Why Are We Still Using Review Scores? | Cold Take

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  • čas přidán 15. 10. 2023
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    This week on Cold Take, Frost muses over why we're still using review scores as an industry.
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Komentáře • 467

  • @durdlegerg7231
    @durdlegerg7231 Před 7 měsíci +330

    "That noxious cloud is usually composed of people who are addicted to arguing on the internet, or have mistaken their hobby for a personality. That one was a slur." Excellent writing, thanks for the laugh.

    • @joshuabray306
      @joshuabray306 Před 7 měsíci +11

      Yeah, I'll probably end up quoting the line "mistaking ones hobby for a personality".

    • @Asaski09
      @Asaski09 Před 7 měsíci

      ​@@joshuabray306Agreed. Potheads, anyone?

  • @Fusionater
    @Fusionater Před 8 měsíci +437

    I didn't know you weren't a full timer for the escapist before now, you definitely deserve it.

    • @kilgoreplumbus1360
      @kilgoreplumbus1360 Před 7 měsíci +49

      Best non Yahtzee Escapist vids

    • @somestupiddudewithayoutube4676
      @somestupiddudewithayoutube4676 Před 7 měsíci

      @@kilgoreplumbus1360this and the stuff of legends are both great

    • @stevebloxham3832
      @stevebloxham3832 Před 7 měsíci +8

      Yeah these are great. Poetic and thought provoking, what more could I want?

    • @SomeoneElseInTheComments
      @SomeoneElseInTheComments Před 7 měsíci +6

      ​@@stevebloxham3832a million dollars?

    • @yomanyo327
      @yomanyo327 Před 7 měsíci +3

      It goes:
      Zero punctuation
      Extra punctuation
      Cold takes
      Stuff of legends
      Empty spot
      Empty spot
      Empty spot
      Empty spot
      Empty spot
      3 minute reviews.

  • @amberghylles
    @amberghylles Před 7 měsíci +430

    I buy most of my games on Steam and when I'm looking at the reviews, I always hunt down the negative ones. I want to know what was a deal breaker for folks so I can decide if that's something I care about. I check reviews of games but I don't even look at review scores because they're meaningless.
    Edit: I just want to add that I love these Cold Takes. Informative, thoughtful, and entertaining.

    • @foldionepapyrus3441
      @foldionepapyrus3441 Před 7 měsíci +24

      Similar here, look for the stuff that got people fired up enough to actually put in the effort to call it garbage, then I'll also check if Yahtzee has done a ZP on it - his take on most games is similar to my own and well established in his particular likes and dislikes that I feel I can translate it reliably to if I'll enjoy it based on his views.

    • @elg3cko
      @elg3cko Před 7 měsíci +9

      same, but I also look at the other reviews the negative poster has made, to check if they're simply a salty person lol

    • @christopherlyndsay8611
      @christopherlyndsay8611 Před 7 měsíci +10

      Yeah even if they’re exaggerating it those reviews are much better than positive reviews that say shitall

    • @TheRogueWolf
      @TheRogueWolf Před 7 měsíci +12

      Definitely not a bad way to go about it, but always remember to take them with a grain of salt. Some people will complain because they don't want others to waste their money, sure, but others will complain because they feel personally slighted by something or other and are feeling vindictive.

    • @SteamedToast
      @SteamedToast Před 7 měsíci +7

      100%, the flaws of the product define it. A perfect painting is a blank canvas, it's only when you spoil it with paint it becomes art.

  • @blandoon
    @blandoon Před 8 měsíci +93

    I keep thinking of what Roger Ebert said about how he had no interest in consistency among his ratings of films; if he was reviewing Hellboy he would compare it against The Punisher, not against Casablanca, or something like that. But what feeds into your point is that people would read Ebert's reviews because they liked how he wrote about movies, not because his star ratings were consistent or "correct."

    • @VeritabIlIti
      @VeritabIlIti Před 7 měsíci +8

      Another issue with numeric ratings! Let's compare scores between Forza, Starfield and Spiderman, three vastly different games with different strengths, but pretend they're all following the same metrics.

    • @mrshmuga9
      @mrshmuga9 Před 7 měsíci

      ⁠@@VeritabIlItiThat’s not a problem with numbers, that’s a problem with people’s intelligence, lol. That’s like saying you can’t complain if one scoop of ice cream costs $50 because you had no problem spending $3,000 on a car. You have to compare things that are similar to each other for the comparison to make any sense or have value.

