If you’ve been checking out the content we put out on the site, you may have noticed we do reviews a little differently.
For our previous system, we rated games on a numbered scale and listed the “pros” and “cons” for a game. Numbered reviews are a common method for many gaming outlets, but one issue can arise from this scale: people have different ideas for what a rating means. My 7/10 rating could be your 5/10. Because of this, we decided to make our reviews more clear and personalized.
For the past few weeks we have rated games according to our new policy, and from here on, you will notice that our reviews are no longer rated with numbers. At the end of our reviews, you will notice a box with a summary and a recommendation. The summary collects the thoughts of our reviewer in a few sentences and supports our final rating on the product. There are three different ratings now, and I will use my name as an example:
- Axel Recommends
- Axel Cautiously Recommends
- Axel Doesn’t Recommend
This system puts more of an emphasis on our reviewer. It feels more personal, and we hope that you will begin to trust our individual writers more in doing so. Secondly, our recommendations leave no room for interpretation. If someone recommends a game, it’s a game that our reviewer enjoyed and found little issue with. If we cautiously recommend a game, there might be some problems that detract from the experience, but is still a game you might want to pick up down the road. If we don’t recommend a title, it’s a game that has too many problems and likely won’t be enjoyable.
Of course, we also do impressions. These range from our thoughts on a game’s demo, a title in early access, or even a fully released title that the writer hasn’t finished yet, but wants to talk about. These don’t use our rating system, because we don’t rate a game until we’ve played the full product.