9 Modern Gaming Criticisms That Actually Suck

7. 'Walking Simulators Aren't "Real" Video Games'

This one is thankfully not quite as prominent as it used to be, but that only makes it even more frustrating when it does pop up.

When the likes of Dear Esther and Gone Home started gaining success, the term 'walking simulator' was initially conceived as a pejorative, a way to mock these titles for centring all of their gameplay around walking from place to place, and maybe occasionally solving a simple puzzle.

It got to the point where discussions around whether they should be classed as games at all were being had, because they played out more like an interactive movie than your regular blockbuster release.

Of course, they are games, and saying that walking simulators aren't only limits creativity in one of the most malleable mediums. The fact that What Remains of Edith Finch can sit alongside Gears of War is something to be championed and embraced, not ridiculed.

Likewise, these stories sometimes only work because they're video games. Gone Home's impact doubles if you've played any first-person horror game from the last decade, as it subverts the player's familiarity with those systems and mechanics in its opening hours to pull the rug from under them.