    • @ShadowOfCicero
      @ShadowOfCicero Před 7 měsíci

      I remember that Game Informer's numerical system did try to do that a little (at least according to the rubric). 6 was pretty much their "if you're into that kind of thing" rating. As someone who once bought a game that got that score... it was playable post-patch with some cool ideas, but was rarely more than OK.

  • @i69GrzzlyBears
    @i69GrzzlyBears Před 6 měsíci +9

    "Not even when it went by the name, Fully Ramblomatic, ten out of ten name, btw"
    Funny how things came full circle.

  • @markdowling9020
    @markdowling9020 Před 7 měsíci +70

    There used to be a magazine called ACE, which genuinely gave review scores out of 1,000. Quite how reviewers would decide whether - say - Bubble Bobble deserved 958 or 959 out of 1,000 is a mystery.

    • @mikubrot
      @mikubrot Před 6 měsíci

      i'd say that they'd get a rate of different metrics from 1-10 or 1-100 or something and and do some calculations to get that final score

  • @dsbh2008
    @dsbh2008 Před 8 měsíci +172

    The brothel line was a rewarding slow burn. Congrats on the full time! Well deserved.

    • @Adu767
      @Adu767 Před 7 měsíci +18

      Just like the rash you get after visiting the brothel

  • @zaphyrusm8940
    @zaphyrusm8940 Před 7 měsíci +57

    Gotta say, I’ve stopped coming to Cold Takes a while back for the actual topics, which mind you, are still totally worth the watch, but the quality of writing and technical prowess on display from the pacing and transition and framing are all just… beyond. I come to take notes on writing because this is some of the best out there👌

    • @geroni211
      @geroni211 Před 7 měsíci +7

      Exactly. The guy is smart and all, but I don't really care for his opinion the way I care about Yahtzee's on extra punctuation. What really gets me is the way he manages to write this to have a noir feel, but still includes some hilarious humor, mostly in the way of double meanings

  • @jertlemiah
    @jertlemiah Před 7 měsíci +79

    For me, seeing a generally high score means there's some portion of the population who likes the game so it might be worth investigating for those who like similar games, while a generally low score means there's potentially problems that are worth being aware of. It's still totally possible to hate a high rated game and love a low or mid rated game, so the numbers can still have some value, they're just not the ultimate metric of quality

    • @whyjnot420
      @whyjnot420 Před 7 měsíci +4

      There is also what can be thought of as "What have I missed?". Nobody can take in every new release for whatever (games, movies, etc.), so if I see something I am unaware of, which a lot of people have watched or dled or whatnot, I will tend to want some more info on whatever it is. Or you can miss something because you were completely mistaken.
      A notable example of the latter from my own experience was Dragon Age: Origins. For whatever reason, I had thought it something other than what it was and thus simply ignored everything about it. Until I heard one too many people talking about it, including some people I knew personally. This caused me to go back and take another look at the game. Since then I have spent over 10,000 hours total in the 3 Dragon Age games.
      addendum: I forget the exact game series and reason but I had thought Dragon Age Origins was part of some other game series that I didn't like (having "Origins" in the title didn't help matters any). It took around 2 years before that was rectified. Given that I beat DAO literally days before DA2 came out, I bet a lot of what I heard (that made me take another look at the game) had something to do with increased interest in the original when the sequel was just about to drop. I wonder if I would have ever taken a second look at DAO if it were not for DA2 being a thing.

    • @SteveS86
      @SteveS86 Před 7 měsíci

      Also comparing games. If game X gets an average score of 7/10 on metacritic, and game Y of the same genre comes out and gets an 8, odds are Y > X. Not rocket science. I strongly disagree with the thrust of the video overall. Series of statements made without solid justification.

    • @VeritabIlIti
      @VeritabIlIti Před 7 měsíci

      It's worth remembering that a good number of game purchases tend to be made by people who are not plugged in to gaming circles, and therefore don't really bother with reviews. Word of mouth is still gold.

    • @whyjnot420
      @whyjnot420 Před 7 měsíci +1

      @@VeritabIlIti Even with people who are, as you put it, plugged into gaming circles and have been for decades, word of mouth is still gold.
      I have been gaming since before the NES, with a 2600 and Microvision (a handheld from the 70's which had interchangeable carts) that my father gave me when I was ~4. Video games instantly became a big part of my life in the early 80s and have stayed so. Some years I play more some I play less, some I pay more attention to new things others I pay less attention, but I am always playing and paying at least some attention. That is not simply being plugged into gaming circles, but having done so for 4 decades now. Yet look at my previous post and what I said about Dragon Age Origins (albeit it was around 2.5 decades at the time of its release, but the point stands).

