Gold-Plated Games

On Steam, I was perfectly happy with the binary up/down review system. It worked well in context because in the end, all someone on the store page needs to know is if I’m recommending it or not. Out here on a review site, though, it’s not so simple. I might give a thumbs up to both The Talos Principle and Mirror Mysteries, but that hardly means they’re equivalent. For that reason I’ve come up with a rating system to use just on the site, to help organize my reviews further and provide a better snapshot of my recommendations. It’s still not a substitute for reading the review itself, but in short this is what they mean.

Excellent – Reserved for games at the pinnacle of their genre. I would recommend these titles without reservation to anyone, regardless of preferences.

Good – Most games will land in this area, since I don’t make a habit of buying bad games. These titles accomplish what they set out to do and succeed in entertaining, though they may have quirks or flaws that need to be highlighted.

Ok – This is a pretty gray area, meant for games that perform as advertised without doing anything else of note, or ones that took risks that didn’t pan out. They’re not bad games, but they can’t really be recommended without huge caveats.

Bad – If I can’t recommend a game, it ends up here. Any title that fails to hold my attention or doesn’t manage to be fun gets this mark of disapproval.

Awful – A game really has to work to get this one. Technical incompetence, repugnant content, or worse will earn a title my strongest condemnation.