Dyack "not worried" about bad reviews

By Johnny Minkley Published 19 August, 2008

Has he read ours yet?

Outspoken Silicon Knights boss Denis Dyack has claimed he couldn't give two hoots about the criticial response to Too Human, expressing his confidence that gamers will enjoy the Norse action-RPG if they just give it a chance.

"I'm not worried about the critical reception at all," he told Eurogamer, speaking at a press event in London earlier this month.

"Do I think people are going to be critical? Well people already have - people were critical about the game before they'd even played it, so I don't think that's necessarily going to change."

The Xbox 360-exclusive is out today in the US and on 29th August in Europe, after a complicated journey that saw the project start out on PlayStation in the nineties and eventually end up with Microsoft via Nintendo.

And Dyack made sure the game remained in the spotlight in the run up to release, sparking fierce debate on the Internet with a forum post slamming "trolls" for criticising Too Human before playing the finished version.

"I think if people see the game for what it is and review the game for what it is, then it'll get a good reception," Dyack added, with a thinly-veiled swipe at specialist games reviewers. "It's a solid game. We've made a lot of games - we stand behind it and we wouldn't release a game until it's ready, so we feel really good about that."

Silicon Knights had earlier been buoyed by the success of the demo released onto Xbox Live, which has been downloaded over 1 million times.

"I think the reception of the demo speaks for itself," Dyack insisted. "Are there people who don't like it? Well no one likes every game, but in the end if we're going to worry about critical reviews, then we're in the wrong industry.

"What I, and I think people at Silicon Knights are more concerned with, are when people play the game are they having a fun time and do they feel they're being entertained, and that's all that matters."

You can find out what we think of Too Human on Eurogamer today, and be sure to check out the full interview with Dyack elsewhere.

Picture of Johnny.

About Johnny Minkley

Eurogamer TV's Johnny Minkley is a veteran journalist with a lifelong passion for games and the games industry. He uses Twitter more than most people use air.

Read more articles from Johnny by visiting the Johnny Minkley archive page.

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Comments (28) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • booner #1 4 years ago

    I am going to buy it, I enjoyed the demo and the story. I would give it 8/10 based on the demo.

  • menage #2 4 years ago

    I liked the demo too. but not enough to part with the cash for it though. This will be a nice 20 buck game in about 6 months.

  • anomagnus #3 4 years ago

    @ kelly's_ h

    its not getting all bad reviews, IGN for example liked it

    but moving on, hes more than right, this game was slated from day one by everyone, the odds were against it ever getting a good review.

    in saying that, i enjoyed the demo, and eg have been wrong before on their scores.

    will get it, and hope for the best

  • SeesThroughAll #4 4 years ago

    It's like Lair all over again.

  • ps3owner #5 4 years ago

    sparking fierce debate on the Internet with a forum post slamming "trolls" for criticising Too Human before playing the finished version.

    he's got a point there... there seems to be a large troll infestation in most forums.


    *edit: wasn't it square brackets before?
    Edited by 3 at 19/08/08 @ 15:06

  • asphaltcowboy #6 4 years ago

    "Silicon Knights had earlier been buoyed by the success of the demo released onto Xbox Live, which has been downloaded over 1 million times."

    Because lots of downloads definitely means people like it... 8)

  • SBfistfun #7 4 years ago

    ^ exactly. I downloaded it and thought it was crud. Horrible controls, horrible camera. Was enough to put me off

  • menage #8 4 years ago

    @ps3owner

    He shouldn't make a game about Norse mythology then, lot's of Trolls there.

  • Derblington #9 4 years ago

    "I think if people see the game for what it is and review the game for what it is, then it'll get a good reception"

    As long as you don't expect anything decent and only compare it to crap titles, then it'll get a good reception. Nice.

  • Godz_Mercenary #10 4 years ago

    Demo was alright but I knew it wouldn't be worth paying full price for. Will buy it one day though.

  • HEAVYface #11 4 years ago

    hes entirely correct about people slating stuff they've never even been near, but proper reviews and critiques he has to take notice of, because the buying public do (at least the ones hes aiming this game at do).

    i'm sure hes fully aware of the triumphs and failings in his game, burying his head in the sand when people point them out seems a little precious.

  • OfficialBlue #12 4 years ago

    I think this game would be a nice rent!

