The tittle says it all. I hope I am not blind but I do not know how to write a review, I clearly see the "Post Reply" in threads but I do not see how I could write reviews.
How to write a review for a game?
- Thread starter Zamel_
- Start date
Click on the stars (top right) to give a vote (1 star = bad, 5 star = perfect), once you do, it will ask you to write a review.
-Edit-
Make sure to read these rules: https://f95zone.to/threads/review-rating-rules-updated-2019-02-12.1753/ before writing a review.
-Edit-
Make sure to read these rules: https://f95zone.to/threads/review-rating-rules-updated-2019-02-12.1753/ before writing a review.
- Jun 21, 2017
- 6,604
- 19,025
Click on the stars top right to open the review window.
Pro tip: Make sure you don't click outside of the window until you've finished otherwise you'll lose the review. It's worth writing the review in notepad or something similar and then paste it in.
Pro tip: Make sure you don't click outside of the window until you've finished otherwise you'll lose the review. It's worth writing the review in notepad or something similar and then paste it in.
It's not in the review rules but I'd say it's good practice to start with mentioning the version which you are reviewing.
Games constantly evolve and add content that you may or may not like, but the review stays the same unless you edit it at some point.
Some reviewers give a 0.1 1 or 2 stars because of lack of content, or low quality renders, where as per 0.9 there is a lot of content and render quality improved dramatically. But if you didn't include the version number in the review then it's up to the reader to guess what you reviewed (although the date can give some hint).
Games constantly evolve and add content that you may or may not like, but the review stays the same unless you edit it at some point.
Some reviewers give a 0.1 1 or 2 stars because of lack of content, or low quality renders, where as per 0.9 there is a lot of content and render quality improved dramatically. But if you didn't include the version number in the review then it's up to the reader to guess what you reviewed (although the date can give some hint).
I completely agree, it is not fair to give low reviews for content when the game was just released. Development takes time and money.
Now I can finally review the games I have played and they are a lot
Now I can finally review the games I have played and they are a lot
Yeah, but it does go both ways: new games can also benefit from positive early reviews, although that also isn't always fair.
Then you get reviews like: "Review v.0.1.: This game has a lot of promise: 5 stars" even when the review of the v.0.5 could be something like "It used to be promising but then it became a grindfest, 3 stars for good renders and interesting story but -2 stars for annoying gameplay".
Also in early development reviews can be important because the dev is likely looking for feedback and new players are looking for guidance. But when the game is in very early / demo stage, I'd usually post something in the thread saying "I think it's too early to give a review, but (pro's and con's) and if I were to review it, I'd give 3 stars at the moment, but looking forward to seeing improvements".
- Aug 13, 2019
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Wouldn’t it be fair to say then: It is never fair to give an unfinished game a review?
You know the game is changing, evolving, expanding, improving while you are knowingly evaluating an unfinished piece. IRL, you can say everything good about a basketball player during the 1st quarter of the game; but then what if he loses his cool and starts missing shots? Your comment on how good he is will be totally false. You can’t certainly justify a certain developer will always produce top quality goods, remind yourself of The Last of Us 2. Even a promising developer can fail to deliver a promising good. So when you are writing a review saying an unfinished game has a lot of potentials, you do have to estimate how far the developers can go and what budget they are running on. You will have to do more than just playing to verify that the game has potential.
So to be precise, if you must review an unfinished game, you should always update your review once a new version is released. Reviewing your own review and rectifying all the pros & cons (also grammar, which I have been correcting for the 2nd time upon completing this post). A good review is not only fair and just but must also be up-to-date and the writer must continue to revise and revisit it when there are new insights.
Or, if you must do a review on an unfinished game, avoid evaluating plot at all, since it will be variable in later versions. There are too many variables in plot unless everything is set. So to criticize the plot, either you know so much and so far ahead of others that you can make an accurate assumption of what lies ahead; or you know nothing like Jon Snow and struggle with the variables as your aftermath. Again, you will have to clean up your mess if you are responsible.
Or only evaluate on whatever it has in the moment and mention only those in the review and the current development of the game. It is fairly easy. If you state the current development status, list all the areas you are reviewing only, do not add in expectation and anything about its potential, you will be fairly accurate
Or lastly, just don’t do reviews at all. Some games are overrated anyway, but what are the harms? To each of our likings, no one review can fairly justify anyone’s impression perfectly after they have played a game.
