Normally I would be reviewing Curse of Osiris for Destiny 2, but I’ve been reading online about current gaming news and I think this is something to be said. Don’t worry game reviews will be returning, but first I need to get this off of my chest.

Bandwagons ruin games. Not a surprising statement but one that I see often online. Yet people seem to latch to a game, obsessing over the next big thing, and whether or not you like it. People don’t seem to understand that you can like or hate a game by yourself, and you don’t need to force your opinion on others. Some of my favorite gaming communities were ruined by this ideology, and it hurts when a game goes down in infamy for it. Undertale: known for a community that insists you play the RPG only one way. Rocket League: Know for jealous and angry players spamming chat. Destiny/Destiny 2: Known for constantly complaining about issues, and then getting mad when they’re fixed. It doesn’t help the game guys, it only hurts it.

By no means am I saying to stop criticizing however, and people seem to bring up this argument for bandwagons. The debacle with EA adding unfair pay to win loot boxes was a great example. A community of redditors and gamers banded together to boycott EA until they temporarily removed them, and it was amazing. This isn’t bandwagoning, this compassion for what they care about. Many communities have been mislabeled as well, for example the Undertale fandom has many great artists that get lumped together with the rest of the community and criticized, which in itself is a bandwagon against the game.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that typical “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” but it’s more than that. It’s more have your own bloody opinions and don’t judge others because they don’t. We have bigger problems in our lives and the last thing we need is for us to be divided. We’re all gamers and we need to respect others so we can show them that we’re not one those bad fandoms, but we respect their passion and love for games because after all…

Isn’t passion what what gaming is about?

-Ethan Clark

Author’s note:

Hey readers, once again, sorry that it got so serious today, but this really needed to be said. Regular reviews will be coming back, i’ll try to have at least two out before christmas, I’ll put a poll up for the most popular choices. If you have anything to say to me message me at (retroemeraldjournalist@gmail.com) as our comments don’t really work. Have a good night everybody!