The Only Fair Reviewer

Asmongold sits in front of his stream, visibly frustrated, and lays out the central problem with video game reviews today: "Everybody is rating this in these extremes. I am the only person that's fair." He's talking about Assassin's Creed Shadows, but the argument extends to every game that gets caught in the culture war crossfire. Review bombing from people who haven't played the game, and inflated scores from fans who won't acknowledge flaws — both are dishonest, and he's the one person willing to call it out.

The rating system and its logic

Asmongold's framework is straightforward: a game like Assassin's Creed Shadows is a six or a seven. Not a one, not a ten. "Those opinions are invalid," he says, "because I decided that. And I'm right. And I'm not being — the thing is, this is me being humble."

He distinguishes between two kinds of bad reviews. First, the ones from people who "play it for point one hours on Steam, and then they immediately refund it and say it's bad." He acknowledges they have the right to review, but adds: "Don't expect me to take that seriously." Second, the people who rate a game a five when it's clearly better than that — "If you think Assassin's Creed Shadows is a five — no. You're a fucking moron."