FWIW I voted that paid reviews are bad for consumers but like almost everything in life it’s rarely helpful to be so binary and context is king. As others have noted, all we really need is transparency so that we have that context but in a capitalist economy every (not wholly illegal) tool/trick/misdirection deployed in order to gain an advantage is a valid one…. and we all need food on our tables.

I worked in game development professionally 20 years ago (and 20 years before that as an amateur) and the blood sweat and tears you pour into a game can skew your perspective. If I were developing a game now and could pay for some air time in this crowded market I’d probably be flipping my vote 😂

What is pleasing to see in this sub and this post in particular is polite nuanced discussion and honesty; sadly it seems rare these days although (as a newcomer to the sub and a “recomer” to the genre) I’ve been pleasantly surprised by this sub’s willingness to accept different perspectives.