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 10 times.
Computed 26m 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.
- -44DayZoutlet 30 · players 74 · Jun 2019
- -36CODE VEINoutlet 50 · players 86 · Sep 2019
- -48Terminator: Resistanceoutlet 40 · players 88 · Nov 2019
- +29DEATHLOOPoutlet 100 · players 71 · Sep 2021
- +12Warhammer: Vermintide 2outlet 80 · players 68 · Jan 2019
- +8OUTRIDERSoutlet 70 · players 62 · Apr 2021
- +9RAGE 2outlet 70 · players 61 · May 2019
- -35Sucker for Love: First Dateoutlet 60 · players 95 · Jan 2022
- +14Amnesia: Rebirthoutlet 90 · players 76 · Oct 2020
- -19Tormented Soulsoutlet 70 · players 89 · Aug 2021
Recent reviews (79 tracked)
- 70Forgive Me FatherApr 16, 2022 · Neil Bolt
“What Byte Barrels has launched is more than good enough for now. Its pulpy comic book take on cosmic horror and retro shooters is a winning combination. Yes, it’s nowhere near the first game to utilize Lovecraft or a retro aesthetic, but crucially, it does so on its own terms.”
read full review ↗ - 70Nightmare ReaperMar 30, 2022 · Neil Bolt
“Nightmare Reaper is a highly enjoyable mash of retro things with a deliciously barbed edge. It doesn’t always hit the high notes of the old favorites it belts out, but you’ll sing along just the same.”
read full review ↗ - 80Ghostwire: TokyoMar 21, 2022 · Neil Bolt
“I still like to just stand and stare at an abandoned city as the rain drifts down in hazy sheets whilst the pulsing glow of neon and Yanagi’s ethereal soundtrack throb in unison. Moments like that have nothing and everything to do with why I enjoyed Ghostwire: Tokyo.”
read full review ↗ - 100ELDEN RINGMar 16, 2022 · Neil Bolt
“It’s a rare thing for me that a game so completely sweeps me up in it that I still find that same hunger for more than a good 80 hours in. Elden Ring achieves that. I’m already envisioning future playthroughs with different builds. Sure there are small grievances. Co-op with friends could be a bit easier to instigate, a sturdier frame rate wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, and as expected, there are a few bullshit boss fights that end up more like manufactured obstacles than true tests of your skills. These really do end up as small fry issues though. There’s just too much dark wonder and bleak beauty to savor.”
read full review ↗ - 60PowerSlave ExhumedFeb 10, 2022 · Neil Bolt
“While the game itself hasn’t aged particularly well in every sense, the work done by Nightdive to modernize it respectfully is commendable. Visually it’s been cleaned up and had a few rough edges smoothed out without polluting the original design, and there’s no denying that every effort has been made to tighten the controls in much the same way it did with last year’s Quake remaster. Short of messing with the core of what made PowerSlave Exhumed the game it is, there’s probably little else that could make it more appealing.”
read full review ↗ - 60Sucker for Love: First DateJan 20, 2022 · Neil Bolt
“It’s not a particularly lengthy experience, but Sucker For Love probably doesn’t need all that much more to it. As it is, it’s a punchy, fun, and occasionally grim, dating sim that prefers to steer clear of the darker, dirtier lanes of cosmic horror and the raunchier, saucier side of dating sims. Yet mixes up just enough of both to make for an enjoyable treat for horror fans with a sense of humor.”
read full review ↗ - 90InscryptionNov 10, 2021 · Neil Bolt
“There could be an argument it outstays its welcome, and I’d understand that as a criticism, but personally, the ambition and invention put into the ever-expanding nuttiness on display in Inscryption makes this a forgivable sin. Inscryption has breezily waltzed into the game of the year conversation for me thanks to its ever-changing blend of folk horror-infused card-battling, dark humor, and its increasingly strange, yet compelling story.”
read full review ↗ - 80Sunshine ManorNov 1, 2021 · Neil Bolt
“I was already fairly sure I’d enjoy Sunshine Manor before playing it. After all, it had authentic horror ingredients I’m very much into, but I still managed to come away from the finished product surprised. It’s elevated by a sturdy gameplay cycle of fetch and return, gentle subversions of expectations, and an engaging cast of characters.”
read full review ↗ - 70Back 4 BloodOct 13, 2021 · Neil Bolt
“For all the grumbling and faults I might have with Back 4 Blood, it excels where it matters most, and ends up as a solidly entertaining zombie shooter. It could be better, and probably will be in time, but for now, if you fancy a decent new horror-led game to play with your friends, Back 4 Blood is worth a shot.”
read full review ↗ - 80In Sound MindSep 28, 2021 · Neil Bolt
“In Sound Mind manages to be a confident full debut for We Create Stuff that shows its successful time experimenting with the Source engine was of great benefit.”
read full review ↗ - 100DEATHLOOPSep 14, 2021 · Neil Bolt
“As everything started to fall together and the end of the loop was finally in sight, I felt a tinge of sadness that my first experience of Deathloop was almost over. I dragged out that finale as long as I could, uncovering every possible route, secret, tidbit on the Visionaries, Blackreef, as well as the unclear history between Colt and Julianna. As with Dishonored’s Dunwall and Karnaka, or Prey’s Talos-I, Blackreef has life to it. Diseased, hateable life that often deserves to end, but that in itself drives the grim wonder of the place, and exploring its stories never got old. It’s a place I’m absolutely going to revisit from the start again at some point, with all the accrued knowledge that matters almost undoubtedly set to make the next visit to Blackreef feel as fresh as it is warmly familiar.”
read full review ↗ - 70Tormented SoulsAug 24, 2021 · Neil Bolt
“Yes, you could argue that in trying so hard to make a game for the mid-2000s in 2021 leaves the developer with a game that’s fundamentally dated before it began, but that’s the point. All the modern indie horror games that work get that. Compromises will certainly bring you a bigger audience, but games like Tormented Souls, as scraggly and mean-spirited as the games that inspired them, are far more likely to scratch that itch for survival horror’s golden era, rough edges and all.”
read full review ↗ - 50YuoniAug 19, 2021 · Neil Bolt
“Yuoni was on a hiding to nothing from the start, and while I don’t feel the game has much wrong with it, and offers some freshness in its endless dusk, far too much of how it plays has been done to death, and done better. What haunting enchantment it holds is dispelled by the dull monotony of running, hiding, and waiting over and over again just to get a sliver of a story.”
read full review ↗ - 70Mortal ShellAug 17, 2021 · Neil Bolt
“This is a game made by a relative handful of people, and viewing it from that perspective, the whole package is more impressive, and shows plenty of room for growth in any future project. It certainly explains the limitations and faults found in certain areas. It doesn’t excuse them, but that knowledge does soften their impact.”
read full review ↗ - 80Jupiter HellAug 6, 2021 · Neil Bolt
“Jupiter Hell will be a refreshing spin on a classic for some, and the best of a bad situation for those mourning the loss of DOOM: The Roguelike. Some technical grumbles aside, its straightforward, no-nonsense approach to turn-based roguelike shoot n’ loot works well, and provides a compelling game to either dip into for an hour here and there, or lose a few days to.”
read full review ↗