How do you look at reviews?

[♍VoidTraveler]

Read about 5-10% of 5 star reviews, depending on who wrote them.
Read 4 star reviews, if multiple of those look like they're in consensus about the game i may play that game.
Read 3 star reviews, treat games that have 3 star average as, well, average. About 40% chance that i will play this game.
Read 2 star reviews about 50% of the time, depending on who wrote them it may affect whether i play the game or not.
Read about 5-10% of 1 star reviews, depending on who wrote them.

So, yeah. I basically gather information from multiple reviews before i even download.

 

[DeathAndHealing]

I don't read reviews

 

[kintarodev]

Real simple: I don't.

Games are free and only take a few minutes to download, if it interests me I'll check it out myself.

Exactly this. I prefer to put a short time in trying myself than in wondering if other users are honest or not or where they come from

 

[Meaning Less]

People have the weirdest metrics on how they rate stuff what makes the majority of reviews completely useless.

But once in a while you stumble upon some helpful reviews that make you understand better how the game actually works if the synopsis/screenshots were not enough.

 

[trex999999]

In the 100s of games I've tried on this site I can't recall ever looking at a single review (or seldom even the overall star rating) before deciding to try or not to try a game.

I read the tags, the "plot" hook, and check the images to see if it's something I might be into, and then I give a try. More often than not, those criteria alone end up providing something that is at least fappable - if not just outright entertaining on appreciation of the quirks of somebody else's creative work.

Typically reviews are something I'll come back and read afterwards. Actually, I've been a little bored lately working from home and I've been just going through the reviews page-by-page on every renpy game that I'm familiar with (that's basically all of them) and reading some of the more long winded ones because I find it kind of interesting and entertaining - but also because I'm in the planning stages of developing my own VN, and I want to take in as much constructive feedback as a I can from a wide range of other developers mistakes or successes.

5-star reviews are almost always handed out because the reviewer is horned up and fixated on one thing about the VN that they liked, whether it be a character(s) or fetish(es), a 5-star review basically only ever contains shallow praise "wow wow dev very very sexy bobs and vagene can't wait for next update" type stuff. Or sometimes it's an overdose on hype about the potential that a game had at one point (I've done this one before, too).

In fact that is a big trend I've noticed with VNs that have been around for more than a year, even those with high overall ratings - their most recent reviews are either heavily mixed, or outright negative. Most games are carried by a flood of 5 star reviews from the excitement generated by the first release or two - it almost never carries through development.

The most insightful always range from 1-3 stars. You of course get some 1 star ratings which are just as bad as 5 star ratings - shallow, containing barely intelligible insults or simply saying that they hated the themes/kinks of the game. But generally speaking 1-3 star reviews are quite lengthy, well-written and from a range of people (fans or haters) who have actually played the whole VN and considered for some time what they liked and disliked. Sometimes they are self-indulgent word spewers (like myself), but usually they are worth reading for anybody who is interested in making something creative themselves, or simply wants a good chuckle.

 

[forzato]

I'll give a game 5 stars if it's a new developer that I feel has put in the work and looks promising. This helps boost them closer to the front of the page. Then after a few updates if they don't deliver I'll adjust my rating like with College Kings where I switched to 2 stars because I felt it was seriously lacking.

 

[80773]

"This game has potential"
If a review starts out with that phrase i ignore it. That have to be one of the most used phrases i come across.
Plus they often tend to give 5 stars.

I haven't seen/played a single game here yet of the +1000 games i have tired that are worthy of 5 stars.
Some have been close, but not quite there.

In my book a 5 star game would be something like Cyperpunk 2077 or The Sims if they where porn games to begin with (not counting mods). Ofcorese that is high bar and maybe even unrealistic, but even indie titles (looking at you "Thief simulator") can be worth 5 stars as well.
Sure something like VN is in another category and should therefor be rated for what it is and not what you think it should be.
This can make the whole star system a bit confusing at times.

So i ignore all 5 stars reviews.

