TieGuyTravis

YouTube video by IGN Wildgate Review

Now available for those who detest reading:

youtu.be/NfPlZhBgJ1c?...

Anytime!

Makes sense. You know me so well, after all.

Wildgate Review - IGN This cooperative shooter makes for a wild ride, but currently feels like a proof of concept for something really great.

Yet another review from me! This time it’s Wildgate (@playwildgate.com), which really impresses with its unique 20-player matches, but could use a fair bit more content/variety at this stage. My review, via @ign.com:

Wildgate Review
ign.com/articles/wil...

Grounded Review: There’s a lot of room for Grounded 2 to grow in early access, including enemy variety, a better base-building system, and especially technical performance. But as incomplete as it is, Obsidian already very clearly has something special on its hands. Score: 8

Grounded 2’s early access debut is a stellar starting point, despite a rocky technical performance.

Our Early Access review: https://bit.ly/40JDqRA

It seems I'm not able to stream today due to *deadlines* but I have a peace offering:

A Grounded 2 Early Access review!
(Also available in audio form on all podcast platforms for Snap Aim)

Watch here:
youtu.be/4RF8PNutij4

Or, y’know, I just don’t mind engaging in a lengthy discussion.

Some people abandon platforms when they sour, others try to stay thinking they can fix them.

I’m currently on both, so I don’t know what that makes me. A masochist?

What my friend calls his relationship to his fiancée of 7 years.

Yeah, he says he’s too old to start on a new social media app, which sounds about right. But we have tried.

Maybe he just likes those 100 DMs per day from sexy robots?

I enjoy when my work is criticized — just ask my editors! Can I not also enjoy countering said criticism?

I don’t think I’ve said anything adversarial or mean here. You’re allowed your opinions and so am I.

If the expectation is that criticism of my work should just go unanswered then I disagree.

You could call it stalking, if that’s how you care to. I’m just out here peacefully engaging in dialogue with readers (and critics) of my review. People seem to think you’re being hostile or toxic by engaging — I certainly don’t see it that way.

I agree with that distinction! Which is why I’m not taking this personally and defending myself; I’m defending this specific review of mine and the review methodology IGN uses.

You can hate my review without hating me — that distinction is certainly not lost on me. Again, good fun!

Ah, I think I see our problem then. I never called anyone immature. I called certain immature behaviors immature.

I see a pretty huge distinction between saying something like “what you said was dumb” and “you are dumb.” Everyone says dumb stuff. You can call that out without labeling a person.

I felt some of the comments made (by you and your commenters) were inaccurate and warranted a response. My goal was to clarify my position on a game and reviews in general.

I didn’t feel any part of that thread was adversarial. Passionate disagreement is not hostility — meant in good fun!

Of course not. But there’s a difference between voicing an opinion and trying to discredit someone else’s.

Please criticize my reviews. But if you imply I don’t know cozy games, haven’t finished the game, and am misleading people then I’m going to respond. Is that not fair?

YouTube video by IGN Grounded 2 Early Access Review

For the YouTube crew:

youtu.be/9oX3WjNhEWk?...

Grounded 2 Early Access Review - IGN Grounded 2’s early access debut is a stellar starting point, despite a rocky technical performance.

Ohhh, man! Guys, it felt real good to be back among the ants and spiders in Grounded 2. It’s only the first act, and it runs as badly as all get out, but it’s still a very, very good time in early access. My review, via @ign.com:

Grounded 2 Early Access Review
ign.com/articles/gro...

Makes sense.

I felt my response appropriate, because I saw someone who disagreed with a subjective opinion and called it “misleading,” instead of just disagreeing — especially without having played it themself. But you know how soapboxy I can get on the topic of reviews and respectful disagreement.

I don’t know that replying to someone’s post should be considered “going for” someone. Not every social media interaction is an attack — I certainly don’t take criticism of my work as hostility.

Dialogue *can* be healthy, even when disagreeing, though it’s admittedly rare online.

But anyone who knows me even a little, knows that I’m an extremely unemotional and naturally thick-skinned person who actually enjoys the disagreement and debate.

I know that doesn’t always come across to strangers on the Internet.

I certainly understand why someone might think that. It’s honestly pretty tough to engage with people online and talk through disagreements without giving the impression that you’re taking it personally, especially for someone like me who isn’t great at communicating with people to begin with.

Sure. And if you give out harsh replies, I think you should be ready for the critic to respond in kind, especially if said replies contain false assumptions and bad information.

I never take this stuff personally. Engaging with readers is part of the fun, especially when they disagree.

Breaking embargo like a champ. 💪

No problem! Thanks for engaging in a positive way!

I’ll let @danstapleton.bsky.social or @tomrmarks.bsky.social speak to specific edge cases. I know Dan didn’t beat Prey 2 because he encountered a bug that made completion impossible.

As a rule though, IGN requires reaching credits. I have beaten every game I’ve put my name to.

I love the LEGO games, but they’ve got loads of personality and goofy sound effects to fill the silence. This doesn’t have that. Even Animal Crossing has characters making gibberish noises so you can hear some of their personality come out!

Yeah, happy to clarify. This game just has a problem with sound design in general — it’s extremely…barren. Music and sound effects are sparse and unremarkable, so when you don’t even have characters making any kind of noise it just adds to how flimsy the game feels.

Reviews are intended for your gaming peers to tell you what they thought about the quality of the game and make a recommendation.

I wrote a whole paragraph about why I found the furniture selection to be underwhelming, by the way.