Poll: Do We Still Need Review Scores?

No bad thing assigning a review score so long as it doesn't become meaningless. It's well weighted here usually and tends to remind me of the scoring in the old Official PlayStation Magazine.

7/10 games are good! In fact, in many cases they are better than 8/10 games like Drawn to Life or Agents of Mayhem.

I've never based my gaming on review scores personally, I'd much rather take a gamble - sometimes it works a treat (God Of War PS2) sometimes it's awful (Bullet Witch 360)

@Wesker how did Agents Of Mayhem get an 8!! It's a dumpster fire

A 6/10 is bad 7/10 is good 8/10 is great 9/10 is amazing & 10 is a masterpiece, I would not pay full price for a game that got 6/10, I mostly buy a game then go by my own review after all every gamer has there own opponent

I was actually thinking about this the other day when I read one of the reviews on this site, it may have been the spiderman review. I like how games are scored by the reviewers on this site, your scoring system allows alot broader range. If people could accept the fact that 6 is a good score.

Difficult to say.

Truth be told I just need to know whether a game is good or not. A numbered score is usually the quickest indicator, but I do try to read the conclusion at the very least.

I do think 5-point ratings need to be abolished. A lot games are performance based (metacritic) & a single point is worth 20%- that’s way too harsh.

Review scores aren't going anywhere, the millinials won't let them. They don't write letters, send email or even txt in full sentences, or even full words, they can't even be bothered to write "ok", just "k", but you think they are going to want to read reviews instead of numbers?

The only way numbers go away is when all reviews are simply "swipe right" or "swipe left", "like" or "dislike", thumbs up or down like Rogers and Ebert. And Ceasar. I kinda actually like that last idea, now I just need to learn the code for those 2. I wait no I don't my tablet has them 👍 👎

Counterpoint - anybody wanting to make the argument we don't need scores b/c we live in a coddling "everybody gets a trophy" world, well that only works in the real world with real faces, real people and the threat of real violence and lawsuits from angry parents. Online everyone is either a fanboy 👍 or a troll 👎 there is no place for ✌

@Wesker Well... no... 8 is always better than the 7... To ‘that’ reviewer. obviously a 7 out of 10 game can be better than 8 out of ten to a different person but clearly to that reviewer the 8 out of ten game is definetely and completely and always better than the 7. I know what you’re saying but the point is that the review scores have a meaning and that meaning is dependent on the reviewers perspective.

Ratings work well I think, as long as they're more detailed than a 5-star system ancd used properly. And for me Push Square's reviewers are spot on. But you'll always have people out there that will get all salty over review scores that they don't agree with, whether you have a rating or not.

For me I just want to feel that the reviewer has come into the review with the right mindset for the title, judged it fairly and played it thoroughly enough to justify coming to their conclusion.

@ShadowWolf82 in no way should a 6/10 game be labelled as 'bad'.

I surely prefer a long detailed review without a score instead of a rushed one with an unexplained number at the end.

@FTL I think the editor should try and keep some order to the review scores. If the review is published on PushSquare, then PushSquare is accountable for the score.

.. I think in this day and age where every review site is trying to get their review out first, this often means a rushed or inaccurate review cough, cough, Firewall Zero Hour, cough cough with a score that not only unfairly damages the game, but damages the rep of the site too...

Eurogamer did one thing right over the last year or so and that was remove the scoring policy (but since the redesign / buyout they're god-damned awful).. I think to save this site from losing more of its credibility - scores should be removed asap... (just my opinion of course!)

Just a quick reminder that we're not here to discuss reviews scores on Push Square that you may or may not have disagreed with. Let's not derail the thread.

There won't be any warnings after this!

@kyleforrester87 GET BANNED

No. I always have to adjust the score I on the reviews by normally plus or minus 2 anyway.

All the valuable information is in the text, the score is redundant, it tells you nothing practical about the game: technical quality, game length, story and narrative, game modes, visual style, and so on. Many of us prioritize these things differently, and search for what we prioritize in the actual text.

A good review should be informative, to bring out as much information as possible to the potential buyers, who obviously haven't played the game. What the actual score becomes is not important.

it should stay tbh.

personally i like the score system WITH the review but maybe it would be good to sum up the good and bad points under the score like gamespot does. in a "pro and cons" section.

that way the people that only look at the score (only to complain about it afterwards) will see why you gave that score without having to read the full review itself.

Interesting topic. I'll give it an 8/10.
For me, I like both the review and the score. For me the review can be interpreted differently by reader, but the score is what the reviewer is trying to get across.

