Review scores are shite

Enslaved to the decimal system

Hello friends, and thanks for dropping by! It's been about a month or so since my last blog, and of course what better way to get back on track than to rant about how inept and inconsistent game critics can be. Let me show you exactly what I mean!

For today's example, we are going to reference good ol' IGN. Now I don't aim for this to be a malicious post, nor do I mean to discredit the hard work of many of the sites staff, but they really help to drive my argument home for today's blog.

Sonic Mania was a well received, classic Sonic title that was...pretty well received by fans. Source IGN itself rated the game an 8.7 - reviewer Heidi Kemps stating "Sonic Mania is a stellar example of a retro revival done right." Heidi gave a fair, well rounded review and shared her honest opinion of her experience to a positive overall score. No harm, no foul.

Enter Sonic Mania Plus - literally the exact same game, with a few minor additions including 2 new playable characters, expanded multiplayer options, and a new encore experience to wrap up the campaign. Everything else about this game remains intact - it is NOT a sequel, not a revision, just the exact same game...minus a couple small tweaks.

Heidi returns to review the Plus enhanced version of the game...only this time, coming out with an overall score of 7. I don't mean to be picky, but in the gaming world, the difference between a 7 and an 8 pretty well walks the line of 'good' and 'great'. Whether it affects you personally or not, it can make a difference with your audience.

But still...

You got that right. The exact same game...given a few new additions, and suddenly your score drops off a point. How exactly does this work? Magic perhaps? Or perhaps recovering from a long night at the office? How one can take a game - one that they seemingly enjoyed very much, and change their impressions that much based on a few small additions to the same core experience, baffles me.

And this leads me to the point of this blog - reviews and review scoring is old hat bollocks. Opinions are like assholes - everyone has one, and yet each of them spews shit (in one way or another).

Now, that's not to say people shouldn't have opinions, or that they shouldn't share them. I like writing impression blogs (as I have for a few games now), and sharing my opinion for people to either take or leave. That's their choice. I don't, however, believe that labeling a finite number on a title and kicking it out to the public, especially in the case of big name reviewing sites, is rational either (especially in cases of such vast inconsistency).

Credibility and I dare say trust comes with experience and repetition. Both are earned over time through a series of trial and tribulation. Consistency is key when earning the respect of an audience - without that, there is nothing to invest merit into. Now you can argue about the individuality of each reviewer, and that they are entitled to say/feel how they want when it comes to being a critic. Yes, yes they certainly are - however when you are representing a bigger picture, the reputation of a wholesome group or unit, you are obligated to stay within a certain level of consistency, in my opinion, in order to serve justice to the masses that frequent your site as a reference. Otherwise, you're going to piss people off.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm just calling it like I see it. A review is, and always will be, subjective at it's core. One person's opinion may vary drastically from another person's. That's fine. That being said, when you go to review a product, one that contains the exact same material and content as it's predecessor, and you magically decide to change your mind on the game (because of a few additional new tweaks)...well, that just comes across to me as downright contradicting.

So read what you want. Write what you want. The world is YOUR burrito, after all. Just remember that being consistent goes a long way when it comes to gaining credibility.