  • @YorkJonhson
    @YorkJonhson Před 7 měsíci +9

    I think Dunkey had it right when he said that you should have an understanding of a specific critic and what resonates with them personally rather than just going to random number score on a big name site. Quality is obviously subjective at the end of the day, but if there's a reviewer that has similar taste or appreciation for the type of game you're looking for, it makes sense that you'd gravitate to hear what they think if you're on the fence about checking something out.

  • @markdevis721
    @markdevis721 Před 8 měsíci +87

    I give this video a score of 10/10 ;) Congrats on becoming full time with the Escapist!

  • @cassun603
    @cassun603 Před 8 měsíci +73

    really happy to be getting these weekly. I love your writing and production

  • @Surkai25
    @Surkai25 Před 8 měsíci +28

    Welcome to full time sabastian!

  • @Radar_of_the_Stars
    @Radar_of_the_Stars Před 7 měsíci +3

    "go to a therapist or a brothel if you want to feel (w)hole again" is an absolutely incredible line

  • @ratmouse556
    @ratmouse556 Před 7 měsíci +11

    I don't watch a ton of reviews but I enjoy watching 2 very different Aussie reviewers, SkillUp and GmanLives. Both have very solid reviews.

    • @yutro213
      @yutro213 Před 7 měsíci +1

      They are Shills too.

  • @emberd-l795
    @emberd-l795 Před 6 měsíci +5

    Funny how he went back to the name “fully ramblomatic” now

  • @jabezcrisp7899
    @jabezcrisp7899 Před 6 měsíci +6

    "back when it was called FullyRamblomatic" - oh how times change, lol :D

  • @karutacowboy7477
    @karutacowboy7477 Před 8 měsíci +18

    Great video, I do personally like using ratings myself to keep my own thoughts in order, it helps me.
    But when it comes to reviews it just leads to people focusing on the number and usually not the words being said about the game.

    • @dojelnotmyrealname4018
      @dojelnotmyrealname4018 Před 7 měsíci +3

      The important thing to realise is that scores are not universal at all. Reasonable minds disagree about which game is better than which. So the real problem is not the score, but comparing different scores between different people.
      Personally I think an interesting way of trying to do it is to slot all your reviewed products in a list ordered by which you like more.

  • @Rexodiak
    @Rexodiak Před 7 měsíci +6

    I've been addicted to your videos since I found them less than a week ago, I've watched them all! your writing is top tier

  • @PsychoGoldVideos
    @PsychoGoldVideos Před 8 měsíci +2

    Dam this is the 3rd video this week I've seen on this subject. As per usual though you've hit the nail on the head. Glad to have you on board full time man.

  • @RamblerMonkey
    @RamblerMonkey Před 8 měsíci +3

    Congrats on the new job Forst! And top notch writing this week

  • @joshuabray306
    @joshuabray306 Před 7 měsíci +3

    These Cold Take videos are always so insightful. I used to be here just for the Zero Punctuation, but have been really enjoying this new content lately.

  • @olly123451
    @olly123451 Před 7 měsíci

    I really enjoy you being free to recommend other channels on the Escapist. It really shows how much the new leadership understands it’s audience.

  • @alexanderwizardjar9540
    @alexanderwizardjar9540 Před 7 měsíci

    This has become my favorite show on the channel over the last months. Amazing writing and really really interesting topics!

  • @casualbird7671
    @casualbird7671 Před 7 měsíci

    Lovely comprehensive reflection on what reviews really mean anymore. Also your voice and tone just demand respect

  • @Kerman7
    @Kerman7 Před 7 měsíci +2

    The problem isn't the tool. It's how people use the tool (both reviewers and customers).

  • @Gesundheiterkeit
    @Gesundheiterkeit Před 7 měsíci +2

    Wow, my only exposure to The Escapist is through Zero Punctuation, but boy am I glad to have clicked on this video. I enjoyed every second of this one.

  • @chillybradley3095
    @chillybradley3095 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Congrats your material is perfect to listen 👏

  • @JulesNekro
    @JulesNekro Před 7 měsíci

    Another banger from Frost. He is also very appreciated during Escapist livestreams!

  • @Weatherman4Eva
    @Weatherman4Eva Před 7 měsíci

    The brothel "feel whole again/feel hole again" pun was so good it distracted me from the latter half of the video

  • @lifeonleo1074
    @lifeonleo1074 Před 7 měsíci

    Fantastic writing. I look forward to cold take every week.