Keep the scores.

Reviews can be too long winded and give too much away these days. A quick read of the summary and checking the score is a great indication on if you want to read more of the review. If you really don't like review scores then ignore them or use another site. You're not being forced to read Push Square or Nintendo Life.

@b1ackjack_ps I think I understand what you mean. I often read review texts that make me think 'Oh, this game is OK' but then it gets a 3/10 score or something and I'm like 'What the...?'.

If there are games that I’m really interested in then I’ll read the whole review. But I mostly read the conclusion mostly. I just need to know if the game is good or not.

The Push Square scoring system is fair enough that I find a lot of use in it. For games I don't really care much about, I can quickly check if it's even worth reading (5+). Otherwise, I wouldn't even both to click/read. There have been a few games that scored much higher than I expected, so I read the review, got the game, and loved it.

I think the 'problem' with many other site scores is they are essentially 1-7 = bad. 8-9 good. 10 = 'paid' review.

@shonenjump86 I definitely agree with that, a conclusion text is very useful. I often start by reading that, before looking at the details in the main text.

I think you only need 3 outcomes:

• Recommended,
• Worth a punt if you're interested in this particular genre, or
• Avoid (i.e. the game is rubbish)

I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with the scores system myself but if I'm unsure on a game I'll always go off the actual review rather than its rating.
I think the problem stems from many people who see the scoring scale as anything below an 8 must be a bad game. It's absolutely ludicrous.

Difficult to say, but I would keep them. I read this website for actual description of game/review but I also use metacritic to judge whether the review score here is out of step with consensus and whether that's down to an issue that would change my opinion or is reviewer specific. I would say keep them along with your conclusion paragraph. I also get how much of a pain it is for reviewers to put up with moaning about scores, who genuinely cares if a game got a 7 or a 9 if it looks like your jam and you want to buy it.

Review scores are good for at-a-glance perusal. Then, if the score piques interest one can read the text in its entirety. Some games I’ll read the whole review (sometimes more than once) and soak up every detail; Some games I’m less interested in then I’ll just read the score and the conclusion paragraph.
So I guess I’m in favor of scores. I try not to get too out of sorts if the score is less or more than I agree with, but I realize not everyone has the ability to conceive of people having alternative opinions to their own.

And if I don’t agree with a score or question it, then I read a couple different sites and get a consensus feeling from more than one reviewer.

I think the scoring is the best system! I don't read kotaku reviews anymore after they stopped using scores!
It's the only way to compare games (but you have to do it the right way) and it's the only way to categorize games like 10s masterpiece, 9 amazing etc...
The 'buy' 'don't buy' rating is better in youtube videos like ACG

I like your review system it does help me make decisions on whether to buy or not to buy games. I would say 90% of the time you are spot on. I do enjoy the reviews.

I don't like them personally. But how else would a game like Metal Gear Survive get 200 comments?

@ShadowWolf82 that's not how a score system works 6/10 isn't bad that means it OK it's a 10 point system not a 5 point system

1/10 = terrible
2/10 = very bad
3/10 = bad
4/10 = average but with a few issues
5/10 = average
6/10 = OK
7/10 = good
8/10 = very good
9/10 = brilliant
10/10 = perfect

Nope. Review scores are meaningless - representative only of the reviewer's opinion of the game. It's the text of the review which is important for me, details of the gameplay... especially if I'm on the fence about a game.

There are games I'll buy because I know I'll enjoy, even if a score says 2/10. Similarly, there are games I simply won't buy even if all reviews are 9/10 or 10/10. Examples: For me, The Order: 1886 is one of the most enjoyable games of this generation, yet while everyone will be raving about RDR2, it doesn't particularly appeal to me as I can't stand anything to do with cowboys.

I personally like a score gives a quick rough idea of how good it is then will read the review to see if it would be something I would enjoy. I think scores help indie games more (or hinder them). I think a lot of people will know if they will like the next COD or Tomb Raider game so score wont matter too much but for unknown indie games high scores would make me look into them. Stuff like Dead Cells and Celeste probably got more attention due to high scores then written reviews.

As many said before, the score by itself means nothing if it's not backed up by a detailed description of how/why the reviewer came down to that conclusion. For me it's more meaningful to read the whole review and weight a couple more of reviews from other sites also - although this is my number one site ; ) .

Scores are good, keep them please.

@KALofKRYPTON. i know right this guy needs to stop drinking or taking drugs. a 6 out of 10 is a good score.word up son

Review scores aren't perfect, but I like them and think they should stay. They're handy for telling at a quick glance roughly what the reviewer thought of the game, though of course I'll read more of the review if I'm actually contemplating buying the game.

