Perhaps we should all just be a little kinder, eh? It's advice we know a good chunk of gamers could do with heeding, and Aggro Crab Games head Nick Kaman believes that gamers could especially be a little bit kinder to so-called "friendslop" experiences.
Speaking with GamesRadar+, Kaman said that these titles aren't going for GOTY wins, but instead offer a different kind of pure gaming joy by being so easy to pick up and play with friends. "There's backlash because sometimes these games forego traditional quality markers like polished graphics or story, but these games aren't trying to be Game of the Year, they focus on delivering a specific experience and that can make it very cost-effective for indie production," he explained.
"Like with any hot genre you get a lot of fast-follows and low quality attempts flooding the storefronts, but I think it's mainly just fun to be a hater, especially when a term like 'friendslop' is so juicy."
The term "friendslop" is a fairly recent one, attributed to games like Peak and R.E.P.O. that have found major success by being games you'll buy with a group of friends to play together. I've personally always found the term as one of endearment, but as a developer I could see how you might not want your game being called slop in any form.
