Goichi Suda, also known by his pseudonym Suda51, is the creator of games such as No More Heroes and Lollipop Chainsaw. He is considered a bit of an icon in the games industry and recently spoke about his opinion of Metacritic and how it is affecting the industry.
Suda51 and Shinji Mikami discussed Metacritic in a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz. They discussed their experience as video game developers and how Metacritic has affected them. “Everybody pays too much attention to and cares too much about Metacritic scores.” It isn’t surprising that a developer like Suda51 has this opinion, especially when his games are very good at showcasing his sense of humor and personal touch. Despite receiving mixed reviews, he is well known for creating bizarre games that become cult classics.
Compared to other developers in the games industry, Suda51 clearly creates games for himself and what he likes. Most recently, Lollipop Chainsaw was remastered and re-released across platforms. So far, it has received positive reviews and commentary from the audience. “It’s gotten to the point where there’s almost a set formula: if you want to get a high Metacritic score, this is how you make the game. If you’ve got a game that doesn’t fit into that formula, that marketability scope, it loses points on Metacritic.”
In particular, Suda51 blames AAA companies, stating that those companies don’t want to deal with the prospect of a negative online reception because “everyone cares too much about the numbers.” This statement feels especially true, as the Director behind Star Wars Outlaws openly spoke out about his disappointment in the Metacritic score despite it not being an inherently bad score.
He has admitted that he learned the hard way about checking Metacritic scores and said that it made him feel bad when media outlets gave his game studio, Grasshopper Manufacture, a zero.
This sort of criticism isn’t surprising, as Suda51 is a fan of parody characters and satire in his games. For example, Damon Riccitello is the main antagonist of Travis Strikes Again and No More Heroes III and is a very obvious parody of John Riccitello. This character was made as a nod to the frustrations felt while developing games such as Shadows of the Damned and the strain the company felt while Riccitello was CEO of Electronic Arts.
Metacritic isn’t the be-all and end-all of game reviews. Still, many companies are certainly acting like it is, although they are more likely to get beneficial commentary from those who post reviews on Steam or discussion pages and forums dedicated to the game.