I stopped reading Eurogamer reviews after they removed their scores, and honestly I'd probably stop reading the reviews on this site as well if they didn't have a score.

Depends if the review score is paid for by the game company or not.

tend to read about 6 reviews then make my mind up it certainly make s my decsion to buy or not

No score means like EG that the best games win a "recommended" reward... so also PushSquare can do like EG did: to RECOMMEND Sea of Thieves but not Horizon Zero Dawn.

Since I spot SoT "Recommended" I avoided EG.

With this quick rant I mean no score will flat every review in two or three categories and at the end of the day or all are goods or you end like EG to recommend terrible games like SoT as the reviewer likes or a soft spot for developer / publisher.

Whatever you do don't become Eurogamer and review about one game a week and give all the pretentious tosh an 'Essential' badge. They have become 'The Guardian' of gaming.

What I like about this site is the quantity of reviews and how you cover a lot of the lesser known games. Often I see a review of games here that I didn't even know existed.

I like the scores and I mean this nicely but if you do take them away you need to beef up your writing a bit. Sorry.

Do what feels right for you. I have to say Eurogamer's system does work pretty well for the most part. Worth considering. I also really like thesixthaxis system of bullet pointing positives & negatives at the end of a review. Might be worth nicking that.

There's no better feeling in my gaming web browsing than seeing a game I'm really hyped about getting 9s and 10s out of 10.

I guess if it's nice for some people, it should be kept.

Personally, I'd remove it, the review is way more meaninful to me than the score. It gives me insight on how the game works, and I can set my own "score" based on that. For example, I'm playing Yooka-Laylee and loving it, but I love collectathons and platformers. The review on Push Square was quite harsh on it, and the actual text brought valid points to justify its score. However, for me, the points didn't apply, because what bothered the reviewer didn't bother me. If I were to rely on the score, I'd have missed it. The point is there's no wrong review text, but the score is always gonna lead to discussion because it's too subjective.

I would prefer a review to be just text.

The amount of reviews ive read on here and other places where you can see the thoughts of the reviewer are showing frustrations etc yet the review score is still 8-9/10

A body of text speaks more than just a headline catching score.

Honestly all that truly matters to me it's the Score and the conclusion, sites that don't score and only recommend or say wait for price drop are the worst at reviews that's why they don't score because they don't want to be criticized by there bad reviews

@ShogunRok Btw have you guys try doing video reviews I think that's even better because even if I read the review I still always go to YouTube to actually watch the gameplay, art style and game in action

@GKO900 We have a few video reviews up on our YouTube channel, but we sadly don't have the resources to do them on a more regular basis. It's usually just when Sammy reviews a big game, as he's also in charge of our channel.

One day we might be doing a lot more of them, though. We'd certainly like to!

@ShogunRok I didn't even know you guys had a YouTube channel 😝 but hopefully one day you guys can just post video reviews all the time

@Milky_Bandit The Gaurdian is ‘The Gaurdian’ of gaming. They gave Spider-Man 3/5

I think it would be better to only assign a "score " that is words instead of a number. For example:

Fantastic
Very good
Good
Decent
Poor
Terrible

If you do this, you don't run the risk of people subjectively tying an opinion to a number.

I also think a great idea is rating on multiple core factors (graphics, controls, fun factor, etc) instead of (or at least in addition to) assigning only an overall rating.

While there is always going to be some bias in a review, based on the reviewer's personal preferences, I think the place this is going to be seen primarily is in a score. What I mean, for instance, is a reviewer may point to a lot of grinding in a game as a negative point, but any given reader may like this aspect of the game and draw a different conclusion as to how much they'd enjoy the game. The reviewer may ultimately dock a point or two off the score for this reason, while the reader may think that the grind adds a point to the score. Neither is wrong, but the score at the end of the review is never going to be accurate for any given reader.

Of course, if people were reasonable, read the full review and didn't focus on the score it wouldn't be such a big issue as a good review would contain enough context to understand the score and if it should be adjusted for you. Unfortunately people seem to focus on the number at the end of the review and just moan at it without actually finding the relative parts of the review that might be a point of contention between them and the reviewer.

Add to this that each site has different criteria in scoring games and it creates confusion when two reviews which equally praise a game give differing scores. Personally I'd prefer if we dropped the scores and instead let people decide on what is written about the game rather than scrolling to the end of the review to look at a number and basing their comments solely on that.