  • zuljin #13 4 years ago

    @insane_cobra
    Thats the way I look at it too. A 10 I will probably pick up regardless. An 8 or 9 I'll get in bargain bin if it is not a game I'm hugely interested in, and I only really get 6 and 7's if its a series I love or a game style I love.

    They're more like guidelines anyway ;)

  • SUPANORM #14 4 years ago

    I loved 'The Thing' on X Box and eurogamer gave it 5/10.

  • FooAtari #15 4 years ago

    I would give it 8/10 based on the demo.

    Just as well you don't review games. At least I hope not.

  • des #16 4 years ago

    Reviews are worthless,i think that anyone can easily find online info about games,for impressions just tune in to your favorite forums.

  • booner #17 4 years ago

    (I would give it 8/10 based on the demo.)

    {Just as well you don't review games. At least I hope not. }

    I'd quite happily see your attempt at reviewing a game. Based on my gaming experience over the last 15 years I would say that it deserves a 8/10 based on the demo, which is purely subject to my opinion/experience. Go play Sims with daddy, troll.
    Edited by 1 at 19/08/08 @ 17:02

  • BillyBrush #18 4 years ago

    noface
    19-Aug-08 16:39:35

    God of War failed to make a strong connection with me

    YOU LOSE!
    ignore poster


    Please learn how to construct scentences, and then ones that make some kind of sense....EPIC FAIL TEH RETARD

  • Oh-Bollox #19 4 years ago

    and review the game for what it is

    "Yes, this is definitely Too Human. 10/10."
    Edited by 2 at 19/08/08 @ 17:43

  • JediMasterMalik #20 4 years ago

    This seems to be a slight turn around from his hyperbole before these reviews, though I'm sure he still has that view that his game is simply ahead of its time and too innovative for people to "get".

  • CheapSheep #21 4 years ago

    Presumably Dyack was just as eager to dismiss all those positive Eternal Darkness reviews a few years back. After all, surely he's not the kind of guy who can't take the rough with the smooth?

    IMO this is a thinly veiled attempt to bully reviewers who dislike the game into marking it up into the harmless 6-7/10 territory.

  • hiddenranbir #22 4 years ago

    Well he's right about one thing, you reviewers aren't that important since it's already been admitted here reviews aren't objective but merely an opinion of one person, so how can it be considered to hold more weight?

    It's a 360 game, though, which means I will wait for a price drop. Bloody rip offs!

  • Gearskin #23 4 years ago

    Reviewed on Diablo terms... based on the demo... this game is WINNAR!
    Edited by 1 at 19/08/08 @ 21:15

  • Skywise #24 4 years ago

    "He shouldn't make a game about Norse mythology then, lot's of Trolls there."

    LOL Menage :D


    6/10 is more than I would give for some EG reviews, the reviews here are still entertaining to read but I cannot base buying decisions on them anymore :(

  • Pulsar_t #25 4 years ago

    IMO the tens for the likes of GTA4 and Halo3 are a joke.. But otherwise an aggregate of scores is a good indication of whether the game has been liked or not. I don't think the term 'critic' has been clearly refined for games yet.

  • adamamosa #26 4 years ago

    I can enjoy a 6 or 7 out of 10 game, so long as its somthing I really want to play.

    Unfortunately this isnt

  • actionfitz #27 4 years ago

    @ insane_cobra

    I agree with you for the most part (I enjoyed Killzone after all... *hides* ).
    But I played the demo, and considering the price of games these days I cant afford to haver another £40-£50 disk sitting on my shelf gathering dust after a couple of frustrated ahours of play... not with the selection of other seemingly fine games on the way.

    might be ripe for a pre-owned purchase 6 months down the line though...
    Edited by 1 at 20/08/08 @ 09:22

  • AJUK #28 4 years ago

    I've bought it, I agree with a lot of what Dyack has said over the past few months, and as Amazon were offering Too Human for only £29.99 it seemed like there was no reason not to support the guys at Silicon Knights. I hope they get the success they deserve, too many games get mauled for being 'only' 7/10 but if there were no scores on reviews then how many more games would succeed?

    It really is a vicious cycle, too many enjoyable games get swept under the carpet just because they were saddled with a low review score, and too many promising devs have folded on the back of an underperforming game. This industry needs more variety and more risk, not just the safe bets from the major devs and publishers.