RWarehall: What you call "arty" games, the reason they come up is because they are often the overly lauded game reviewed by these so-called journalists. Often they receive glowing perfect reviews based on "daring content" or "innovation" despite significant flaws which go unmentioned. They are the Yin to the Bayonetta/GTA reviews Yang. They receive undue applause just as other games receive undue criticism.
You seem to turn everything into an attack. GG, at least the part of GG I support, is about the Truth. Don't give a glowing review just because it fits your idea of change or because its your friend's game.
http://www.polygon.com/2013/8/15/4620172/gone-home-review-if-these-walls-could-talk http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-08-15-gone-home-review Just compare the two reviews. The first seems like an advertisement. Heck, they even go so far as add a tour the the studio who made the game... Doesn't even try to find fault. Highlights the good and only the good and ignores the rest.
The second seems far more complete covering many more aspects of the game.
That's as maybe but let me direct you to this Zzap64 Little Computer People review from 1985:
http://www.zzap64.co.uk/cgi-bin/displaypage.pl?issue=007&page=008&magazine=zzap Again, beyond glowing, 'Gold Medal' 97%, 3 page review with special 'diary' format for a game that's essentially a Tamagotchi (before there WAS a Tamagotchi, admittedly) with 0% chop, chop, pew, pew - reviewers have been eating up arty, experimental games since the 80's this is NOT a new thing, it's just that arty games went away for a while as production and publishing costs increased, their return is a natural consequence of DD sites making the indie sk33n possible, it is NOT part of some feminist / SJW conspiracy and, back in the 80's no one particularly thought that Little Computer People was a game 'for girls' either, whether it's content was 'manly' or not
WHY reviews eat this shit up is another question - Maybe they're trying to mirror film critics with AAA being analogous to the summer blockbuster and reviews wish to cultivate, and feel that they should faun over, categories analogous to 'Art House' and 'Big Studio Oscar Bait' in the same way that film critics do
Please note though, that the existence of Art House and The Oscars does NOT make your summer blockbuster any less of a Michael Bay-er-ific 'splosion-fest - sometimes I think that the computer gaming market is so homogenised that people can't stand for a bit of diversity without running around screaming that the sky is falling!
Or maybe they're just jaded by all of the chop, chop, pew, pew that they have to munch through - it's like they're being force fed Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream and suddenly a tub of rum and raisin comes along and they're like 'Thank GOD something different, FINALLY' but the audience is all 'Rum and Raisin? Who the hell likes Rum and Raisin? This isn't a manly flavour, this is a girly flavour for girls - WTF guys? We only like Cookie Dough!"
Whatever, I just don't buy into the theory that arty games are made by and for feminists, 'fake nerd girls' and SJWs - they're just back out of hibernation and adored by the press, same as they were in the 80's
(BTW - thanks to EMob for the whole 'Manly' thing, it was both hilarious to read and useful to throw back at yous and yes I AM being unusually vocal for someone who was supposed to be sitting out, munching popcorn, what can I say - I got salted instead of buttered by accident!)