Thursday, May 8, 2014

Tearaway, and the Praise for Bad Game Design

When I write about games, I like to do so with my own personal evaluation. While I've read reviews prior to games that I later talked about myself, I always keep it in mind to keep my own thoughts and feelings separate from those I've read. The journalists that I admire are the ones who write without objectivism; and their neglect to be persuaded by other journalists is something I admire.
That said, and what is the reason for this blog, is that I can't help but compare my thoughts about Tearaway to that of other journalists. Or rather, I have no idea how my thoughts towards Tearaway are so seemingly alone. The summary, before I expand below, is that I have absolutely no idea how Tearaway earned such high marks because the game that I played sported one of the most frustrating and unrewarding game designs around, one that I've spotted in some other relatively recent titles also (Thomas Was Alone, and Rain), and that, if it was me writing a review, I'd have given this game something alike 'Below Average.'
And so what is this flaw? It is the flaw of utterly meaningless game-content.