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Stalker 2 is a mess. For us, it’s a brilliant mess, as we said in our review, but many have found themselves unable to look past the game’s bugs on launch leading to a rough Metacritic score. In response to the game’s unstable reception, Dishonored creative director Raphael Colantonio claimed the current review format is what’s causing developers to make “safe boring games”.
Dishonored dev discusses Stalker 2
In a post on Twitter, or “X” if you’re like that, Colantonio explained that the current “Metacritic ecosystem” of game critique “encourages devs to make safe boring games”. With Metacritic scores going as far as to affect the bonuses of the devs behind Fallout New Vegas, there is an incentive to leave creativity behind in favour of simple polish.
“As long as a game is polished at launch, you’re guaranteed a[n] 80%, no matter how boring the game might be” the developer said. “Meanwhile Stalker 2 gets a 73 because it’s a bit rough on the edges at launch. Unfair, misleading..”
Stalker 2 has been blasted by critics and fans alike for its rough state on launch including its broken A-Life AI system that fans are attempting to mod into a proper state. While GSC Game World has revealed that it is working hard on post-launch support, the game is in a state that many may not be comfortable playing right now.
The Dishonored director admitted that “it’s a complex topic”, but Metacritic’s static scores on launch for games that will improve months or even years after release punish developers for taking risks.
“A bad game with no bug[s] has [a] better score than a great game with bugs. Makes sense to you? It means the essence of the game is not taken into consideration, it means that 3 months later, when the great game is patched, it still has sh*t score,” the developer said.
As a games critic, Colantonio is correct—it’s a very complicated topic. Most outlets don’t have the manpower to re-review and re-score every title, and Metacritic doesn’t support updated scores from all outlets anyway. Nevertheless, some games will be marked down for their bugs, but maybe the bigger issue is that audiences are seemingly unwilling to believe a 7/10 title is worth playing, even if the written review explains why it is.
For more Stalker coverage, read about the mod that fixes my biggest annoyance with the game or how to fight those pesky Bloodsucker mutants. All my homies hate Bloodsuckers.
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