  • @Lastkoss
    @Lastkoss Před 7 měsíci +1

    A great look at the evolution of reviews. Reminds me of X play how they used to explain why there's was different but with broader view. Great video Frost.

  • @revzsaz9418
    @revzsaz9418 Před 7 měsíci

    Hey man, congrats on becoming full time! 🙏😊 I also agree with this take in general. I don't want to see scores, I want to read or listen to actual experiences and perspectives. I want to see functionality and form. And yes, I wanna know if whatever I'm looking at reviews for will improve my life in some way - meaningful or otherwise 😋 Cheers old boy and thanks for this piece 🍻

  • @TheHoudhini
    @TheHoudhini Před 7 měsíci +1

    Didn't know there was such great content aside from zeroP on Escapist. Gotta have to go back and watch more of these now

  • @nivbarshem2674
    @nivbarshem2674 Před 7 měsíci +1

    No, actually Yahtzee gave Wolfenstein (2009) a numbered review:
    "Well if you like starting punch-up in bars,
    Or your head has been lodged up you ass,
    Wolfenstein may give at least some joy to him,
    Otherwise don't bother two stars".

  • @Beastly_Chariot
    @Beastly_Chariot Před 7 měsíci

    The throwback to "that one was a slur" absolutely sent me. 11/10 video ❤

  • @yam83
    @yam83 Před 7 měsíci +3

    Another Frost homerun.
    Keep the cool takes coming.

  • @Talantlass
    @Talantlass Před 7 měsíci +1

    I couldn’t help but watch when I saw the game inside on the thumbnail. Absolutely spectacular game

  • @ramadjones
    @ramadjones Před 7 měsíci +1

    Congrats on being the other pillar on which Escapist stands. It used to be just Zero Punctuation that I would instantly click on. Now it's ZP and Cold Take. Fantastic content. Thanks man.

    • @theescapist
      @theescapist  Před 7 měsíci +2

      Check The Stuff of Legends too for even more of Sebastian .

  • @CAP198462
    @CAP198462 Před 7 měsíci +1

    I read a psychology article a few years ago that said 1-5 and 1-10 sores were pointless. The most meaningful scores were those that were out of odd numbers greater than 10. For complex psychological reasons. Can’t think of many reviewers that use say 1-15 scoring systems.

    • @ThatSpecificIndividual
      @ThatSpecificIndividual Před 7 měsíci +1

      I had an idea for a website that reviews movies but would branch out. Have some interesting features but the main feature is the scores.
      Media on the site would be rated a score of between 0 to 1000

  • @l0stndamned
    @l0stndamned Před 7 měsíci +1

    None of the review shows I take seriously use scores. I get the details from shows I like then ask folks who know both games and me "will I like it?". So far this seems to work.

  • @bendonatier
    @bendonatier Před 7 měsíci

    I appreciate you spelling out what is, and is not a slur, for those with poor reading comprehension. The type who tend to rely on review scores.

  • @0Gumpy0
    @0Gumpy0 Před 7 měsíci

    I completely agree, and I feel like I needed to hear this right now haha
    I've been getting frustrated with gaming discussions lately and this video captures why pretty well

  • @ayebraine
    @ayebraine Před 7 měsíci +4

    I write for a living and listening to this script is like taking a hot bath with a glass of wine in my hand. It's so concise and show-offish at the same time. The noir stylization, however contrived a choice, works, and it hits the intended target (an even-handed, musing, observational newspaper column stance) so well. Thanks, do more please.

  • @vengerofthelight
    @vengerofthelight Před 7 měsíci

    Once again, fantastic video. I find the idea of *where* people get their reviews from to be particularly compelling, especially as it pertains to content creators vs outlets. Interestingly enough, I am an Iron Pineapple fan, myself, and his reviews of Lies of P and Armored Core VI showed me that I wouldn't enjoy either of those games -- not because he didn't like them (obviously), but because he was up front about the kind of things a fan like myself might find objectionable or unpleasant. I felt properly informed, and as such confident that purchasing either game would be a waste of my time and money.

