The one surprising bit about this is the lack of E33. I know it's not Jason's fault but it irks me that every game news outlet repeatedly highlights the same dozen games or so. I'm following four of them and 80% of coverage and reviews is for the same games over and over again. Only digitalfoundry strays off on occasion, and that's because they aim towards a more technical discussion. There were literally 19000 games released on steam alone last year, and everyone seems to only cover E33, BG3, Blue Prince, Hollow Knight, Elden Ring, Avowed, CoD etc. I have to subscribe to obscure subs or youtube channels just to get coverage of the occasional forgotten indie.
this post was submitted on 22 Dec 2025
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That all makes sense though. By definition, popular games are liked by many people. Popular games are talked about more. People expect popular games to be listed. Many people will doubt these publications if they fail to list several of the most popular games.
I'm sure there is some money changing hands too, but that can only do so much (maybe move a game a little higher on these lists).
Popular and good (for you) are not the same thing. Games can either, both, or neither of those things. It is only when we think about large numbers of people that popular and "good" become correlated.
I agree but these are usually supposed to be the first line when games/news hit the web, and sometimes it appears that the only decent journalist left is Schreier, with everyone else seemingly following him and his direction. Paid coverage definitely accounts for some of the overlap, but like you said it's probably just reviewers aiming for a greater audience.
There's always steam curated lists for the rest, I suppose.
He's kind of a JRPG traditionalist, so I'm not surprised he wasn't big on the game.
Hell yeah Avowed, super underrated game
I'm surprised Avowed made the cut and not TOW2. TOW2 is sci fi Avowed and I loooove it.
I played it when I had 2 months of game pass, and I've had a hankering for it ever since. If I get some Xmas money I think I'll just buy it.
After I beat it, I was sad that it was over. One of the most engaging little games I've played in a long time
It and atomfall were amazing
Obsidian as a studio is super underrated. Both pillars of eternity has amazing worldbuilding and narrative. They aren't unknown or anything, but gotdang they are some of the most creative devs out there!
Are they really underrated? Not throwing any shade, but every time I see them mentioned it's because people are praising the hell out of them. I also agree that there's very few games they've had their hands on that has been less than stellar, so I have a hard time saying they're actually underrated. They've been pretty steadily a mark of excellence.
People see Avowed and wish it was Elder Scrolls, or they see Outer Worlds 2 and wish it was bigger or something. I'm not really sure why these people come away with the criticisms they do, but in my opinion, Obsidian made two of the best games this year, and those games were rated in the low 80s on average on Open Critic.
Yup, you're entirely correct, Obsidian is often and loudly praised, they deserve it. But also...
... they deserve a lil more... always a lil' more!
(I'm just being silly and dum. I have just recently started their games and just wanted to sing their praises myself. Don't mind me, just a lil fan girling out about great world building. 🥹)
Lol fair. Trust me, I know enough about being a fanboy myself for games I felt deserved better ratings. Again, no problem with them at all, I've loved a handful of their games, like Grounded. Haven't played 2 yet, but my previous friend group had some fallout last year so I'll have to see who I'm playing that with.
They're also one of the few studios out there that can manage California salaries, remain a multi-project studio, and not scale up so fast that they're trying to build games they can't afford to make.
Come on, am I the only one that loved Promise Mascot Agency?
I had no idea who this Jason fellow was prior to this, but that list is essentially made up of games i either have either played, are planning to play, or were unsure about giving a shot. Much more confident in bumping the uncertain ones onto my wishlist now, seems we have similar tastes in games.
He's arguably the best investigative journalist (of a very short list) in video games.
Ah. I'll have to look into more of his work then, should be exciting. Thanks!
Who else is on the list?
If you like his taste you should totally listen to his podcast, triple click.
It's basically the only way I find out about new games. And it's honestly super insightful.
Very nice. I do tend to live under a rock at times, so he must have snuck by when I wasn't looking.
Thank you so much for the recommendation! I'll definitely check him out!