YES! I want review score, I want to know how pushsquare feels about the games that reviewed, please don't remove review score. $60 isn't cheap, I want to know if the games worth it.

Review scores and summary are a great way for me to get quick info on a game I have zero interest in. I would never read the whole review for Spider-Man (for example) because I have no interest in the game.

After seeing the review scores for games like that I do add them to a buy later (when cheaper) list.

I don't care much for scores. I want to read about the ups and downs of a game. What difference makes 1 point more or less if the downs are a game breaker for me?

I think we all like having a quick score as a summary for those times we're not sure we even want to take time to read the detailed review.

The problem with a 1-10 system though is that for most people, 8, 9, and 10 are the only numbers that matter. So you essentially have 3 tiers of quality games, and a bunch of tiers for the "not great" games. This is silly. There should be more levels between good and future all-time classic.

Using a "word score" system (as I described in my above post) eliminates this.

What is the point of a review score? Why do them? According to pushsquare it is:

"Our belief has always been that if review scores help you, our audience, decide on whether to purchase a game..."

Which means than a 1-10 ranking system absolutely irrelevant and makes it incredibly difficult to decide what is what.

For instance - A 6/10 is 60% of the points that were achievable. This, in most places of education is a failing grade. In baseball if someone hits 60% of the time, they are an amazing hitter. So what does a 60% mean in the game reviewing world? And how does that accomplish the goal of informing gamers of whether they should purchase or not.

I know there have been some 6/10 games that I have purchased and loved. And 6/10 even on this site isn't that bad of a score... BUT I think it is at best uncertain what a 6/10 means because it is up to the interpreter of that score.

So what if you went to something like the following:

Waste of money
Purchase or rent at your own risk
Maybe rent it first
You should own it eventually
Must own it soon
Day 1 purchase

What this does is establishes a reputation for pushsquare. Now this is risky, but if I purchase games that you say I should or must own and I love them... I am going to trust that endorsement way more than a ambiguous scoring system.

For them if the actual reviewer is able to justify and project the score they've given correctly. Against them if they throw words on a screen and give something a score with no reasoning behind it. Explain the process and how you came to your score, don't just post a synopsis of what is on the game's store page in PSN. The Todd Howard "it just works" doesn't apply here

Review scores are pretty redundant.
Look at it this way. A good, by which I mean well written, review will provide the writers opinion on the various merits of a game, it's strengths and weaknesses - so in theory, a score is only a crude and partial summation of what's already been described in long hand.
Furthermore, if a reviewer constantly writes good reviews then the need for a scoring system becomes even more redundant.
Sure, people may argue that some gamers might prefer to scroll to the bottom of the article or wherever just to see the score without wanting to read the review. In this scenario either the gamer is familiar with and trusts the writers integrity, or is incapable or too lazy to make a reasoned decision based on a few hundred words - and is more at risk of coming to the wrong conclusion as to whether they'd like the game themselves.
The alternative is to provide a Pros and Cons section at the end and let people judge for themselves.
Scores are pretty lazy, they can't account for all the features and attributes that make a game one or other score out of ten. There are way to many dimensions to a game.
The review itself carries more weight since there will be in there one or two aspects of the game that will be the decider for the reader - who is left to decide for themselves which of the described features and attributes matters to them.

@madcow78 This actually communicates my point. When you go to a system of recommend or not recommend, you start learning who to trust and not to trust. I don't think you really get that with a 1-10 model

@Shepherd_Tallon My point would be that recommending bad games and not recommending good games would lead you to not trust that particular site... which is really the point isn't it. Going to a recommend or not recommend with various levels within that makes the trustability of the particular site so important.

@Wesker
I read the Guardian article. It was good - and just goes to show how different discourses will see the same thing differently and offer varying opinions and judgements. Overall they help build a richer picture of the game

@Paranoimia Exactly - I think going to a recommend to not recommend scoring system with various levels in-between, establishes a better system than trying to rank the game. In other words you go from saying - is the game good to saying is the game worth buying.

Some games that are artistically good, are BOOOOORING

I find scores useful. I generally look at metacritic. By providing a score you fit into the wider system it also allows me to see how you fit in with the wider consensus. If I’m interested in a game I would consider it 6 up to be good to go and buy it. If I’m unsure and nine or 10 would make me look again. What’s said review might be ultimately more important. But without the score I might never find the review in the first place.