  • @Marlo_Branco
    @Marlo_Branco Před 7 měsíci

    Great video 🙂

  • @auno94
    @auno94 Před 7 měsíci +2

    I do think that review scores on Metacritic etc. are a good first glance look to see if a title that you are unsure of is worth diving into. Not that a 88 vs 87 matter that much, but a 70 vs a 90 is a stark difference and allows me to set my expectations. Sometimes it's just to see if it fits my mood. Because sometimes I want the best of the best and sometimes reheated pizza is the thing I am looking for

  • @icycoatl3185
    @icycoatl3185 Před 7 měsíci

    I think I remember seeing, once, a magazine or site that gave games different ratings on different aspects- I believe it was something like Story, Graphics/Artstyle, Gameplay, and then Some Random Metric Related to the Game Itself for comedy/flavor, plus a blurb about the general impression of the game. I feel like that approach tells you more, although obviously still more subjective than the concept of ratings would suggest.

  • @PrecludeLP
    @PrecludeLP Před 7 měsíci

    This is such a great video.

  • @Forklift_Enthusiast12
    @Forklift_Enthusiast12 Před 7 měsíci

    You have such a soothing voice, it sounds like a movie detective

  • @Oyi_14
    @Oyi_14 Před 16 dny

    "Go to a therapist or a brother if you wanna feel(fill) whole(hole) again" the word play is 🔥

  • @andrewhickinbottom1051
    @andrewhickinbottom1051 Před 8 měsíci

    5:26 - so good haha!

  • @gillesfabbri97
    @gillesfabbri97 Před 6 měsíci

    Second Wind briught, you are a delight to listen to

  • @georgeagathangelou5303
    @georgeagathangelou5303 Před 7 měsíci

    Amazing. The therapy/brothel gag made me almost fall off my seat.

  • @Ingeniousleo85
    @Ingeniousleo85 Před 7 měsíci

    Bruh! Cold takes are poetry!!!

  • @paxdriver
    @paxdriver Před 7 měsíci +1

    "go to a brothel if you wsnt to feel hole again"
    😂 *slaps knee*

  • @SimuLord
    @SimuLord Před 7 měsíci +1

    "The only people who can say for sure what you will like are people who know what you like."
    Or in Steam's utterly uncanny case, an algorithm trained for almost 15 years now (shoutout to Empire: Total War, which launched my Steam account on March 4, 2009) that knows to the tenth of an hour how much I've played every single game in my collection and what I've played in the past few weeks and has an astounding ability to point me at games that I buy and enjoy.
    And speaking of Steam, another commenter mentioned this and I agree; if a game has 91% positive reviews, I look at the other nine; what did the people who didn't like it think, especially if they're people with 50 hours in the game and a "not recommended" review? I play games for dozens of hours-I'm deeply introverted and have good work-life balance-and I want to know what exactly will be the tipping point that will make me get sick of it. If other people's turnoff is my kink, so to speak, then I'll give that game a shot, and that's how games get the 70+ hours of gameplay it takes to crack the top 50 on my Steam account when ranked by that metric.
    A game that's "too complex" or "hard to figure out" is just the sort of digital crack I love, after all. Especially if it's in a genre not known for its complexity. But show me systems I can figure out in the first five hours and optimize and the game's not lasting ten hours before it gets put down for good, languishing in the graveyard of games I have to scroll way down my library to find and play again.
    None of this can be quantified in a review score, not in a million years.

  • @trident042
    @trident042 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Here's the thing. Review scores used to be shown as the aggregate of their parts: A magazine would have 3-5 of its staff all review the game, each one giving their opinions and a rating, and they'd stick the average in a big box somewhere on the page. Or a row of happy/happier faces. And it made sense - your magazine only comes out once a month, and once it's there, it's in print forever.
    When reviews moved to websites, two changes came up - now, any one writer can put up as long an article as they want, so those who want a full review can read as much as is written. So a number for that isn't really a requisite. But what if I don't want to read 3-5 full entire articles to get a gist of if a game is good? Well, now there's a number at the bottom of the article, and a website just pulls numbers from the bottoms of all the articles - no matter how professional the writer - and includes it in a metascore. Is a metascore worth anything? Maybe. Up to you to decide how much review material to consume, if any.

    • @wallyhackenslacker
      @wallyhackenslacker Před 7 měsíci

      As an old mac gamer, I remember that back in the 90's MacFormat magazine used to use four categories for rating games (sound/music, graphics, performance and gameplay IIRC) each as a percent and the game's final score was the average of the four sub-scores. I don't know if they still use a system like that today, it's been 20+ years since I last read a macformat, but that scoring system was pretty good, imho.

  • @TheRogueWolf
    @TheRogueWolf Před 7 měsíci +1

    We have too many people who, instead of looking at a review because "I want to see whether or not I like this game", look at a review because "I've already made up my mind about this game and I want someone to tell me how smart I am".

