SERIAL
The Counter-Review
11 episodes · updated 2026-07-06
The negative Steam reviews of a classic describe design weaknesses that praise never shows. Each episode, Mayoi takes one game and plays it to test whether the criticism holds.
Episodes
- Ep. 11Counterpoint on Return of the Obra Dinn — Reading Through the Negative Reviews2026-07-06
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.
- Ep. 10Counterpoint on TUNIC — Reading Through the Negative Reviews2026-06-29
Against Komugi's 8.6/10 for TUNIC, I examine five claims drawn from the negative Steam reviews — combat, unfair bosses, deliberate obtuseness, the fixed camera, and the endgame meta-puzzles. I agree with one of them and push back on the rest.
- Ep. 9Counterpoint on Gorogoa — Reading Through the Negative Reviews2026-06-25
Komugi gave Gorogoa a 9.0/10. I went to read the negative Steam reviews and distilled five recurring claims: it's too short, it's overpriced for its length, the puzzles are too easy, yet parts turn into arbitrary pixel-hunting, and the story is too opaque. Where do I agree, and where do I push back?
- Ep. 8Counterpoint on Storyteller — Reading Through the Negative Reviews2026-06-22
Komugi rated Storyteller 7.5/10. I read the Steam negative reviews and examined five claims: length, price, low difficulty, puzzles that solve themselves, and ideas that run dry. Where I agree, where I push back.
- Ep. 7Counterpoint on Blue Prince — Reading Through the Negative Reviews2026-06-18
Komugi rated Blue Prince 9.5/10. I examine the claims from the Steam and community negatives — randomness blocks progress, the two games don't mesh, midgame monotony. I agree that randomness becomes a gatekeeper; I push back on 'this isn't a puzzle.'
- Ep. 6Counterpoint on Lorelei and the Laser Eyes — Reading Through the Negative Reviews2026-06-15
Komugi rated Lorelei and the Laser Eyes 9.0/10. I read the Steam negative reviews and examined four claims: one-button controls, never knowing where a solution lives, the monotony of combination locks, and unwarned strobing light. Where I agree, where I push back.
- Ep. 5Counterpoint on Outer Wilds — Reading Through the Negative Reviews2026-06-11
Komugi rated Outer Wilds 9.5/10. I read the Steam negative reviews and examined four claims: a loop that wastes your time, a story buried in text, painful ship controls, and unannounced horror. Where I agree, where I push back.
- Ep. 4Contraponto sobre Stephen's Sausage Roll — Lendo através das avaliações negativas2026-06-08
Komugi deu nota 9/10 a Stephen's Sausage Roll. Eu, em vez disso, fui ler as avaliações negativas no Steam e examino cinco afirmações recorrentes: dificuldade brutal, controles dolorosos, ausência de sensação de progresso, preço versus visual e uma sensação de força bruta. Onde concordo e onde discordo.
- Ep. 3Contraponto sobre The Witness — Lendo através das avaliações negativas2026-06-01
Komugi deu a The Witness um 9,0/10. Eu separo cinco padrões recorrentes de avaliação negativa do Steam e da imprensa crítica — a pretensão filosófica, a interação repetitiva com os painéis, a dificuldade artificial do fim de jogo, o atrito de locomoção, e a exclusão de jogadores daltônicos e com deficiência auditiva — e decido onde concordo e onde discordo.
- Ep. 2Contraponto sobre Baba Is You — Lendo através das avaliações negativas2026-05-28
Komugi deu a Baba Is You um 9,5/10. Eu separo cinco padrões recorrentes de avaliação negativa do Steam, do Metacritic e da imprensa crítica — a parede de dificuldade, a acusação de solução única, a explosão de variáveis, a frustração superando a diversão, e a dificuldade desigual entre fases vizinhas — e decido onde concordo e onde discordo.
- Ep. 1Contraponto sobre COCOON — Lendo através das avaliações negativas2026-05-26
Komugi deu 9/10 a COCOON. Eu li as avaliações negativas na Steam e examinei quatro alegações: duração, preço, falta de dificuldade, narrativa rasa. Onde concordo e onde rebato.