I can see why the comparison to Genysis would exist now but I don’t think it’s a very worthwhile comparison to make in how they play out and are used in each system.
As I said, I do plan to play it! I might be metroidvania’d out at the moment, my partner and I have played a crap ton of Blasphemous 1 & 2 over the past few months. (highly recommend!)
I think there’s a lot more that goes into a games success or failure than just reviews. I’m not entirely convinced that a wave of good reviews would financially save their studio. I also find it funny that he acknowledges that he doesn’t write reviews for things.
For my case, it’s been on my wish list for a while. I enjoyed Ori, but didn’t love it, and plan on getting around to the second Ori game eventually. But I have a zillion games to play, and right now they’re not that high on my list. But my moods change, and next month I may well be in the mood for something like No Rest for the Wicked, see it on my wish list, and finally pick it up.
But quite frankly, no review is going to sway me. I’ve enjoyed Mixed review games, I’ve loved Mostly Negative games, and I’ve disliked Overwhelmingly Positive games. Fact of the matter is I’m much more likely to look at actual gameplay videos and make a decision rather than read a written review.
But, that’s just my anecdotal experience. I personally find it hard to believe the reviews play that big of a role here. I think that success or failure comes down to a hundred different factors, and the unfortunate reality is that some really awesome gems aren’t successful for no real fair reasons, sometimes.