@Kidfried But it would be better I think if there were more options than just buy or not buy. See my post

I don't mind them, but I wonder if people worry about the score too much. I see a lot of guys going nuts over metacritic scores instead of the game's actual quality. I read reviews to get an idea of what to expect when I play a game. I personally find it hard to measure a game's value in a number.

@nathanSF Scores might be redundant when deciding whether or not to buy the game but they let you know at a glance whether it’s worth reading the review.

Don't care either way. I personally pay attention to the word associated with the numerical value for a review if there is one because that is more meaningful to me. They do a better job of giving me an idea on whether I will buy the game or not.

@sketchturner Funny because the numbers have a meaning that would be just substituting the numbers for the words and at the end of the day people will always complain for anything
1/10 = Awful
2/10 = Bad
3/10 = Poor
4/10 = Below Par
5/10 = Average
6/10 = Not Bad (OK will b better in my opinion)
7/10 = Good
8/10 = Great
9/10 = Excellent
10/10 = Outstanding
Updated to the scoring system of this site

This is a tough one. I dont always like review scores as they automatically make some games "better" than others based on a number forever. Bit at the same time when it's a game I want to play I purposely skip most of the written review to avoid anything I dont already know about the game and go straight for the last paragraph and the score 🤷🏾‍♂️

@GKO900 I am aware that the numbers on PushSquare have an assigned meaning, which is great. Unfortunately, many people seem to disregard those descriptions and instead focus on their subjective response to the number.

@sketchturner If you are talking about people that says
1/7 = trash
8 = maybe
9 = Masterpiece
10 = Overhyped
Then don't worry about those, they will never change no matter the rating system and always find something to complain

What about a word score system replacing the number. As an example-

Terrible
Bad
Average
Good
Excellent

Not saying I'd prefer it to numbered just a thought.

To be fair they do help lesser known titles stand out in crowded release schedules, but they can hinder decent titles just because they score a 7.

@Ryall Maybe. Are you saying this of any given score?

No score = no Nick. I know it seems arbitrary at times but I want to know that a reviewer has thought long and hard about what to score a game. I might disagree but a point of contention can be just as thrilling as a point of agreement. Also, selfishly, I never want to abandon my childhood dream of being a games reviewer. Without scores, it seems pointless.

Hardly anybody reads or writes full words or sentences anymore, so of course the poll is going to show a ‘yes’.

I’ve never understood reviews having scores. It’s somebody’s opinion. Read it.

@ShogunRok I'm curious as to why. It does seem topical in this case.

If we r going from the common idea that a review is just an opinion then I'd rather scores to be clear and reflect it That is a score seems somehow a neutral metric but I'd rather see a 4 or 5 levels of how much the author likes it. Or even something more basic like SidAlpha (buy, rent or avoid)
Ultimately I prefer no score at all than what is commonly used.

I like them. I think they’re helpful and can compliment the words well. Keep e’m. I think if someone wants just worlds, they should be able to focus on those more than the number anyway.

@hi_drnick Because the comments section will derail into a "Push Square didn't give this game the score I wanted!" argument, and we've had enough of those elsewhere.

Reviewers should use a scoring rubric and have a profile of the genres and games they like and dislike, people get mad because scoring can feel arbitrary.

@RogerRoger I think games are the only place where reviews/scores still seem decent or helpful. From what I’ve looked in music in movie, they just don’t help me much. I remember reading reviews for Christopher Robin, and so much of what the made the movie great went over the reviewers heads. A lot for the art in it which I didn’t feel was super hard to pick up on, especially all of it, was comptlely missed by the reviewers.
I also think there’s less of an audience and critic disconnect. You don’t have 30/100 games plenty of people love.
And “I love plenty of terrible games.” So you don’t think they’re terrible?

@Dange Summing up a review in a word is no different than with a number. You put forward 5 words which could just as easily be a rating of one to five stars. The problem remains that people focus on a single word or number rather than the review itself which, assuming it is well written, should inform you whether a game is for you or not. A rating will never explain a reviewer's subjective opinion, but the fact people focus solely on them without even referencing the review speaks volumes on why ratings are generally not a good or useful addition to a review.

Wow, what a big thread!
Personally I like review scores, but one problem I have is that games now get patched alot since release day, and usually reviews are only done on release.
I'd like to see re-reviews done after 3 months or so, or some sort of update to see if the original score is still fair.
Many examples but first to spring to mind was Bloodborne, when released there was alot of complaint about the long load times, especially between deaths. These load times were greatly reduced after a couple of patches, making the game much more playable - in turn this might well have raised the score!

