Game Reviews

And once again I'm pushing my thoughts about hype back a little bit to talk about something completely different.

In recent times I often found reviews, I've read on different sites, lacking. I also tried to write some game reviews on my own and for that I came up with a code of ethics when writing a review... or to put it better, because I'm no news outlet, but instead a lone lunatic in the wide fields of the internet, some points which I deem important when reviewing a game.

These are points, from which I think that they are important cornerstones when writing a review, and which, in my eyes, have sadly been lacking in reviews from many websites.

1. Be objective:

Of course this is a no brainer. Or at least, it should be. But with the recent controversy in video game ''journalism'' I wouldn't be so sure anymore.

To put it bluntly. No one is truly objective, but we all can try our best. Just question everything you wrote. Let it rest for a night or two and read it again. Put yourself into the shoes of someone, who doesn't have any ties to the game. What would he see?

I'd like to summarize this point with the phrase: Don't be a fan; Don't be a hater.

Question everything, but don't overthink it. Sometimes a gun is just a gun and not a statement about the lax gun laws in the united states of America. In fact, most of the time it is just a gun.

Another point that plays into this is the rise of social commentary in games journalism. While I agree that this should be discussed, a game review is the wrong place for that. It shouldn't matter if the main character is female or male. All that matters is the game!

Even if you decide for yourself that you deem this game ''bad'' because of some social issues you have with the presentation or the story, it isn't your place as a objective reviewer to devalue it because of that. Super Mario doesn't get better or worse just because Peach's role is that of a damsel in distress. What makes the game good or bad is the level design, the mechanics, the presentation, the sound, how well it runs, bugs, ... Not the social issues that you may, or may not, see in this work.

Now that doesn't mean you shouldn't talk about that, but it means that it shouldn't impact your review. Because none of the standpoints in this debate are absolute. What you can, and should do, is start a rationale discussion if you think it's important and necessary.

But for the actual review: Stay objective. Rate the game and the game alone.

That's also why I'm against video game websites running ads of games that they review. Even if you have your own separate PR-Department and tell everyone that it's its own separate division, it will influence your writers, when the ad money begins to dry up because of unfavorable reviews. Because it's still one company under which roof you all work together!

2. Respect:

Now that is something I see lacking in many pieces about games. Respect for the medium. Respect for the game that was crafted. And not just for the games, but also for your audience. How can you expect them to listen to you, if you threat them like children or, even worse, like an enemy. I know that the internet creates hateful individuals, I truly do, but when has fighting hatred with even more hatred ever worked? Fight fire with fire an you'll burn the whole building to the ground.

So show some respect. Video games deserve it and your audience at least deserves someone who doesn't look down on them.

Video games are many things. To some they're works of art. To others they're portals into different worlds to escape their everyday life. Some find life long friends through them, and others love. Some people want them to tackle social issues and others just want to have fun. Games can be all of this and are all of this. For that we should respect them.

3. Get excited, but don't get hyped:

This is actually the central statement of my upcoming thoughts about hype. As a reviewer you should obviously love what you're doing. That is important, but it's also important to keep a professional distance. That is actually pretty hard. If you get invited to exclusive preview events, get studio tours and meet the developers, it's hard to keep a distance and not get hyped. I get that.

But it's one of the most important things and if you truly want to be a good reviewer, you need to master this challenge. You owe your audience that. You owe them a truthful and objective review. It's ok for a reviewer to get excited, but he should never ''Believe the Hype!''

Question the intentions of the developers. Ask yourself. Why are they doing this? Ask them. Why are you doing this? Never straight out accept the answers of the PR-Department for why they're canceling the single player.

Sorry, but I couldn't hold back on that one.

4. Be open for criticism, but don't let the haters get the best of you.

You'll always attract some haters. I think this is the basic rule of the internet, or even life itself. If you create something, someone will hate it. And that's ok. Because of this, the world is as diverse as it is. If there would be something everybody likes, then why should we produce something different?

So just ignore the haters. If they don't like you or your product (reviews) they will go away and if they're just trolls they will go away when you ignore them. Trolls thrive on attention, so don't give them any.

But stay open for criticism. Don't dismiss a well thought out and polite counter view to your points. Just because someone disagrees with you, doesn't mean you have to change your views. But it can be a welcome opportunity to view your points from a different angle. Listen to the points your discussion partner makes, and bring forth your own. But don't shut yourself in and dismiss all criticism. If you do that, you'll set yourself on a dangerous road to fanaticism. And then you'll reach a point where only your opinions and the ones from people, who agree with you, matter. Then every counter argument will sound like hate in your ears, no matter how valid and well said it is. And this makes you an unpleasant and downright toxic person for everybody else.

Not all criticism is a direct attack at yourself. I even would go so far as to say, that less then 10% is.

Because of that you should welcome an (intelligent) discussion and not condemn it from the start.

And if you don't reach some common ground in the end , politely end the discussion. It's ok to have different opinions. Just stay polite and don't lash out at people. That just makes you seem like a giant douche.

These are the four cornerstones on my way to approach video game reviews. Of course I'm not a ''professional'', but I grew up with video games and genuinely care for them. And because of that I think we deserve reviewers and journalist who feel the same. But we also deserve professionalism. We deserve reviews free of agendas and unneeded luggage. We deserve good, objective and honest reviews. Because in the end all that matters is the answer to the question: Is this game fun?

What are your thoughts on this topic?

And as always

thanks for reading