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-review16 total
Counterpoint on Gone Home — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
Komugi gave Gone Home 8/10. I went through Steam's 4,198 negative reviews instead — "barely even a game," "two hours for twenty dollars," "an overhyped soap opera" — and tested five recurring claims against the game's design.
Counterpoint on ANIMAL WELL — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
Against Komugi's 8.7/10 for ANIMAL WELL, I examine five claims drawn from the negative Steam reviews — retry cost, the refusal to guide, the absence of story and music, "it's actually a platformer," and a deepest layer premised on collective intelligence. I agree with two of them and push back on the other three.
Counterpoint on Chants of Sennaar — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
Komugi rated Chants of Sennaar 8.5/10. I read the negative Steam reviews and examined three families of complaints: genre detours, map-less traversal, and a rushed final act at a full price. Where I agree, and where I push back.
Counterpoint on Antichamber — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
Komugi rated Antichamber 8.5/10. I read through the negative reviews and examined five claims: withheld information, trial and error, a reversed difficulty curve, a weaker back half, and the physical toll of all that white. Where I agree, where I push back.
Counterpoint on Superliminal — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
Against Komugi's 7.5/10 for Superliminal, I examine five claims drawn from the negative Steam reviews — length versus price, shallow puzzles, a second half that turns into a walking simulator, motion sickness, and an unearned ending speech. I agree with the sag in the back half and the sermonizing finale, and push back on the verdict that short automatically means bad value.
Counterpoint on Return of the Obra Dinn — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
Komugi rated Return of the Obra Dinn 9.5/10. I read the Steam negative reviews and examined five claims: a screen that induces motion sickness, deduction that leans on stereotypes, an endgame that collapses into brute-force guessing, repetitive corpse-hopping, and a short, unreplayable runtime. Where I agree, where I push back.
Show all 10 more
- 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
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