I regret to inform you that the Starfield review discourse has already begun

'Speaking on the XboxEra podcast over the weekend, leaker Nick Baker suggested that "it doesn't matter if Starfield is great - I'm already convinced that no-one wants to give Starfield high review scores." Baker's thesis is that 'low' scores ranging from 7-8.5 out of 10 would be handed down to spin up a news cycle about Xbox's continued difficulties over recent years.'

Source

Either reviewers will go the 'it's terrible, 4 out of 10' route or do a 180 and go the 'the Xbox is saved!! 10 out of 10' route. There will be no average scores. Its all about clicks and traffic.

What do you guys think on this dire situation for Microsoft and its massively hyped upcoming AAA game?

Thankfully smart gamers have already stopped caring about reviews, whose sole goal has become political discourse and hidden agendas like these.

That'd be dumb if true, scoring to drive a narrative. Though also funny that 7 to 8.5 is "low" lol. Gamer scale.

Probably wouldn't matter much. Think most gamers have a good idea what to expect from one of this studios big titles. The good and bad.

One of those games that gets reviewed by everyone anyways. If somethings outside the norm, won't be hard to find out.

Reviews may be a shit show at times, but given all the independent reviewers out there these days, not really buying the hivemind agenda idea.

And here is Xbox era's Redfall review...

They gave an AWESOME rating to a game that was barely functional.

XboxEra: "Gorgeous (when the textures load)"

And that ^ was one of their pros!?

Imagine taking something these guys say about scoring seriously. lol

@above_average: Them I'm confident Starfield will be a 14/10 if Redfall is an 8.5. 😄

I'm with Conan. Everyone knows what to expect. Love it or hate it we know their strengths and weaknesses. Those like me who like Fallout and ES will probably like Starfield too and those who don't, probably won't.

We also know what to expect from hateboys and fanboys. Can't wait for everyone acting surprised that the game is 30FPS.

And yeah, low scores like 8.5. is it a way to justify Redfall's score?

Fake news, fake reviews, fake awards. They can all go Fake off!! :P

Is Starfield an x-box exclusive? Ps5 still gets obsidian games!

Fake lips, fake boobs, fake records

I know a few bars like that. ;o

Full of real a$$holes and fake boobs. lolol :P

The last Obsidian game Sony will ever get is The Outer Worlds 1.

Very much hope it's a huge disaster. The Heavens Gate of games.

A normal reviewing industry would have an array of reviews because not every gamer is going to love or hate a game but the current state of reviews is more aligned to hive mind specifically for triple A games.

Lol you know lems are having a hard time if they are already on damage control duty on a game that comes out 4 months from now 🤣

It's worth noting movie reviewers hate him as well.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/mhttps://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wing_commander/wing_commander

Mean, not worth noting, but do want to highlight it.

Are people trying to jump in front of this already? Jesus Christ. WAY too much is riding on this game for the Xbox camp. Even if it comes short of a 90, it's still gonna be worth playing on Game Pass at least. The Redfall reception has really got the X-fandom shook

After redfall and Phil's response to it, I'd imagine this game is getting all the love it can. It'll probably score well. I haven't liked any Bethesda games so this wouldn't be for me either way.

Critics like the Bethesda open world games. Fallout 3 meta is in the low 90's. Skyrim meta is in the mid-high 90's. Fallout 4 meta is in mid-high 80's. I'm predicting a 91 meta for Starfield.

@above_average: jesus christ that is bad haha.

.... Or they can just review the game for its own merits, without bias, hidden agendas, peer pressure, etc.. You know, like a good reviewer does.

There are more to reviews that scores, people should know... But alas. What a dismal industry.

Yup, the hate aimed at reviewers giving games like Elden Ring, Tears of the Kingdom or Hogwards Legacy a low score because they deviate against the average. Are absolute cringe.

Reviews, that deviate from the norm are the most helpful ones. Since they can actually provide insight others don't.

I do not care for Starfield. Might be odd, considering I've enjoyed TES since Morrowind, but I guess that's what you get for showing me very little yet crappy looking footage.

Then there's also the fact that F4 and 76 sucked.

I almost don't care about Starfield but I am interested in what the game is about. As it stands, I still have no idea what the actual gameplay experience is going to be. I have not been into the Fallout games, so if it is like those then it may be a pass for me. The hype or anticipation for this game feels very similar to Cyberpunk. Very little is shown but folks are hyped for it.🤷🏽‍♂️

My hunch from what little we have been able to glean, is that it will be a mix of Fallout and TES.

