@jzga: My only question is, were expectations for this game actually high enough for this to qualify as a massive disappointment? It's certainly disappointing, but outside Jeff's mildly optimistic expectations, word was going around this thing was going to be bad well ahead of release.
Mind you, it's somehow even worse than those low expectations... I just wouldn't qualify it as more disappointing than say Evolve.
@dcraig814: Your point about how arbitrary game scores can get, especially with works like this, is part of what led me to just try reviewing this game. It's here for what it's worth.
Is it a 4? Is it a 5? Is it something between? Does it matter. But then at the same time, this is one of the most difficult games I've ever found myself trying to review or recommend because I wouldn't want to tell someone a single thing about it going in. I bought it blind based on Austin's recommendation and my enjoyment of The Stanley Parable, but I was certainly taking a risk going in with so little information.
As insane as this might sound, I saw some similarities in message between this and Metal Gear Solid V, a game that spent a lot of time, albeit in its typical bombastic fashion, on the theme of how intent and context is lost through the conversion of thought to language, and even more is lost between one language to another. The recent return of "walking simulators" that play more like interactive novels than games has been wonderful to me. Game creators are coming up with some really creative ways of better conveying intent and thought than what traditional storytelling means allow.
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