[kwanbix]

I shop on Epic Store and GOG and it is a breeze also.

I never had issues with GOG or Epic (where I buy less to be honest), but that might be me.

But Steam has the network effect. They launched first. Of were the first that successfully did it.

[throwuxiytayq]

I’m going to assume that while shopping on Epic you alt-tab to Steam to read reviews and to find out what the game is actually like.

[kwanbix]

No, I just look for video reviews.

Actually, something I always complain about Steam is that the videos of the games are not about the gameplay.

They are most of the time about the trailer, like if it was a movie. I want to see the game playing!

[Yoric]

I certainly do.

[worldfoodgood]

I look at neither for reviews. Steam Reviews are often bombed to hell for things like, "Game has woman. Woke." or "Game has racism." or other culture war nonsense. Or the very common, "Creator I follow on Youtube liked/disliked this game, so I left a similar review" or "Creator I dislike liked/disliked this game, so I left the opposite review". Or, the worst of all, "Game uses Unity/Unreal/Godot/Something Else, automatic dislike".

Ultimately, reviews of games tend to be pretty useless because people who play games have very little understanding of a) what makes games fun, and b) the complexity involved in making the games.

I have creators I follow whose tastes are closest to my own, and I watch their content for reviews, then go to the store that makes the best offer.

[throwuxiytayq]

I genuinely strictly disagree; The Steam review section is usually an accurate description of the game’s quality.

The overall score tends to fairly represent the likelihood that I’ll like the game, and when in doubt reading a couple of reviews tends to give a clearer picture. And then, the reviews themselves can be rated, and there’s a “recent reviews” score that protects against review bombings and gives a clearer picture of the game’s current state. Not to say that there aren’t exceptions - there’s a poorly-received game that I’ve poured hundreds of hours into recently - but I literally wouldn’t know how to set up a better system myself.

In contrast, the Epic storefront is fucking laughable.