Reading some of the Nier Replicant reviews gives a good glimpse of the state of mainstream sites.

Most authors haven't played the original yet are talking out of their ass about its flaws. They are just regurgitating things they've heard from others w/o doing any research.

Another thing that becomes obvious is that these people have only a surface level knowledge of video games in general. The idea of playing anything slightly more obscure than Call of Duty probably hasn't crossed their minds.

And the excuse "they're writers not video game players" is not valid in 2021. There are plenty of video game nerds around that are great writers. Hire them not these Cosmopolitan writers.

"Who cares for video game reviews sites anyway?"
I don't. Unfortunately a lot of publishers still do and it's depressing to think these people who couldn't give less of a shit about games are the ones with most "user feedback" influence in the industry.

For clarification - this thread isn't about Nier or its reviews specifically. It's about the current state of things in general.

Nier is doing well and I'm glad more people get to experience the original story now that it's no longer stuck on abandoned console hardware.