Systems for rating games

[gooseman]

Maybe this is a banal thread with a dumb question and an obvious answer, but what system do you think works best for rating games? Is there something better than a simple star rating, a buy/rent/skip, a tier-list, a mogul scale (used for boardgame difficulty, but a similar 2d system could be reworked for something else), or something similar to the custom system crpg addict uses?
The goal is to be able to clearly convey thoughts on the game, in as few characters as possible, while being as accurate and comprehensive as possible, applicable to any or most games.
For example: a star rating isn't ideal. It's easy to read, but some people think a 7 is a good game, while others think it's shit. Clarity fail. A game could have some conflicting elements, like good gameplay, but really bad story. How do you reflect this in a star rating? Comprehensiveness fail. You could rank each aspect individually, but there would still be a lack of clarity, what exactly does a 7/10 music rating mean? This can only be conveyed in words. Then we enter the realm of words, which is comprehensive, but far from concise. Then again, do we even have to rate aspects of the game? What if we simply describe it in a few sentences and what it's about, without rating it?

 

[what am i doing]

Is it good? Y/N

 

[NecroLord]

Good.
Mediocre.
Absolute Dogshit (think most of the current triple A Ubisoft slop and others).

 

[Necrensha]

With all due honesty, ratings of all kinds have been in my eyes completely useless since forever.
Every time I wanna see if a game is worth playing or not, I just look a video the beginning of the game and judge for myself.
All these complicated systems where you divide every part into it's own section and so on, are just a waste of time. Nobody is gonna read anything beside the big number at the end and maybe the tittle.
Even better: the majority of gamers just look at the metacritic page for 1 second and base their entire decision on that, all the other stuff doesn't work nor is seen by anyone other than data-scrapping bots.
Also, can you really trust that the guy analyzing Gothic doesn't have a vendetta against Germany ever since that one time a german user sent him a crying soyjak? No, you cannot.

 

[gooseman]

Is it good? Y/N

It depends...

Every time I wanna see if a game is worth playing or not, I just look a video the beginning of the game and judge for myself.

This is more hypothetical. This isn't aimed at a majority. Assume you can trust what you see. What makes you decide to look up a game in the first place? What minimal information do you need to look into one?
Now, Im thinking something like a 2-6 sentence description would be the best way of describing stuff. Similar to the mini reviews on codex's Top picks.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

The Goodreads official rating system is:
1 star – didn't like it
2 stars – it was OK
3 stars – liked it
4 stars – really liked it
5 stars – it was amazing

I think this is almost perfect, except you need to merge 5 and 4, as they're the same thing.

Perfect rating system:
1 star – didn't like it
2 stars – it was OK
3 stars – liked it
4 stars – loved it

These 4 distinct ratings are perfectly understood by everyone the exact same way.

Breaking down a game into components, as journals often do, leads to different understanding of the same score by different people. Plus it's all irrelevant.

what exactly does a 7/10 music rating mean?

Doesn't mean shit. That's why I don't like IMDB's rating system.

 

[Morgoth]

Ratings in this cultural cacophony are largely worthless. I'm orienting myself largely after a dev's track record, or more levelheaded retrospectives after the dust settles.

 

[Gandalf]

1. play the game
2. finish the game
3. write down your impressions
4. then put a

or

at the end to signify wheter you think the game is worth a play or not

 

[gooseman]

1. play the game
2. finish the game
3. write down your impressions
4. then put a

or

at the end to signify wheter you think the game is worth a play or not

That's the plan. Do you have any good examples of such impressions?
I've read many reviews, they're often filled with buzzwords that fail to capture the essence of the game and what's interesting about it, flowery descriptions and trivia that is mostly irrelevant to reader's desire to play the game (unless you're a collector or a gaming history buff). Or they are very long, which isn't a problem for me, but is for others. (God deliver us from 17 hour long video essays)

 

[n0wh3r3]

My own opinion.

 

[Vagabond Merchant]

You just wait for Grunker to write a review

 

[Gandalf]

1. play the game
2. finish the game
3. write down your impressions
4. then put a

or

at the end to signify wheter you think the game is worth a play or not

That's the plan. Do you have any good examples of such impressions?
I've read many reviews, they're often filled with buzzwords that fail to capture the essence of the game and what's interesting about it, flowery descriptions and trivia that is mostly irrelevant to reader's desire to play the game (unless you're a collector or a gaming history buff). Or they are very long, which isn't a problem for me, but is for others. (God deliver us from 17 hour long video essays)

Why do you need an example? Just use your own words.

 

[Dark Souls II]

10 - Dark Souls II
9 - Great game with lolis
8 - Great game without lolis
7 - Good game with lolis
6 - Good game without lolis
=====THE POINT OF NO RETURN======
5 - I could play this like I could fuck a slightly chubby girl, in the right circumstances
4 - I'd rather have a woman tell me about her Elden Ring build than play this
3 - I would rather play Skyrim for the story
2 - I would rather read the dialogues in Cyberpunk 2077
1 - I'd rather play Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

 

[gooseman]

10 - Dark Souls II
9 - Great game with lolis
8 - Great game without lolis
7 - Good game with lolis
6 - Good game without lolis
=====THE POINT OF NO RETURN======
5 - I could play this like I could fuck a slightly chubby girl, in the right circumstances
4 - I'd rather have a woman tell me about her Elden Ring build than play this
3 - I would rather play Skyrim for the story
2 - I would rather read the dialogues in Cyberpunk 2077
1 - I'd rather play Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

Is dark souls 2 10/10 or takes 10th place in the chart?

 

[Dark Souls II]

10 - Dark Souls II
9 - Great game with lolis
8 - Great game without lolis
7 - Good game with lolis
6 - Good game without lolis
=====THE POINT OF NO RETURN======
5 - I could play this like I could fuck a slightly chubby girl, in the right circumstances
4 - I'd rather have a woman tell me about her Elden Ring build than play this
3 - I would rather play Skyrim for the story
2 - I would rather read the dialogues in Cyberpunk 2077
1 - I'd rather play Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

Is dark souls 2 10/10 or takes 10th place in the chart?

The right question would be, what IS Dark Souls 2?

 

[Odoryuk]

10 - Dark Souls II
9 - Great game with lolis
8 - Great game without lolis
7 - Good game with lolis
6 - Good game without lolis
=====THE POINT OF NO RETURN======
5 - I could play this like I could fuck a slightly chubby girl, in the right circumstances
4 - I'd rather have a woman tell me about her Elden Ring build than play this
3 - I would rather play Skyrim for the story
2 - I would rather read the dialogues in Cyberpunk 2077
1 - I'd rather play Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

Is dark souls 2 10/10 or takes 10th place in the chart?

The right question would be, what IS Dark Souls 2?

Is this all a false flag to undermine Dark Souls 2 fans?

 

[NecroLord]

African-American Souls 2.

 

[luj1]

Maybe this is a banal thread with a dumb question and an obvious answer, but what system do you think works best for rating games?

The one used in old zines



Graphics
Sound
Music
Gameplay
Atmosphere
Total

 

[n0wh3r3]

What if we start a movement kind of thing where we mostly play games and review other people's life in the spare time with a one and only score: fairness?