IGN gave Alien: Isolation a 5.9 because the horror game was too scary

Let me get this straight. A man chose Hard difficulty — the mode the game literally recommends — and then deducted points because it was hard. Ryan McCaffrey walked into a haunted house, paid for the premium scare package, and left a one-star Yelp review because they made him scream. That's not criticism. That's a confession.

The review complains that 'fright dissolved into frustration as I got killed from behind.' Ryan. Buddy. It's an alien. It's a perfect organism. It's not going to tap you on the shoulder and ask permission before eating your face. The entire film franchise is built on the premise that this thing kills you from angles you didn't know existed. You wanted it to play fair? It's a xenomorph, not a chess partner.

He also 'strongly believed the game was ending on at least two separate occasions.' Imagine penalizing a game for giving you more content. 'I thought my steak dinner was over but then they brought dessert. 1 star.' The man reviewed a 15-hour survival horror game like someone who had a connecting flight to catch.

Here's the aftermath: 81 on Metacritic. Multiple BAFTA nominations. A cult following so dedicated they made a Change.org petition to ban McCaffrey from reviewing the sequel. And ten years later, IGN themselves published a piece titled 'In Defence of Alien: Isolation' — their own outlet apologizing for their own review. When your employer has to write a correction piece a decade later, that 5.9 isn't a review score. It's a scar on the building.

This review single-handedly became gaming journalism's most cited example of 'reviewer skill issue.' Easy to write from the press box when the alien can't actually reach you through the monitor. 2/10 for the review — and that's generous, because at least he finished the game. Even if he thought it ended twice.