@ShadowWolf82 Depends for me some 6/10 are a 8/10 for me. And sometimes a 8/10 here is even lower then a 3/10 latest MGS anyone. 😜

A number with a quick word or sum up is the best.

@RogerRoger I would say terrible is the wrong for you to us then. What are a few examples? I’m curious now.
And honestly, the complaining gamers have over a 8/10 BOTW review might prevent it from becoming too snobby lol. But at the same time, it can also produce “I have to syndrome.” 12 Years a Slave got votes at the Oscars by people who hadn’t seen just for the themes and such. Nevermind it wasn’t a great movie nor was it’s use of said themes despite its intentions. It had them goshdangit it! It was good movie, but not Schindler’s List like it was made out to be

I prefer review scores to be honest, because I’m trying to not read most of the reviews nowadays. Sites like Gamespot and IGN love to spoil games on their reviews, I really despise that.

Yes, if I am trying to avoid spoilers I often go to the review score summary part. Since Kotaku dropped scores, I no longer bother with their reviews.

@Dichotomy yes it could be a number. But my point is. If a game gets a 6 or 7, which is what I'd consider a good game. Others may see that as a bad score. If the score was the word "Good" you can't get more clarity than that.

One person's 6/10 is another person's 4/10. A word is a word. Excellent is excellent and bad is bad.

And yes I agree a score is no substitute for the review itself. I always read them myself time permitting of course. I feel both parts are valuable.

I always check the score and conclusion first and then read the generally very well informed reviews. Just works for that way.

@LaNooch1978 😂 good point. Well played.

@kyleforrester87 Isn’t that the Japanese soup that Jean-Luc likes?

I like this poll, and I give it a 10/10 👍

@FullbringIchigo and @ShadowWolf82 show why review scores are broken. The should be exactly as @FullbringIchigo lists them, on a scale of 1-10, 5 is average (normal). But most people feel like @ShadowWolf82.

Which means that a 1-10 scale is actually a 5-10 scale. Most games should get a 5/10 rating; and thats not bad. Thats the average, middle of the road, not terrible, not great. Anything above a 5 is better than average, it brings something extra to the table that the average game does not do.

I think we need to keep review scores, absolutely; but I also think that its the job of the review sites to actually use the scale that they are reviewing on, correctly.

@LaNooch1978 I don't tend to like games that are universally hated, but I do tend to hate games that are universally liked. FF9, BotW, CoD, Halo, GTA, Minecraft, etc... I understand what its like to feel like everyone else is just bat s*** crazy.

What about a set of worded ratings, to replace numbers 1-10?

I'm thinking:
10-9 = Day One
8-7 = Payday
6-5 = Someday
4-3 = Yeah right, that'll be the day
2-1 = The day hell freezes over

I like review scores but I would prefer if they were more in depth like they used to be in 90s mags. A score for graphics one for sound and one for story then another for gameplay then a total combined score.

@LaNooch1978 I don't like a selection of games that you probably like so that can't actually be my honest opinion there has to be some ulterior motive of me intentionally trying to just be confrontational?

While far from complete (doesn't account for Switch or PC, or games prior to PS3), my PSN profile should be a pretty good indicator of the games I play.

For me, the problem is a lack of consistency across the industry. 0 should be the worst, 5 average and 10 the best.

Average games end up getting 7-8 on some sites and 5 on others.

Then there is an uproar about the score rather than the review itself (which quite often doesn’t read like the score given).

Too much water.

@LaNooch1978 I understand. I think the opposite happens as well, very often in fact, where people pretend to be a fan of a game just because others are. You have to be careful about falling into either trap.

It baffles me though, when a game that I would rate 1/10 is universally loved.

This is why all reviews, scores or not, cannot accurately tell you if you are going to like a game. Things that bother you, might not bother the reviewer and they might not even mention it.

The newer Batman games are a great example of this. I absolutely cannot play them with the offset camera. No reviews mentioned this. I don't know if I would love or hate the actual content, I cannot get past the controls. No review I read mentioned this at all, the reviewers didn't really think it was important enough, but it's a deal breaker for me.

I dislike that 5/10 is mostly considered bad across the web. That should be considered Ok.

I thinks scores are fine. I use them as a guide and not as gospel. Obviously everyone like different things in games but providing there are multiple reviews it normally levels out at a fair average score. I prefer out of 100 as opposed to 10.

@LaNooch1978 I tried to like BotW, I love Zelda games and it's so universally loved (and I so wanted a AAA title for my Switch), but after 6+ hours of trying very hard to find enjoyment in the game, I gave up. It shouldn't be that hard to find the fun. To be honest I didn't find much...game in it. Just a slog through an uneventful open world with an occasional trek in a shrine. That's why my score is so low.

