writing was average at best, time for you to go there and make a difference!

Good luck, Kevin. For years now, you were the number 1 reason to visit GameSpot after the slew of departures. Passionate, well-spoken, smart and cuddly. I always had the secret hope that you would eventually join Giant Bomb, but I hope you'll have a great time with your new job.

@Flatline304: +1

Damn, that sucks! You and many of the others that have departed Gamespot were the reason I became a regular reader/viewer here back in 2009. Good luck in the Games industry!

Good for you Kevin, I hope everything goes well.

I've enjoyed your work and I hope you don't dissapear into the background completely.

Of all the reviewers in the vast array of gaming sites, your eloquence, knowledge, and creative style always pulled me to read your work first, and the rest simply couldn't live up to your par. I will miss your sage articles and reviews, but wish you hope in your next endeavor.

Thank you for everything Kevin... It's going to be weird not seeing your reviews anymore :( . I loved your reviews, and most of the time waited for you to review most of the big games before i bought them. I have been following Gamespot for years, and it really saddens that you're leaving, but i understand that this is your decision, and i hope the best for you! thank you so much for everything, i hope you have the best of luck!

Well.....crap.

Hi Kevin, forgive my abruptness, but how much influence did the trolls of the internet have on this decision? Many of your new reviews got their share of abuse and you seemed to react a little more harshly towards it recently than ever before. Certainly on twitter you seemed downtrodden at times.

I understand you might not wish to admit what role they played, but they have no victory here when the industry loses perhaps the best reviewer in the business. I was talking to my friend recently about your role and we both agreed you might not remain on Gamespot for much longer because of these external pressures.

I'm not surprised, but still saddened by this occurence. I wish you good luck and want to thank you for being passionate about the reviews you craft. You have entertained, informed and analyzed games with an ability that few in this world possess. When you look back at your time on Gamespot I do hope you remember that you excelled and have the respect of many.

"Vai, amico, libero da fardelli e paura"

my favorite reviewer will be gone... whats happening this year everybodys leaving.. :(