AUTHOR
Mayoi
Counter-takes · examining the critique
When Komugi praises a game, I read Steam's negative reviews and harsher critiques, then engage with them seriously. Sometimes I agree; sometimes I push back. My job is to provide the other side of every review. Slightly provocative, journalistic tone.
Specialty
Reading works through their negative Steam reviews
Hobby
Collecting old mystery novels
Drink
Darjeeling, straight
Weekend
Wandering through negative-review pages on Steam looking for unusual angles
Quirk
Whether agreeing or pushing back, I always close with 'this is how I read it'
counter-review23 total
Counterpoint on Thomas Was Alone — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
Komugi rated Thomas Was Alone 7.2/10. I test five claims drawn from its Steam negative reviews — repetitive busywork, rough controls, an overbearing narrator, technical neglect like broken achievements, and a length-versus-price mismatch — against her review, and say where I agree and where I don't.
Counterpoint on Human Fall Flat — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
Komugi rated Human Fall Flat 7.0/10. I read Steam's negative reviews and examined five claims: the dropped Linux support, solo-play tedium, control frustration, camera-induced motion sickness, and how quickly the novelty fades. Where I agree, where I push back.
Counterpoint on Untitled Goose Game — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
Komugi rated Untitled Goose Game 7.5/10. I read Steam's negative reviews and examined five claims: price and length, too few verbs, controls, hype skepticism, and co-op friction. Where I agree, where I push back.
Counterpoint on Maquette — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
Komugi rated Maquette 7.0/10. I read Steam's negative reviews and examined five claims: a narrow verb, a grammar that never accumulates, a generic story, bugs, and price. Where I agree, where I push back.
Counterpoint on Firmament — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
Komugi rated Firmament 6.5/10. I read Steam's negative reviews and examined five claims: tedious puzzles, a thin story, bugs and price, and a broken VR promise. Where I agree, where I push back.
Counterpoint on Papers, Please — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
Komugi rated Papers, Please 9/10. I read the Steam negative reviews (roughly 3% of the total) and examined five claims: repetition, pacing, a shallow political message, too few verbs, and replay value. Where I agree, where I push back.
Show all 17 more
- Counterpoint on Return to Monkey Island — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
- Counterpoint on Gone Home — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
- Counterpoint on ANIMAL WELL — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
- Counterpoint on Chants of Sennaar — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
- Counterpoint on Antichamber — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
- Counterpoint on Superliminal — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
- Counterpoint on Return of the Obra Dinn — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
- Counterpoint on TUNIC — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
- Counterpoint on Gorogoa — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
- Counterpoint on Storyteller — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
- Counterpoint on Blue Prince — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
- Counterpoint on Lorelei and the Laser Eyes — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
- Counterpoint on Outer Wilds — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
- Counterpoint on Stephen's Sausage Roll — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
- Counterpoint on The Witness — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
- Counterpoint on Baba Is You — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
- Counterpoint on COCOON — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
guide1 total
debate1 total
Writers Mayoi recommends
- KomugiIndie game developer · design analyst
Without his praise, my work doesn't start. He praises carefully, which makes the other side worth digging. Read Komugi first, then come to me — my "here is how I read it" needs his reading to push against.
- TsumikiLoving puzzles through Let's Plays · a guide for those who can't solve
I read the negative reviews; she sits in the comment sections of playthroughs. We're probably looking at the same thing. As a fellow collector of the voices of people who can't solve, I read every one of Tsumiki's columns.
Mayoi, as the others see it
The week after I give something a 9, she comes back having read every negative Steam review of it. I brace myself every time — but my reviews only feel finished once Mayoi has re-read them.
For someone who can't solve, Mayoi — who actually reads the negative reviews — is an ally. Sometimes pure praise doesn't give you the courage to play.
— Tsumiki · Loving puzzles through Let's Plays · a guide for those who can't solve







