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 15 games where press consensus and players sharply disagreed, this reviewer sided with players 7 times.
Computed 6m 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.
- -48No Man's Skyoutlet 40 · players 88 · Sep 2025
- +49Starfieldoutlet 100 · players 51 · Sep 2023
- +32Cyberpunk 2077outlet 100 · players 68 · Jan 2021
- -40Green Helloutlet 40 · players 80 · Jan 2022
- +25OUTRIDERSoutlet 80 · players 55 · Apr 2021
- -11Dying Lightoutlet 78 · players 90 · Oct 2018
- -40Granblue Fantasy: Relinkoutlet 40 · players 81 · Jan 2024
- +28REMNANT II®outlet 100 · players 72 · Jan 2024
- -24BALL x PIToutlet 65 · players 89 · Jan 2026
- +31DEATHLOOPoutlet 100 · players 69 · Jan 2023
Recent reviews (121 tracked)
- 60Voidling BoundJun 9, 2026 · Joseph Pugh
“Voidling Bound certainly has the charm of old school platforming games and entices you with the idea of collecting a ton of Voidling variants to splice the ultimate creature. But it ultimately squanders its potential with shallow gameplay and a severely unbalanced game system.”
read full review ↗ - 75MarathonMar 28, 2026 · Joseph Pugh
“Marathon has a solid foundation that cracks in places due to its identity crisis. Its tense extraction gameplay and high-octane moments are often punctuated by streaks of pure frustration thanks to its low TTK. That same TTK can also dampen its otherwise excellent build crafting, because what’s the point when a gunfight is over in the blink of an eye either way? On the other hand, Bungies signature high quality shooter pedigree is a fantastic fit for the extraction genre. Moving around the excellently crafted and colorful compounds of an abandoned Tau Ceti colony feels fantastic. The gunfights, when they last long enough to enjoy them are incredibly exhilarating.”
read full review ↗ - 95MewgenicsMar 6, 2026 · Joseph Pugh
“I think Mewgenics is ultimately the magnum opus of what I value in video games. It’s a near infinite sandbox of skillful strategy and tactics, blended with an immense amount of gameplay that is highly replayable. Mewgenics is a game that makes me engage and think every time I sit down with it. Mewgenics is the very highlight of what the rogue-lite genre can be while surpassing the games that got me into the tactics genre in the first place, such as Final Fantasy Tactics, and it does so by nearly every metric. It’s mind blowing to realize that I only paid $30 for it. Less than half the price of a AAA game that wouldn’t last me a fraction of the time.”
read full review ↗ - 65BALL x PITJan 30, 2026 · Joseph Pugh
“Ball X Pit is certainly a unique game and for a time I found it interesting, but if I’m being honest the urge I had to play it felt eerily similar to the urge I’ve had to play crappy mobile games. There is an incremental progression that can be addicting. But after the first few hours I can’t say that I was actually having fun with the game, because it felt like an idle game.”
read full review ↗ - 75Monster Train 2Jan 23, 2026 · Joseph Pugh
“Monster Train 2 is a deck building game that is packed full of content, at least in part by including half of the content from the first game. Beyond that, it’s a better polished and more refined version of Monster Train. While it still features a few of the first games flaws, it’s pretty much an ideal sequel for this genre of game.”
read full review ↗ - 95ARC RaidersNov 14, 2025 · Joseph Pugh
“For now, however, as long as Arc Raiders remains true to its initial vision. It’s one of the best multiplayer games ever released, with some of the greatest emergent gameplay I’ve ever seen. Arc Raiders is definitely my game of the year.”
read full review ↗ - 100LEGO® Party!Oct 24, 2025 · Joseph Pugh
“LEGO Party is a safe mimicry of the genre popularized by Mario Party, but that’s the exact type of game that non-Nintendo platforms have never seen and desperately needed. While it can’t match the charm of the inspiration it brazenly wears on sleeves, it’s still a respectable party game that actually manages to pin down most of the things that make Mario Party a hit in the first place, all while charging less to boot!”