  • @DhutchOven
    @DhutchOven Před 7 měsíci

    Wow, well said.

  • @musicenjoyer4203
    @musicenjoyer4203 Před 7 měsíci

    Escapist is killing it rn bruh

  • @aersla1731
    @aersla1731 Před 7 měsíci +2

    Yes, I recently got into a discussion about this, in my mind a 10/10 is a perfect score, but apparently when it comes to gaming it just means excellent and really good. So if we can't agree on on numeric score and what they mean, why even use it. The best thing steam does, is let people post their thoughts on whether they recommend a game or not. I like reviews from gamers, they are doing this for free, and it's their hobby, there isn't money influencing their bias; unless of course they got the game for free.

  • @breakinggreens
    @breakinggreens Před 7 měsíci +1

    What makes me like review scores is reading the score first, then using that to kinda see how much the negatives way down a game, since I think a game starts at 10/10, and any flaws drag down the score
    Like if a review was giving nothing but praise except for out of place difficulty spike that ruin enjoyment. Then the review could be 7/10, and I then know, that those difficulty spikes managed to knock 30% off the score and perhaps it'd be a serious concern for me or not. But I have an approximate value to make a judgement call on.

  • @Mene0
    @Mene0 Před 7 měsíci

    Opening line already killing it lmao

  • @Oblivion9873
    @Oblivion9873 Před 7 měsíci +9

    Review scores are useful for categorization and in aggregate for getting an understanding of general consensus. Although, for the latter, steam's aggregation of "recommend" vs dont also functions well in that regard.
    When looking at an individual review, the final numerical score is useful when trying to convey "this is roughly how much I enjoyed this" a la Fantano. However, fundamentally, and in regards to how "good" something is, the score is basically useless and the meat of the review is far more important.

  • @copperbadge1
    @copperbadge1 Před 7 měsíci +1

    ...and here I am, listening to multiple reviews, knowing how the reviewers contrast to my own tastes and get my own picture.
    ...just to then wait for a sale anyway. 😶

  • @TravelingAnvil
    @TravelingAnvil Před 7 měsíci

    "that one was a slur" Got me. 10/10. . . oh wait I tripped over the subject.

  • @gramlar3506
    @gramlar3506 Před 7 měsíci

    I appreciate you, and I appreciate you calling out Iron Pineapple. Good stuff

  • @masonc9211
    @masonc9211 Před 7 měsíci

    One of my favorite series on The Escapist, keep it up! I hate how review scores also invite comparison to unrelated games, "How could IGN give (X game) a 7 when (Y game) got an 8."

  • @littlemonster...O_o
    @littlemonster...O_o Před měsícem

    I love this guys voice and the way he narrated this video 😂🥰

  • @firefool125
    @firefool125 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Multi-dimensional flattening into an aggregate called generic quality can be useful. In general though, scores need to be tied to more specific metrics. Which given the wide range of experiences available in games, will require a variety of different possible metrics. Rare is the game that will require measurement across all possible metrics

  • @Gingrnut
    @Gingrnut Před 7 měsíci

    For me, the most important thing that will get me to check out a game is passion, and number of people. If one person I know is really passionate about a new game, or maybe an old one I've never checked out, I might listen to that, but if 2 or more people mention something, unprompted, and have something to say about a game that made an impression on them, well now I've got to read up on it. Because I'm not particularly bothered by what's big, or popular, I just want to know if it has something to say, if somebody put love into making it, that connected with someone who felt the need to talk about it.
    That's how you know there's a spark there, because even if they hated it, sometimes the reason they hated that thing might be reasons you think you might like it. It's all about passion. I want to play games that spark passion in people, because they will at the very least be interesting.

  • @Herrikias
    @Herrikias Před 7 měsíci

    Recommending people anything is pretty tricky. I don't pretend to have a good grasp on what my friends like it or not, so I carefully list features while tempering any excitement or disappointment. Hell, I barely know what I will enjoy or not until I experience it myself.
    It's too easy to convince yourself you know someone, when you don't.

  • @Vyruz64
    @Vyruz64 Před 7 měsíci

    I saw one "standardization" of reviews somewhere, I forgot where, that piqued my interest.
    It basically states that when you want to review a game, pick 5 expectations, 5 things you're expecting the game to do.
    Exciting combat, awesome vistas, laid back farming, whatever the in the premise of the game that excites you the most.
    Then go into the game, and see how much it fulfills said expectations. Did it completely deliver? That's 2 points. Did it satisfy somewhat? 1 point. Did it absolutely fail to meet the expectation? 0.
    In the end you tally them up and you end up with a 0-10 score.
    Of course, you still gotta deliberate on why you picked said expectations and give nuances in your review, but it sounds like a solid concept for giving reviews just a little more substance.

