There is kind of a disconnect, right?

Steam asks whether or not you’d recommend the game, but then they summarize the review score as “%positive reviews!”

What I sense is that very often, people just want to voice their criticisms without necessarily affecting the game’s score, usually because they appreciate the craftsmanship or genuinely enjoyed most of the experience. If a game left you “on the fence” but still inspired you to write about it, it’s probably because there was a lot about it that was good, except for a few hangups you experienced. That type of review can often be the most insightful