(Personally, updating the review accordingly is how I would have done it)
Finally, 1-5 Star rating is only relevant to your own personal experience//impression . It wouldn’t matter much until you are a trustworthy and famous review specialist, simply and to be perfectly honest, no one cares our individual’s impression of the game anyway. You can give a 5-Star while others see it as 1-Star. So do write your own review as many as you can, be as fair and just as you can be, and hopefully, pray that there are enough people seeing your reviews as fair and as just as they see them. Because, by then, you have mastered how to write a review.
(P.S.: Never imitate style or tone of other writers, always be original and stick with it; based on my experience on Roll20, my player application format & style has been plagiarized, honestly you won’t feel good when you see your own copycats actually put you out of jobs or out of the games in my case...)
(P.S.2: That is just how I see a review should be written, but after all, everyone has their own standards. Don’t stress yourself too hard on writing reviews. No one is paying us to do that)
(Edited: Revised 5 times just to make everything clear and hopefully, error-free)
You know the game is changing, evolving, expanding, improving while you are knowingly evaluating an unfinished piece. IRL, you can say everything good about a basketball player during the 1st quarter of the game; but then what if he loses his cool and starts missing shots? Your comment on how good he is will be totally false. You can’t certainly justify a certain developer will always produce top quality goods, remind yourself of The Last of Us 2. Even a promising developer can fail to deliver a promising good. So when you are writing a review saying an unfinished game has a lot of potentials, you do have to estimate how far the developers can go and what budget they are running on. You will have to do more than just playing to verify that the game has potential.
So to be precise, if you must review an unfinished game, you should always update your review once a new version is released. Reviewing your own review and rectifying all the pros & cons (also grammar, which I have been correcting for the 2nd time upon completing this post). A good review is not only fair and just but must also be up-to-date and the writer must continue to revise and revisit it when there are new insights.
Or, if you must do a review on an unfinished game, avoid evaluating plot at all, since it will be variable in later versions. There are too many variables in plot unless everything is set. So to criticize the plot, either you know so much and so far ahead of others that you can make an accurate assumption of what lies ahead; or you know nothing like Jon Snow and struggle with the variables as your aftermath. Again, you will have to clean up your mess if you are responsible.
Or only evaluate on whatever it has in the moment and mention only those in the review and the current development of the game. It is fairly easy. If you state the current development status, list all the areas you are reviewing only, do not add in expectation and anything about its potential, you will be fairly accurate
Or lastly, just don’t do reviews at all. Some games are overrated anyway, but what are the harms? To each of our likings, no one review can fairly justify anyone’s impression perfectly after they have played a game.
(Personally, updating the review accordingly is how I would have done it)
Finally, 1-5 Star rating is only relevant to your own personal experience//impression . It wouldn’t matter much until you are a trustworthy and famous review specialist, simply and to be perfectly honest, no one cares our individual’s impression of the game anyway. You can give a 5-Star while others see it as 1-Star. So do write your own review as many as you can, be as fair and just as you can be, and hopefully, pray that there are enough people seeing your reviews as fair and as just as they see them. Because, by then, you have mastered how to write a review.
(P.S.: Never imitate style or tone of other writers, always be original and stick with it; based on my experience on Roll20, my player application format & style has been plagiarized, honestly you won’t feel good when you see your own copycats actually put you out of jobs or out of the games in my case...)
(P.S.2: That is just how I see a review should be written, but after all, everyone has their own standards. Don’t stress yourself too hard on writing reviews. No one is paying us to do that)
(Edited: Revised 5 times just to make everything clear and hopefully, error-free)
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Somewhat unfortunately, with the Patreon business model, many games are unfinished.
On the other hand, I also like watching a developing story, like weekly (I wish...) episodes of some TV-series.
Updating reviews is a noble goal but personally I have difficulty keeping track of games I have reviewed, and frankly, in some cases I can't be bothered. Or in other cases, the game hasn't noticably changed in between the review and current version, besides added content.
That's my approach more or less. Except that, very rarely, I do a very early review and give a high score for technical reasons. Like Patronus for it's complex game mechanic. But giving a high score for expected plot or fetishes, that's ridiculous...
- Aug 13, 2019
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I understand the Patreon aspect, which is why there will always be concerns and worries whether the project will be completed. Hence giving an unfinished project a perfect rating and encouraging others to get on the boat, I am not saying it is immoral to do that, but literally you might be sending someone to a sinking ship which you did not know. If you had to praise the game in such manner, do warn others of the troubling news and possibilities. Share your doubts.
