How this trust score was computed
Trust blends alignment (40%): does the outlet rank games the way players do; decoded accuracy (30%): after translating the outlet's own scale habits (a '7/10 means mediocre' scale is decoded, not punished), how well its reviews predict player sentiment; and player-side (30%): on games where press consensus and players sharply disagreed, whose side it took. Recent reviews weigh more (2-year half-life), and the blend is shrunk toward a neutral prior (60) so small samples can't peg the scale. Player quality is launch-window Steam sentiment, so outlets aren't punished for reviewing a launch build that later got patched.
Controversy record: on 18 games where press consensus and players sharply disagreed, this reviewer sided with players 8 times.
Computed 4m ago · full methodology →
Outlet vs. players
Each dot is a game both this outlet and players scored. The dashed line is perfect agreement: dots above it mean the outlet was more generous than players, below it more harsh.
Biggest disagreements with players
The receipts: games where this outlet's verdict landed furthest from player sentiment.
- +33Starfieldoutlet 100 · players 68 · Sep 2023
- +36Mortal Kombat Xoutlet 100 · players 64 · Apr 2015
- -18Dying Lightoutlet 70 · players 88 · Feb 2015
- +40Sid Meier's Civilization®: Beyond Earth™outlet 90 · players 50 · Oct 2014
- -24Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Numberoutlet 60 · players 84 · Mar 2015
- -27Ryse: Son of Romeoutlet 50 · players 77 · Oct 2014
- -21Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon® Wildlandsoutlet 50 · players 71 · Mar 2017
- -15Total War: WARHAMMER IIoutlet 70 · players 85 · Sep 2017
- -17Firewatchoutlet 60 · players 77 · Feb 2016
- -19Outlast 2outlet 60 · players 79 · May 2017
Recent reviews (181 tracked)
- 100StarfieldSep 6, 2023 · Benjamin Kratsch
“Bethesda has finally landed another hit. Starfield is the space RPG epic we’ve been wanting for so long. It has the incredible expansiveness and variance in design of No Man’s Sky mixed with the dialogue depth and creative quests of Fallout or even Mass Effect. The only thing that might bother some people is the heavy reliance on fast travel and that many planets only make sense when you build bases and production facilities there.”
read full review ↗ - –Resident Evil 3Mar 30, 2020 · Hayden Dingman
“Maybe it will win me over yet. It’s running out of time though.”
read full review ↗ - 90Half-Life: AlyxMar 23, 2020
“Half-Life: Alyx isn't quite as revolutionary as you might hope, particularly if you're already well-versed in virtual reality, but it's undoubtedly one of the best games on the platform and hopefully the start of a resurgence for both the series and the hardware.”
read full review ↗ - 90Half-Life: AlyxMar 23, 2020 · Hayden Dingman
“As someone who’s already sold on VR, I think Alyx is a hell of a good time. I put in four or five hours straight on Saturday (thanks to Dramamine) and few VR games manage to hold my attention that long. But I don’t think it’s the revolutionary new experience that people might expect, particularly people who owned a Vive or a Rift and have been living in this future for a while.”
read full review ↗ - 90DOOM EternalMar 20, 2020
“Doom Eternal kicks ass. It's smarter than it looks, faster than it looks, and somehow even more fun than it looks. A triumph—except for the platforming.”
read full review ↗ - 90DOOM EternalMar 20, 2020 · Hayden Dingman
“Doom Eternal kicks ass. It's smarter than it looks, faster than it looks, and somehow even more fun than it looks. A triumph—except for the platforming.”
read full review ↗ - 80Ori and the Will of the WispsMar 10, 2020 · Hayden Dingman
“the Wisps is more than the sum of its parts. Is it just another Metroid homage, one among many? Absolutely. I think it’s one of the best-playing, sure, but it’s still well-trod territory of late.”
read full review ↗ - 100Kentucky Route Zero: PC EditionFeb 12, 2020
“A magical adventure almost a decade in the making, Kentucky Route Zero is every bit as good as you've heard—and maybe more.”
read full review ↗ - 80STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order™Nov 21, 2019 · Hayden Dingman
“Jedi: Fallen Order borrows liberally from other games, but a strong supporting cast, clever level design, and a cute little droid companion make Respawn's Star Wars story more than the sum of its parts. ”
read full review ↗ - 70Need for Speed™ HeatNov 12, 2019 · Hayden Dingman
“Need for Speed: Heat is probably the best series reboot EA's put out this generation, though it arrives just as the open-world racing formula is running out of gas.”
read full review ↗ - 80Planet ZooNov 5, 2019 · Hayden Dingman
“Planet Coaster was already excellent at release, but an entire game’s worth of content has been built atop it in the ensuing years. ”
read full review ↗ - 80Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare®Oct 28, 2019 · Hayden Dingman
“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare tries to be a serious commentary on present-day conflicts, but is mostly just another Call of Duty game by nature of the series's longstanding blind spots. ”
read full review ↗ - 80John Wick HexOct 8, 2019
“Power through, and John Wick Hex can be incredibly satisfying though. That’s the flip side of the perennial difficulty argument. I’ve rarely felt more relieved than completing a segment of John Wick Hex on my last bullet and Wick’s last legs.”
read full review ↗ - 70Gears 5Sep 11, 2019
“Gears 5 still feels like a series in need of an identity, but a more charismatic lead and experiments with open-world structure hold promise for the future—even if they don't quite pay off now. ”
read full review ↗ - 80Ancestors: The Humankind OdysseyAug 26, 2019 · Hayden Dingman
“Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is an impossibly ambitious game, attempting to summarize the whole of human evolution into the span of a few hours—and succeeding to a surprising degree. ”
read full review ↗