Celeste, Dead Cells and Hollow Knight are all great games (big fan of that style of game), and I pick up my Spiderman pre-order today. GoW is pretty good, but not as amazing as the reviews say (I would give it a 7.5/10) but I have yet to finish it so maybe it gets better? or worse?

I've been against review scores for a long time. All they serve to do is fuel the 'console war' between moronic fanboys. It takes 3, maybe 5, minutes to read a longer review and get an idea for whether you'd like a game or not and it's the text of the review that should matter, not some arbitrary number at the end. Unfortunately for a long time people just look at the number and say 'oh, there we go got below a 10, must be garbage.' The fact some companies base developers' salaries on this is even more asinine. Game journalists love to scream at consumers who don't like certain things they see that 'times are changing, you can't stop progress.' Well you know what? It's time not just game journalism, but movies, tv, music, change as well. Review scores are a thing of the past. Lets find a way to move forward with a better system.

I like the score, but I'd prefer if the conclusions section of reviews gave more of a summarized justification for the score. For example something like "The online features are sub-par so far, so we felt the overall score was only a 7 as a result. However, if you don't care about online, this game might be an 8 or 9 for you." Assigning an overall score is useful, but I think a little more reasoning why it got bumped up or down or why the score ignored minor faults or can't forgive major ones would be helpful for me in deciding where I might score the game, and thus whether or not it's a must have, buy later, or skip purchase for me. I do this on my own usually as I read the whole review, but if it was up front it might help with skip-to-the-number types.

I am against review scores because they contribute to the culture of no one reading anything. I go by the review, not the score.

Do a big review and them a few mini-reviews by other staff....just like EGM used to do! That way you get a good cross-section of what people think, and you're probably gonna have 2-3 people on your staff play through most new releases anyway, right? They can share their impressions without having the stress of writing an entire review for the entire game.

I think this is also a great way to counteract the problem I've had where people write a convincing review of why a game is good or bad and give it a score, but then I play the game for myself and completely disagree. Of course, I could just compare the reviews of multiple gaming sites, but doing this in-house would make Push Square a more all-in-one stop for multiple journalistic viewpoints!

@LaNooch1978 If I think about it some more, I really only have a scale of 1 to 3. So saying 1 of 10 for BotW is a bit disingenuous.

@LaNooch1978 That's a good idea for a Playstation website. Even a rare Platinum for the best games? Although some games may not be deserving of even a bronze.

So.... Plastic, bronze, silver, gold... platinum? 😀

GameXplain moved away from review scores and it has lost any meaning to the quality of the game. They recommended color trash, federation force, starfox 0, and pocket card jockey because they enjoyed them enough to "like" and even "love" them. It really brings down worthwhile quality games such as Samus returns, Bayonetta, botw, and Mario Odyssey when they're lumped with uninspired and bad games because they enjoyed them.

@LaNooch1978 You could say that, and it would be thematic as @Dange mentioned!

Mostly I have things I love (3), things I like (2), and things I do not like or love (1). I don't feel that it provides me any value to have it any more granular than that.

@Grim-Tuesday That is definitly one of the major issues of limited recommendation system. Maybe they should have a special "gold star" or "platinum" label for games that just went above and beyond. As I mentioned above this, I personally use a "love", "like", "don't love or like" rating system. Most games I play fall into the "like" category, but some are just exceptional, and have to be singled out into the "love" category.

I scroll looking for the score before I start reading, if there's no score I won't read plus I watch gameplay videos on games I'm not too sure about getting.

A review is a personal opinion if the person giving it. Even from the same person I find some i agree with some I don't. However they are all good research material. You have to look are the reasons for high or low scores to form your own opinion. If you make the wrong choice its on You, you failed!

@JohnKarnes I agree, though it's just a game. Its $10-$60, it's not a life altering decision, so feel free to take risks and occasionally make a bad choice, you will be rewarded when you find that game you absolutely love that you never thought you would.

I think Push Square should follow the trend and get rid of the scores, that way people may actually read the reviews in depth rather than just skip all the text just to see what score it got at the end. How would you feel if a lot of people did that? Not too good I’d imagine.

I just think a number at the end of a review is irrelevant now, we sometimes see reviews reading like an 8 or 9 but actually gets a 6 or 7 and vice versa. I’d much rather just read a review in depth and see how the reviewer found the game and maybe just list some of the positives and negatives at the end in bullet points instead of a score.

