In Third Person

Seemingly every few days, I run into threads on ResetEra, Twitter, and other places where gaming conversations take place where gamers ask for help in finding enjoyment in a popular or critically-acclaimed game. While there are rare instances when someone is actually doing something wrong that prevents them from seeing a game in its best light, most of the time it’s simply a matter of taste. When did having a unique perspective become problematic?

I feel like in the age of the internet, group think has become a very powerful force. It’s only been amplified further by social media, where seemingly everybody can chime in on the conversation. It’s the same group think that raised the likes of Breath of the Wild and God of War to the heavens. But are you an outcast if you disagree with those sentiments? It might feel like it, but you shouldn’t feel that way at all.

At a root level, people have different opinions on things. People like different things. People even enjoy the same things for different reasons. Some people like chocolate ice cream, while others like vanilla. All of that is good and no one can take that away from you! If you happen to align with the general populous, that’s fine. But if you don’t, your first conclusion shouldn’t be that something is wrong with you.

It drives me nuts that people feel the need to align themselves with the popular opinion, especially when everyone is meant to have their own. Like what you like! Dislike what you dislike! Feel free to engage in healthy conversations about those opinions without trying to jam yours down other people’s throats as the “correct” opinion to have! In matters such as taste in video games, there isn’t a “correct” opinion to have. Own your thoughts, share them respectfully, and we can all coexist even if we don’t see eye-to-eye on certain matters.