I’m not against the idea of user reviews. When they’re used for their intended purpose, they can be beneficial, helping highlight specific issues in games that might not be made clear in more general critical reviews, or brining a spotlight to games that haven’t attracted much media coverage. They’re good for gauging general user sentiment, which is useful in these “live service” days where games often change after they’ve been released. In an ideal world, they’re a useful consumer tool.

Who's left to trust? The gaming media is so obviously bought, YouTubers are caught up in Payola scandals and now it looks like you can buy User reviews too.

Rock Band 4 is a good game. It sticks to what the series has always done best – make playing on fake instruments a whole lot of fun. It’s been critically lauded, but many gamers seem to want to form their pre-purchase opinions from those of other users – which is where user reviews, available on store fronts like Steam, …