2. Critics And Ratings
Believe it or not, reviews can make or break a game. In fact, game developers may get bonuses if a game scores above X on Metacritic. For that very reason, they are going the safe route. The route that might mean more sales, and "okay" to "warm" reception from critics. For example, a critic may note that game X is too difficult and took a lot of their time to finish. So, reader Y will wonder: why should I get that game? Especially the more casual audience that game every now and then, would not be pleased with a time-consuming, challenging game. Not to mention, harder games usually get scored lower, because of their difficulty; make no mistake, I'm speaking of genuinely difficult games, and not broken ones that can't be finished. Remember how many critics were divided on The Wonderful 101? It's not a game for everyone, that's true, and for this reason you have to find the right person for a review. However, that's not always the case, and I can't say more without naming websites and people, which I really don't want as I work in the same industry.
Possible example: The Wonderful 101