What is the value of a review? This question occurred to me when I opened my mailbox this morning. A fellow blogger had reviewed a game that I had scored high in the past. He was rather definite in his opinion, thinking the game was a waste of his time. And me being me, I instantly wondered if I had led you, my readers, astray by giving positive feedback. Even making it my game of the month exactly one year ago, for November 2015!
The game I’m talking about is Code Realize: Guardians of Rebirth. It’s an otome novel on the PS Vita, that tells a highly romantic story of a heroin that meets several dashing young men. What makes it intriguing is that the girls is poisonous to the touch, literally. Other than that, she is a sweet girl, and all the men involved try very hard to be her hero.
I know, writing this down makes me realize it’s pretty farfetched. But then, aren’t most stories behind lots of games farfetched? We are talking fantasy novels here, of the kind that a lot of us find very entertaining. Or Chick Lit, that is in high demand to relax and let real life pass you by for a couple of hours. I don’t have to look any further then my own bookshelves to see lots of stories that wouldn’t happen in real life. Ever.
Can a review be objective?
This triggered a chain of thoughts in my gaming brain that I wanted to talk to you about. A review is always subjective. I mean, the person making the review and experiencing the game has a certain outlook in life. This influences the way you feel about a book, a movie or music or really anything that a person experiences.
The same goes for gaming: your background in gaming and preferences in what kind of game you want to play, influences the way you feel about a game. So, it’s perfectly okay for one person to feel positive about a game, while someone else doesn’t like the game one bit. Seems logical. It’s just that I would hate to give my readers wrong advice.
From time to time I put up a review for a handheld game on here. They aren’t objective reviews, nor are they fleshed out reviews. I know other people who are much better at reviewing, making a well-rounded story that highlights all angles of the game. My reviews are my own thoughts and own experiences with a game. As a reader, to judge if you would follow me in liking a game, you would have to know what kind of games I like.
But know one thing: I don’t like negativity on my site. If I play a game and don’t like it, you won’t read a review on here. I don’t like to put lots of negativity about a game on ladiesgamers.com, just because the game is not my cup of tea. Because the logic applies to the reverse situation too: I might not like a game, but someone else may be wildly enthusiastic about it.
Two very different reviews
If you want to compare and see what brought me to this train of thoughts, you will find my review of the game here. The review of my fellow blogger, called “Code Realize: Please get me out of here” is here. An entertaining read from a great writer, which is exactly why I follow his blog!
If you are a game-blogger too, I’m curious to hear what you think about this topic. And if you just try to find the best game for you to play, I’d love to hear your thoughts too!
I’d never read that blog before, but the important thing is he does argue his case. I’ve only just started CR:GoR and my reaction so far is somewhere between these 2 poles.
Those are very diverging reviews to say the least. I think it’s awesome how the same game can cause completely different reactions.
True! And know that I had your reviews in mind when I talk about complete reviews from every possible angle!
Thanks a lot! =)
I am glad you feel that way about them, especially since you are such a great and insightful blogger.
Well dear Yvonne, you brilliantly summed it up! Indeed, there is no such thing as a genuinely objective review. The reviewer’s personality, background and gaming tastes always shines through; sometimes gloriously, as in blog posts, sometimes in a more muted way, as in professional reviews.
I think it’s really important not to doubt one’s own insight about a given game. If you love a game and get some fun out of it, then your feelings are indeniable and shouldn’t be questioned; same if a game bores you or annoys you. I myself lavished praise on games that garnered horrendous reviews, such as Hometown Story and Astonishia Story; and I’ll stand by my opinion anytime, because I genuinely loved these games, regardless of what 90% of reviewers felt about them.
I absolutely love the new wintery theme! It’s so soothing to watch these lovely snowflakes waltz across the screen. 🙂
Last but not least, thanks a lot for the kind words! ^___^
You’re very welcome, and you are right of course. If you like a game, then why would you feel as if you’ve got it wrong when others say it’s not a good game? We shall just agree to disagree, and continue to have fun reading each other’s articles. As I said, I always enjoy yours a lot, even though I don’t always agree!
By the way, we have common ground about the HomeTown story game. It was a pity it was so unfinished, but it held my attention for quite some time
Go to any review aggregate site and you will see how opinions vary wildly depending on taste. Some people will rate a movie/game highly and someone else will do the opposite. I wouldn’t be concerned about leading readers astray, as long as you are honest and explain why you liked/disliked the product you are covering.
People need to research what they buy by reading multiple reviews or trusting the reviews of critics they have similar tastes to. Most of my reviews aren’t negative either, as I will stop playing a game if I don’t like it. If I don’t finish a game, or play it for a substantial amount of time, it’s not really fair to write about it.
You’re right of course, it’s not fair to write negative about a game if you’ve not played it for a decent amount of time.
It’s exactly like I wrote, there are no objective reviews!
Well-written piece! Reviews are most definitely subjective, and you want to be fair to the game but also deliver your own experiences and thoughts coming into the review. There’s nothing wrong with the way you think about a game, and nobody should judge other based on it either. I will say, knowing the kinds of games you like based on previous reviews, I know you have game preferences that flow well with mine. So your glowing reviews of things like World of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest Builders get me hyped for them. Keep doing the awesome work you’re doing and know that your reviews help people like me think about whether I want a game!
I think that is what works best: if you know what kind of games someone likes, and get a feel for the way these games work for you. I guess that if you’ve found such a site or blog, you’ll feel much more sure about a game you would want to buy.
So, is that what we are doing in our little blogosphere?