Doing away with the score can also prevent making someone feel negative towards a reviewer, like upsetting fanboys and the like. It would also stop some sites giving a game an unfair score just for click bait reasons. If every gaming site did stop giving scores at the end of reviews, how would that affect Metacritic? Not that I care, just curious.

Yes, but readers need to be re-conditioned how to interpret review score.
Shake my head every time I see something like "this game is 7/10, must be a flop..."

The review score is the summation of the review so i believe the score is needed. Thumbs up or down could substitute scores but would not represent the reviewer's appraisal as well as scores do.

For me the reviews and the scores given are only a small part of the process. Watching actual game play video and comments from those that paid for and have played the game is the big part of the process.

If PushSquare wants to keep a scoring system I suggest using a 1-5 rating system instead of the current 1-10. In practicality, any score between 1-6 equals 'bad' in a reader's mind. It doesn't matter at all whether it's 1/10 or 6/10, it's 'bad'. So all the numbers below 7 are rather meaningless, since they reflect the exact same thing, and generate the same feeling in the reader. There's no nuance. A score of 7/10 is the actual middle score, what people use. Having a 1-5 scale is better because it is much clearer and more efficient: (1-2)/5 = bad, 3/5 = OK/average, and (4-5)/5 = good.

People looking at reviews are mostly looking for confirmation, where they already think a game looks interesting, or they think it looks bad. I don't think reviews and thus scoring are about generating or creating interest. People firstly look at the score to see where it stands against their own idea of the game. If it doesn't match they won't read the review.

So a site is better off by giving every single game a 7/10 or 3/5 score because then it's in the middle, and more people are willing to read the actual review. In contrast, a (1-5)/10 or (8-10)/10 score is immediately polarizing, it's black-and-white in practicality.

I also want to add that scoring only works, to a minor extent, if the reader is already familiar with the reviewer: what the reviewer likes and doesn't like in a game, and what the reviewer prioritizes in a game.

In other words, you have to build the review score around a personality. This helps to add a sense of consistency and thus credibility to the scoring. If there are too many people doing reviews on a site, as is typical of IGN and GameSpot for example, you loose this credibility. It's just "random person X", whom you have never heard of before, giving some kind of score.

@JoeBlogs Yes, aside from our differing opinion on The Order, I believe that is exactly what I said.

@JoeBlogs Not to worry. Been there, done that, know the feeling!

I like review scores.

@thedevilsjester Yeah, but a scoring system achieves the same results. 7 is average, 8 is great, 9 is exceptional, and 10 is perfect. It just sounds like we want to change a few words around over nothing.

@Grim-Tuesday

Except that on an opinion/rating scale of one to ten, seven is quite a bit above average. The middle is average/neutral. Simple examples of this are the 1 to 5 Likert scales.

Many people fall into the trap of assigning their own personal definitions to these scales (including reviewers). This means that scores are useless, because when you see a score of 7 you think quite differently than I do when I see a score of 7.

I have been in some businesses where anything less than a 10 means that they did a terrible job. The employees would practically beg for a 10 because they fear for their job at 9. This is a ridiculous inflation of a one to ten scale, and games/media are getting close to this level of absurdity.

We either reign it in (the middle of the scale if average/neutral/ok) or we eliminate numerical scores and just use descriptive terms or labels that are a lot more accurate and less likely to be misinterpreted. If I gave something a 5/10 you would interpret that as bad, where my intention is to say that its average. However if I were to say, plainly, that its average, there would be less of a chance for miscommunication.

@thedevilsjester If people bothered reading the review, they'd understand what the reviewer liked and didn't like about the game. By not reading, they misunderstand the score anyway. Scores are a quick way to guage the quality of a game, and I don't want to lose that because of what happened when gamexplain got rid of their scores.

@Grim-Tuesday Scores are only a quick way to gauge a game if and only if your scale is the same as the reviewers scale.

I am not advocating that we eliminate scores, just that we reduce them (1 to 5 is a better scale) and clearly define what each scale is, like you see with any Likert scale:
1. Strongly disagree
2. Disagree
3. Neither agree nor disagree
4. Agree
5. Strongly agree

We can change this to something relevant like
1. Terrible
2. Poor
3. Average
4. Great
5. Amazing

With a scale like that, one that is clearly defined you can still make an at-a-glance judgement; and its small enough that there is not a lot of overlap.

@thedevilsjester Ah, yes. I'd agree with that. I don't want to do away with review scores, but changing it from 1 to 5 would help tighten everybody's perspective.