Silverspoon's Sunday Discussion Topic #1: Will There Ever Be Another Hidden Gem with Metacritic Able To Review Every Release?

[SilverspoonGaming | 334]

As far as I can tell, Metacritic lists the review average of every release these days, so are the days of finding out that "X" game this generation or last, a console generation or two down the road is discovered by the masses and becomes a cult hit?  My answer would be that those days are behind us due to info being so readily available on the internet, but what are your opinions?

[Reed Rothchild | 9,586]

Yes.  There are more games being pumped out then ever before, so it's easy to get lost in the crowd.  The NES only has 700+ games, and yet 20-30 years later people were still trying to nominate hidden gems (ie that Isolated Warrior thread)

The Switch is gonna end up with a library of thousands of games and there's already a ton of good or great ones that you and I are unfamiliar with. 

[fox | 1,673]

Critical appreciation =\= Wide awareness

The sheer number of releases nowadays most certainly means more good games are going to slip between the cracks.  Nobody can follow and play everything.

[DefaultGen | 5,434]

These are review scores of some of the "hidden gemmiest" Wii games:

Muramasa: 8.9
A Boy and his Blob: 7.6
Deadly Creatures: 8.0
Dokapon Kingdom: 8.0
Klonoa: 8.0
Shiren the Wanderer: 7.6
Kororinpa: 6.5

Unless niche and low-budget games can get considered in the 9s, they're just going to mix in with everything else in this 7-10 world. I haven't played any of these so I can't judge their scores. Purely on reputation, I've heard Muramasa is one of the best Wii games ever, and it didn't get a 9. I've also heard Cyberpunk is one of the most busted games ever and it got a 9 on the same review site. Budget goes a long way.

Edited March 8, 2021 by DefaultGen

[Brickman | 4,014]

There's heaps of hidden gems still being made today and will definitely continue. Not all metacritic scores are accurate either. Think of how many indie games that are on steam that probably are great games but have been overlooked.

[Inzoreno | 102]

Absolutely, there are plenty of games that fly way below the radar, but are still well-worth playing. With how massive the indie scene has become, there is more than enough fodder for 'Hidden Gems' videos for the Switch or PS4.