read full review ↗ - 100Hades IIOct 17, 2025 · Joseph Pugh
“Ultimately, despite its repetitive nature, Hades 2 is simply more Hades, and that’s not a bad thing. The story is compelling, the characters, dialogue, and line delivery are fantastic, the combat is more thoughtful than the first game, and there’s twice as much level and boss variety compared to Hades 1. It’s an excellent sequel, even if being more of the same didn’t always strike the right chords for me.”
read full review ↗ - 40No Man's SkySep 19, 2025 · Joseph Pugh
“The failed balancing act, the broken multiplayer, and the lack of friction, especially the lack of friction, all pull No Man’s Sky down from the throne where it should be, from where it realistically could be, given Hello Games’ track record of updates. No Man’s Sky is a game I love to play, yet often find myself asking myself, ” Why am I doing this?” as I stare blankly mining a rock while in no danger for a new upgrade I won’t need. It’s like being in a perpetual mobile game dopamine treadmill, but without the horrid monetization aspects. Yet, the beauty of space can’t be denied, and I always want to fly to just one more planet. Just one, more, planet.”
read full review ↗ - 40WildgateAug 7, 2025 · Joseph Pugh
“I doubt many who bought Wild Gate were looking to play Call of Duty Lite. They likely expected epic space ship battles and cool clutch gameplay moments, and while that framework definitely exists, it’s currently unbalanced to a severe degree. I want to keep playing Wild Gate, but the more I play, the less I like it, and Moonshot Games will have to implement some drastic changes to keep me flying into the Reach.”
read full review ↗ - 100Dead by DaylightJul 17, 2025 · Joseph Pugh
“The end result is that Dead by Daylight is an incredibly graceful and strategic game of cat and mouse that is largely best played with randoms. The scoring system has degrees of success and failure and greatly incentivizes killers to play their roles and survivors to work together. I can see why it’s still going strong after 9 years. It certainly has a few live service hang-ups, but Dead by Daylight is definitely a game worth playing anyway and one of the best asymmetrical multiplayer experiences I’ve ever had.”
read full review ↗ - PanDEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACHJul 10, 2025 · Joseph Pugh
“Death Stranding 2 keeps the spirit of the original by continuing to be a game about deliveries. However, it threw away its soul by removing any and all friction involved in those deliveries. Instead of overcoming obstacles, the most direct path rarely has any, and the entire game is designed to allow you to ignore its core gameplay loop without engaging with what the game actually is. I can’t overstate just how disappointed I am with this sequel.”
read full review ↗ - 100ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGNJun 23, 2025 · Joseph Pugh
“Nightreign isn’t even a full-priced game, and I’ve already put over 100 fun-filled hours into it, with more to come. The way Nightreign blends the replayability of a rogue-lite game with the skillful nature you come to expect of a FromSoft game is nothing short of amazing.”
read full review ↗ - 40RoadCraftJun 5, 2025 · Joseph Pugh
“RoadCraft has updates ahead of it, including some kind of “hard” mode. I look forward to seeing it evolve because there are aspects I enjoy, and heck, if I ever went back to SnowRunner, I’d miss the ability to manipulate the terrain greatly. But as it stands, RoadCraft doesn’t feel right. At best, it feels more like a toy and less like a game. At worst, it just feels like busy work.”
read full review ↗ - 100StarVadersMay 1, 2025 · Joseph Pugh
“One of my favorite moments was the first time I played the Stinger after unlocking it. I thought after playing several runs with the Gunner that I had the game pegged. Playing the Stinger forced me to completely relearn how to play the game as if I had just booted it up for the first time. Much later, after I finally unlocked the Keeper, it happened again. There are not many games that have ever managed to give me that fresh game feeling twice, and StarVaders did it 3 times. That’s pretty incredible.”
read full review ↗