Using the action of Fallout, while having the character system and RPG elements of TES. Add some spaceships into the mix, and that seems to be what they are going for.

I just don't want the requirement of oxygen to stay alive AKA No Man's Sky.

Or maybe Bill Gates will activate all the chips he distributed during covid to make all reviewers give it a 10 🤔?

We shall see which conspiracy turns out to be true!

Only thing we can be certain of is that no reviewer will give the game the score they think it deserves!

I got bad news for you, O2 seems to be included in some way.

But it could also just be a resource like stamina or magicka, rather than something essential to keeping you alive.

So, I think the narrative of a bunch of reviewers leaving negative reviews on Starfield because of an anti-Xbox agenda is more than a little ridiculous.

If it's a good game, it will review well. The biggest issue is...when was the last time Bethesda released a good game? I actually liked Fallout 4, but it has a lot of detractors, and it was a 2015 game. Fallout 76 doesn't need to be talked about.

I really hope Starfield is GREAT and the fact that it will be on Game Pass makes it attractive. But it's Bethesda and they are hard to trust. I'm expecting a 7/10 and that will be enough to pull me in.

Meh. Highly doubt there’s going to be some grand conspiracy with reviews of this game one way or the other.

Bill Gates has no role at Microsoft since 2020.

I just assume Starfield will be similar to Skyrim as I have a love for the game as I consider it a guilty pleasure with all the faults in it. I'm getting it'll be Skyrim in space is what I've got out of that last gameplay and mixed it up with No Man's Sky. The comparisons to No Man's Sky is kinda cool as I happened to like that game so...

There's not a doubt in my mind that starfield will be a good game HOWEVER I don't trust Bethesda to release a PLAYABLE game at launch. Which will make the game frustrating to play.

I'm predicting 8's across the board.

Oh Lord, come on haha

Damage control/controlling the narrative from the most fragile fanbase in gaming history brings such joy to my heart. Xbox fannies have a persecution complex like none other.

@Star67: Good thing MS made Todd delay the game almost a year. Todd wanted it out last year November 😂

The skill system looks really similar to Skyrim. Right down to the perks. Instead of a skill exp however, you instead have challenges, related to said skill. You wont turn into a master blacksmith by forging a thousand iron daggers.

If you're expecting a day 1 Bethesda game to score well you're absolutely out of your mind. The game will likely be great over time but it will recieve horrible launch reviews because the game will be broken om at least one of the platforms it's releasing on.

Day 1 people are gonna get smoked again.... But they won't learn. They never do.

A strictly Xbox shill reviewer accusing other reviewers for bias even Starfield ends up as a bad game? Oh, the irony.

It is really damn sad that this dumbass blame other reviewers for bias because Redfall scored bad ( because it is a bad game).

^says the alt

Well, even of it were a fun well made game, it would have to be flawless to get excellent reviews given its exclusion from PlayStation. As a Microsoft Xbox console exclusive, it will be given greater scrutiny on reviews, that's just expected. And Bethesda doesn't have the best track record in that regard, but their games are still fun. So, it's iffy.

I mostly just hope first and foremost the game is something I enjoy. In the larger scheme of things, I think Microsoft should treat this title with the utmost consideration for ambitions to push the Xbox hardware as well as its Game Pass service. This whole Game Pass and UWP ecosystem they want requires quality and timely titles to be released.

Overall Redfall releasing as it did wasn't just some one-off loss, puts the model in doubt. Starfield doesn't just need to be a stellar success, but so does everything else that follows. Or, at least enough where more people see the benefit of using the service. But they also have a console and tout its capabilities, they need games that demonstrate that as well. If not soon with Starfield, when? Anyhow, maybe we'll have a better idea of their road map in coming weeks after the Xbox/Bethesda event.

With mediocre gameplay, 7.0-8.5 review score is probably them being generous.

Paranoia has began. After this game, its normal to be traumatized🤭

@BassMan: Where does one find a good reviewer these days?

https://www.newgamenetwork.com/

These guys give honest reviews without bias or outside influence. They also don't push woke agendas or other bullshit.

@BassMan: A unicorn you say, well I have to see it to believe it. I don't read reviews these days because I can only trust my own opinion.

What is this? Pre-emptive damage control?