1 star reviews only seems to be right, when most if not all reviews are 1 star.

However sometimes people give a lower score then they want, to tank the overall score to fit what they think it is worth (i did this once, with a 5 stared game)

Also short reviews that tells little to non about the game mechanics or story (if there is any) isn't helpful.

The games may only take a short time to download, however they take way longer to go through, so reading the reviews is a shortcut to find out if it is even worth you're time. Especially if the game is filled with bugs and/or have little to no content.

 

[woody554]

my method is I just ignore all of them. not just with sex games but all games.

 

[VegitoHlove]

With binoculars! Duh!

Nah, I don't bother. Most reviews say nothing useful and I feel that the comments in the thread proper does an okay enough job. I find that the amount of stars in for a game to be meaningless.

 

[obibobi]

People are going on about 5 star reviews being bad, but the 1 star reviews for some of the more popular games are some of the most petty things you will ever read.

 

[phonexy]

There are way to many "trolls" on this board. Just because someone hates one of the games features, or it isn't in the taste of that one they call the whole game shit and rate it 1 star

I always take reviews with a grain of salt.

 

[russianbot]

I always beeline straight for the 1 and 2 star reviews. If I'm in the reviews section, then I've already been convinced by the game's superficial detail, i.e. summary, tags, preview images, completion status, game engine, hottake/shitpost comments on the first page, etc. What I want from the review section is someone who has played the game to tell me if those superficial details about the game are representative or not.

 

[4-kun]

Reviews are very inconsistent. Everybody has their own measurement system.

Some games have superb art and animations, therefore, they receive a 5-star rating. However, they lack a compelling story and gameplay. Why should I waste my time on this when I could just watch porn?

On the flip side, some games are designed to be short but boast good mechanics and overall polish. Unfortunately, they get downvoted for not having enough content...

I still look up reviews. Overall, I would say that 3 and 4-star reviews are the most objective. 3-star reviewers often tend to reflect on what they subjectively don't like, so you still get a good picture of the game and can decide if it's worth your time.


Lastly, everybody has a different perspective on the rating itself. IMHO:

1-2 stars; are self-explanatory, but sometimes depend on the number of reviews.

3 stars; I have a feeling that it tends to be mostly considered as rather below average.
(I would rate a complete game with 3 stars if it has its flaws but is still a somewhat good one-time experience. As for unfinished games, if they are overall good but need bug fixes, upgrades on game mechanics, etc.)

4 stars; good games with minor flaws.

5 stars; are often overrated.

 

[Nutluck]

Like with all reviews for games here, triple A games, movies etc it is pointless to look at the "rating", for the reasons you said. They are subjective, it is far better to ignore the rating and just read all the reviews, even then some might be biased one way or the other due to that persons preferences, but at least you get some insight into what the thing is actually like.

 

[Dessolos]

I look at 1 or 2 5 , 4 and 2 or 1 star then made judgement call from there. I usually only look at 3 star if it's mostly all 4 and 5 star reviews or it's a long post.

 

[chainedpanda]

Individual reviews can't be trusted. Generally, reviews are exceedingly biased. I've reviewed a few games, and while I often attempt to avoid biases, I know it's still there. So, instead, I look at the overall rating.

5 means fuck all really, but I can at least assume there isn't any underlying issue with the game.
4 means that the game is solid, but I shouldn't expect the world or there is some controversial element to it.
3 means there is something fundamentally wrong, oftentimes it's translations, bugs, art or the game is just poorly written.
2 means the game is just shit.
1, I don't know if I ever saw an established game have a 1 star.

Otherwise, I generally go in blind. I often only download 4-5 star games in general. I will try 3-star depending on my mood however. In the off chance that something about the game alarms me, I'll search the thread for related keywords, or I'll skim threw the last couple pages on the thread.

I've always found that the complaints of people in the thread are more reliable than reviews anyway. Even if the complaints aren't always justified, they oftentimes provide me the answers to whatever I'm looking for, one way or another.