  • @timgreen9677
    @timgreen9677 Před 7 měsíci

    "Miles to kilomiles" made me spit coffee.
    I would very much appreciate (though I realize it takes a bit of work) if there were callouts stating what game footage is being shown throughout the video. So often, I'm curious about what games you're showing but I can't really glean enough information to successfully google it.

  • @StuntzMcKenzy2D
    @StuntzMcKenzy2D Před 7 měsíci +1

    I had the same conversation with myself. I'd give Starfield a 7/10, but I wouldn't recommend it and I have negative feelings towards it because it like watching a professional athlete stop trying. It's better than most, but it doesn't live up to potential. Yet I understand by saying it's a 7 some people equate that to good.

  • @dryued6874
    @dryued6874 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Better Name Pending used a 10-point scale in a couple of his videos, but that measured how many people out of 10 he would recommend the game to, so it kind of measures both how good a game is and how niche it is. A very good game could easily score a 1/10 on that scale, but as long as you keep in mind how the scale works, it might be a useful metric.

  • @dojelnotmyrealname4018
    @dojelnotmyrealname4018 Před 7 měsíci +1

    I personally prefer keyword-ratings. Like the Ross Scott Scale: Fantastic, Good/Great, Love & Hate, Hazy, Doubt, and Pass. It's still a quick summary but it's also much more tied to the reviewer. Also it doesn't pretend to be more objective than it really is.
    To me the biggest problem with review scores is that people try to compare scores from different reviewers. That doesn't work. A different reviewer has different beliefs, different priorities, and a different background. Even comparing a reviewer to their past self is dodgy. People change over time. Not quickly, but they do change.

  • @PJBonoVox
    @PJBonoVox Před 7 měsíci +1

    Back in the day, if you didn't have a magazine with the review score you'd just buy blind. I bought many games this way. I loved many of them, and then found out much later they were critically slated. Now I often wonder what I'm missing out on when I pass over a 6/10 game.

  • @KhaosEmeraldx
    @KhaosEmeraldx Před 7 měsíci

    Excellent writing as always here Frost. I have to agree that finding those who have some kind of preferences that align with yours is important. My immediate friendship group are pro souls-like, whereas i dont jam with them at all. In comparison, im a big fan of nintendo games and retro styled games. Its not that either of us are right or wrong, just subjective in our tastes. I've found that since I come to reviewers who play nintendo more regularly, I get a far better insight on each game.

  • @braydoxastora5584
    @braydoxastora5584 Před 7 měsíci

    6:40
    A more informed opinion is inherently more valuable then the one less informed

  • @Catslug
    @Catslug Před 7 měsíci +2

    I have my own MyAnimeList account that i use to keep track of the anime and manga I've seen, and just yesterday I got rid of all of the review scores i had for each and every one (except a single 10/10). It just seemed like it did more harm than good to have the scores there, especially for shows I hadn't seen in over a decade. How could I justify that 6/10 when I had that opinion in middle school? On top of that, if anyone, for any godforsaken reason were to look at my list, what more would my scores tell them than "i liked it" or "i didn't like it"? They could just ask me how i felt about a certain show and i would tell them, it seems much better to me than relying on a flimsy number.

  • @SenorZorros
    @SenorZorros Před 7 měsíci +1

    Why yes I am in fact here to obsessively remind you that ackschually Yahtzee did in fact award a review score once, the game Wolfenstein (2009) got a grand rating of two stars albeit probably because doing so was poetically advantageous.

  • @machina_spirit
    @machina_spirit Před 7 měsíci

    I must be getting a sign to play Inside. Yesterday i watched GMTK’s video on 2D game cameras and of all the games it showed Inside caught my attention the most, and now here I am seeing about Inside again on a unrelated video lol

  • @scotteggleston7134
    @scotteggleston7134 Před 7 měsíci

    I love you. I love this.

  • @FirstPlace97
    @FirstPlace97 Před 7 měsíci

    It's interesting you should say that there isn't an agreed upon, standardized way of reviewing games, but that you'd be open to scoring games if there was such a method. I have devised one that rates games in 10 broad categories based on universal metrics that every game is beholden to being judged by. Of course, everything is relative, but it can be done. We shouldn't give up on numbers, even if written words have more meaning.

