Or rather, game journalists reviewing things are dying and becoming less profitable.
Why? Because there's far more reputable sources to get proper, honest feedback! It's their own damn fault really for chipping away at their integrity over time.
If I really wanted to know more about a game and if I'll enjoy it, there's both better written content (from the game's Steam reviews, to their Reddit communities and wikis) video content from personalities that share similar gaming preferences to the viewer, and for a more raw experience, I'd just watch a stream about the game and see how it's like from that perspective.
Back in the day, traditional game reviews on a website were great because almost all of the above didn’t exist or weren’t mainstream yet. All we had was a game reviewer having pre-release access to help inform their audiences if the game was worth buying or not, and to tell how it feels like.
But over time, the game industry pretty much steered towards the slow death of this medium. It wasn’t a direct thing, but stuff like review embargoes, catering to the almighty algorithm of Google’s search and YouTube, and then things like politicizing and woke culture and agenda-pushing bullshit in written media all contributed to this decline of reviews mattering less and less. Furthermore, all those stuff I mentioned — democratizing game reviews to the masses and directly contributing to its key performance (thanks Valve), dedicated fans being represented by both numbers and their passion based on the size and activity and contributions to their individual Reddits and Discords while also being discussed on more general, more critical subreddits meant I could get more honest feedback than any written review would.
Streamers and Let’s Play video content isn’t exactly new either, but I think seeing how so much people can cover pretty much any game as they stream on Twitch or YouTube has also grown largely. We can literally see a newbie playing from the beginning to early-game and their experiences and enjoyment speaks a valuable perspective that traditional reviews couldn’t capture. And unlike reviews of old, they’re also generally more entertaining, and are filled with remarks from chat or video comments that add further to how the game is like.
When I see a game, I simply Google about the game and learn about it — it’s no different from before, but I also make sure to:
check the game’s Steam page (and if they’re lacking one)
to see their current review score, its popularity, the first couple of pages of reviews, both negative and positive remarks, and of course, the trailer and screenshots and descriptions that they’re mandated to provide.
If there is no Steam page, the game does not exist at all. (Yes, looking at you, Epic exclusives.)
check the game’s subreddit
to see people’s raw feedback, and how the people are like when it comes to playing this game.
Usually they have their top posts for humor or most informative content for beginners, those are worth looking at too.
check gaming subreddits
since the former is biased towards the game, I’ll look for similar things in general gaming subreddits since they’ll at least be more critical about the game.
There’s likely a megathread or so discussing the game and its worth, its positives and frustrations and so on, those are also very valuable.
check Twitter and imageboards and see what people have to say about the game
same stuff, but more of a wild west with these mediums. Sometimes, direct feedback here is worth much more than any of the above, but also a garbage fire. You need to know where to look and which feedback matters.
check Twitch and YouTube and see who’s currently playing the game
sometimes, all it takes to sell me on a game is a blind playthrough by a streamer I respect or a vtuber that I know who shares similar gaming preferences with my own.
As I mentioned before, chat and comments are invaluable for their remarks and feedback because they generally echo what the streamer is like, while also knowing more or the same when it comes to the game.