As an evaluator, you are morally bound to review both the good and bad aspects. If you are only giving all the ups simply because you sympathize with the creators and you think they deserve more supporters, you can be falsely advertising a product that may never be delivered. I believe some of us have seen news on how IRL Patreon creators have scammed before (worst cases, experienced it). To be fair, write about their project time, the amount of work produced, the quality of work produced etc. areas that show that the developer//creators are capable to deliver what they promise as they have claimed on time. Give those information as your follow-up in your review, that will prove their work is not just quality, their team is working on schedule. Give the possible investors the confidence that they need to invest in them; give the investors the need-to-know basis on their subject, so they can make a better judgement on the level of commitment they will offer. If you are making a prediction, don't make a one-sided one; look at Bill Clinton's comment on censoring the Internet in China: "Good luck with that!" How could he have expected that they can do such a perfect job? Or like that in Saudi, something can be seen as a cyber crime and they can make legitimate arrest. Don't let the happy-go-lucky side of you ignore the fact that it can be very likely, you are using a product that has been made by child labour//prisoners or you are directly supporting a brand that hires companies out-sourcing staff recruitment etc. so as to avoid responsibilities in any legal process. State both the hopeful expectations and the less likely tragic aftermath.
Be fair, be just, and you shall always be writing a good and thorough review that will stand as a monument of this community. Let what you write defines who you truly are: a pillar of this community that shall never swing for either side, a true review specialist that deserves respect and holds genuine creditability.
(P.S.: I am going to update my review on a certain game as I have just learnt a new development; FYI, tracking your review is easy here, you can always keep a trail of it since it is being kept track of by the forum; if you have too many reviews to track, why not narrowing it down to games either completely worth your time or games that you will never revisit for obvious reasons; and that's it for me on this thread, I have done almost a short novel amount of sharing on writing reviews, it should be more than enough for anyone to pick up as a reference if they see it fit)
This is something that everybody needs to read before writing a review. It should be mandatory to read this and make a test about it before you have authority to make a review. plus some IQ test would be good addition. There is way too many idiotic 5-star reviews for 0.1 and 0.0001 games. And it's common that developers ask in patreon or discord fans to make a review and in one day there is suddenly dozens of 5-star reviews for a game that really doesn't deserve it.
Well it's not practical to do that, a test, even further an IQ test. To answer , whatever the IQ a person can have, anyone can be lazy to give a complete review....
What needs to be done is raise awareness when it comes to reviewing like a good and clear guideline. There is already rules posted for what must not be done in reviews.....Society is not only built on rules but also trust in each other.
Yeah, but it's subjective anyway...
Another aspect that should be considered: reviewers review games they feel strongly about.
If I find a game is meh, I'm not going to waste my time with writing a review.
Unless I had really high hopes but the game let me down and/or if I think I can influence the dev to make certain adjustments.
But that last part isn't really fair either.
What I'm trying to say is, fairness and objectivity are a utopia. At most, you can try to help devs and other players by giving your opinion.
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No matter how much I agree with you, I don’t think anyone would enforce that. Neither will anyone take up such duty. Normal people can only do normal things at the normal standard. That is why I left it there for reference. Not every critics are willing to go that far, some just want their paycheck and go. Some just want to put on a good show, and pray for sales to follow. Not everyone is willing to give in their fullest at what they can do best. It’s human nature, preservation shall last you longer.
If we human all have been doing the very best to our extend for the best interest of all parties, there will be no countries, no hunger, no homeless and more. Because we will be all as one with the best of what we can share. Sadly, that world doesn’t exist on this Earth or any other Earth (if there are any), humanity is destined to doom itself by its own greediness and selfishness.
My guide on writing a review is merely a stepping stone in history. It shall fade away into the abyss. Farewell and I shall not revisit this post again.
If you have truly learnt from my post, keep it to your heart. Show it to trustworthy people that share your view. Remember: constant vigilance, may your unwavering will be the guiding hope of your community.
This hermit walks a lonely, winding road,
Leaving a trail of gold.
This hermit lives with his own very code,
Leaving a note untold.
His heart turns cold,
this hermit dies old.
No one man shall follow,
all his words go hollow.
Is there a way to disable the review message?
It keeps popping up a lot and it became very annoying.
It keeps popping up a lot and it became very annoying.