  • @GentlemanGamer94
    @GentlemanGamer94 Před 7 měsíci

    When I was in middle school, I didn't pay attention to review scores and for better for worse, bought simply what looked interesting.
    In high school, as I was becoming more of a gaming enthusiast, I used review scores from specific outlets to gauge past or present games to add to my backlog.
    As a young adult, now review scores mainly only serve as a way for me to gauge whether something I'm vaguely interested will be worth picking up eventually.
    For games I'm really interested in, or if i want to discover new games to become very interested in, I usually prefer to watch to the reviews, retrospectives or early impressions of content creators. I may not be always sold on every game they recommend, but when something about their description of the game and their rationale for their feelings on it click for me, that's often when I'll take a risk on a game - regardless of the metacritic score - and perhaps discover a new favorite.
    It's a vaguer metric, but one that works for me 🙂

  • @kukukachu
    @kukukachu Před 7 měsíci

    another fantastic deep think.

  • @aaronwallis5545
    @aaronwallis5545 Před 7 měsíci

    I rate this Cold take a soft room full of puppies out of things that id like after a bad day.

  • @BinBintheRiceCake
    @BinBintheRiceCake Před 7 měsíci

    "A mad mob hopping from once score looking for validation...."
    Pretty much sums up reviews these days in my book by big outlets.

  • @MariaVosa
    @MariaVosa Před 7 měsíci +3

    Fos a Cold Take this sure was *scorching* !
    "people ... who have mistaken their hobby for a personality" 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
    Incidentally, this is why I love the 3 min reviews. Not just because they give a concise and useful insight into the game with visuals, but becuase the reviewers are often chosen for the type of game they like - and if it's not they clearly state so. Not everyone loves puzzles, or FPS, or JRPG. And if there is a game (or movie) I'm interested in that seems to be divisive I like to read a few negative and a few positive reviews, because that gives me an idea of what kind of audience it is aimed at.

  • @ExploDjinn
    @ExploDjinn Před 7 měsíci +2

    Rather than a score, I think it's just better to say whether one recommends a game. And if the rest of the review is done well, it should be obvious whether you do or not before you spell it out at the end.

  • @allenfinkenaur5001
    @allenfinkenaur5001 Před 7 měsíci

    I don't always have time or desire to read full articles for games reviews(looking at you Kotaku), especially if I'm already on the fence about one. Scores and a pro/con list let me know if the rest of the review is worth reading.

  • @michaellewis7605
    @michaellewis7605 Před 7 měsíci

    "That was a slur" made me laugh so hard people judged me at work

  • @lupusjoe
    @lupusjoe Před 7 měsíci

    I think the problem is that reviewers often go into a game/movie with an expectation built up on knowledge that not all their audience is going to share. So they then spend the review bashing or praising the product based on the expectation they had built up for the game. For example indie games getting praised for coming out of nowhere and big budget games being lambasted for falling short of potential.
    However when pressed to give it an actual score it focuses the conversation back on the product.

  • @lemonlordminecraft
    @lemonlordminecraft Před 7 měsíci

    This beats out both Yahtzee's current series (yes, I am not counting Dev Diary) for the spot of "my favourite The Escapist show". Neither "punctuation" series would work with music so perhaps that's it. Perhaps it's the over-familiarity with the big man over the years. Wouldn't matter, keep up the good work, Mr Ruiz.

  • @CassidyBooks
    @CassidyBooks Před 7 měsíci +1

    Every Cold Take I've watched so far, I end up agreeing with. So either Frost and I think alike on stuff like this, or I'm not thinking for myself. Either way, both outcomes are scary: for good and bad reasons respectively.

  • @joshnelson125
    @joshnelson125 Před 7 měsíci

    I was surprised you mentioned Skill Up as an example of a review outlet that takes technical performance into account while showing content from DigitalFoundary. I watch both regularly, and while Skill Up does take technical matters into consideration, DF really digs into the state of the technical performance of a game.

  • @l88ch3r
    @l88ch3r Před 7 měsíci +1

    Fi...Five ex-wives!?! lol.
    Great vid, love the dulcet tones of Mr. Ruiz. Also, I also follow the line of thinking that says that placing an arbitrary number on a game in an attempt to quantify an unquantifiable feeling.

  • @roibeard94
    @roibeard94 Před 7 měsíci

    I give this review of the concept of reviews two Belgian waffles out of three 1987 Arnold Schwarzeneggers