Love them or hate them, review scores are a big deal. You may say that they're unnecessary or that they distract from more important conversations about game criticism -- and that's fine -- but there's no denying that a lot of people care about that all-important number. Need proof? Just take one look at the recent Days Gone review debacle.
At the time of writing, Days Gone has a 72 on Metacritic, and that, according to some people, is a disaster. Why? How? When did we decide that 7 is closer to 0 than it is 10? As a fairly experienced reviewer myself, it's a notion that drives me up the wall. I can't give a game a 7/10 without people insinuating that it's a failure, and that's just ridiculous.
Now look, there are a lot of things that factor into this way of thinking. For starters, games are not cheap, especially if you're on a tight budget. If you're forking out $60 for a brand new retail release, you probably want the best, and if a game's being showered with 8s, 9s, and 10s, then you're gonna feel better about your purchase. But even with that in mind, why has 7 become the point at which you wait for a sale or ignore the game entirely? Isn't 7 supposed to be good? Not great, sure, but still good? Worth it? A solid game?
Well, according to Push Square's scoring policy it is, but clearly, not every publication or critic agrees. And that's not me having a go at other websites -- that's just the way things have turned out.
You see, 5/10 should be the average score, for obvious reasons, but that's just not the case. In reality, 7/10 is more or less the average because most games fall into that category of being good. Just good. Not great, not amazing -- just good. And when I say 'most games' I'm not taking every game that's ever been made into account -- I'm talking about games that actually get reviewed.
It's impossible to review every single game that gets released -- there are just too many of them. It was difficult enough back when I first started writing about games years ago, but now it's completely out of the question. The simple truth is that websites and critics have to pick and choose specific games to review, Push Square included. And that means everyone sticks to covering roughly the same games -- the ones making the most noise, the ones that their audiences have shown the most interest in.
By doing this, you narrow the scope of review scores significantly. If a game's making waves, it's usually because it looks promising, and surprise, a lot of promising-looking games end up being pretty good. And so we're left with an abundance of 6s, 7s, 8s, and 9s, all of them serving to skew our perspective of the 10 point review scale.
Going back to Days Gone, we've got a game that most agree is good -- it's just not on par with the many titles that settle on 8s, 9s, and 10s. It's worth reiterating that there's nothing wrong with this -- I'm sure you've all thoroughly enjoyed at least one game that got "middling" review scores -- but because of that skewed perspective I mentioned earlier, Days Gone is deemed a critical flop. It's crazy.
Of course, you can always try to tell people that review scores don't really matter. Use them as guidelines, tools to help you decide on how to spend your hard-earned cash -- try not to take them so personally. But then this is the internet -- it's either the holy grail of gaming or it's the biggest piece of crap to ever grace a console.
Do you agree with Rob's points, or should 7/10 games be condemned to the trashcan? Make sure your opinion is at least an 8/10 in the comments section below.
Comments 138
A review score is subjective. Amazes me how some people get worked up over scores they deem to be too low.
I wholeheartedly agree with this and have said so elsewhere on here. When did 7 out of 10 become bad, I did pick up on something when saying that it's not as good as some games which have scored higher and I wonder if it has suffered due to how great other Sony games have been over the last couple of years and is been unfairly judged because of it. Also I wonder if the story is overshadowing many peoples opinions as I frequently see something along the lines of story is bad yet gameplay is good, well I like a good story but gameplay will always be king.
Now I'm very early in the game but so far so good apart from a slightly odd opening scene that didn't need to exist or should have been much longer. That aside the early gameplay seems to be very good and the game looks great on the Pro and I cant wait to explore the world some more
I agree that people take review personally. I feel like the most vocal people when it comes to reviews are those looking to justify a purchase as opposed to looking for more perspective prior to making a purchase.
Ive played plenty of 7/10 games that i liked way more than some 9/10 games. People need to chill
Yeah it blew my mind when I saw forums and social media acting like Days Gone had been getting 2/10s. Don't understand it at all.
I've had plenty of fun with games that weren't the greatest reviewed games all the time. 7s are generally fun games with issues in my experience.
With the policy in mind a 7 sounds fair. It is rated as good. On the other hand without the policy in mind a 7 sounds mediocre, for reasons mentioned in the article.
I really enjoyed Mad Max on PS4, which has a Metacritic rating of 69. I’ve also put quite a few hours into The Crew 2, which has an even lower rating on MC (64). So even though I do look at the MC scores, I take them with a pinch of salt. I also take into consideration the user score. I will probably buy Days Gone at some point, but will wait till it comes down in price and has been patched a few times.
Cause people are idiots. Reviews are just someone's opinion that they get paid to put out. They're no better than my opinion and yours, and I wish people would stop following the sheep mentality and form their own opinions, but I know that's asking for too much.
No. 7/10 is not a bad score. Not even close. In a 1-10 scale, 5 is average. So 1 and 2 are terrible, 3 is bad, 4 is below average, 5 is average, 6 is above average, 7 is good, 8 is great, 9 is excellent, 10 is amazing.
This issue will continue to baffle me every single day.
It sucks you guys have to defend yourselves for nothing. I feel Days Gone is a 7 and your review was fair and just.
I think it’s a bit obtuse to say that you can’t understand why people would perceive 7/10 to be a disappointing score.
Anyway, get rid of numbering all together if you don’t like it.
Felt the very same about mad Max and the surge. Here it's a bit of a bigger deal since it's a Sony exclusive, after God of War and Spiderman, which both were home runs.
It's also a matter of time. Some people don't necessarily have time for something that is "just" good so that's why a 7/10 could be declined, which I understand. I'd even play games with mediocre reviews if I'm interested in the subject matter... Remember picking up God Hand after reading the infamous ign review, just cause I wanted to spank goons into space.
pushsquare gave surge a 5 .and the reviewer gave it a 5.and trust me he's wrong.the game is a 8.I play the game yesterday.and I'm at the end.and he complained about the game being hard.well level up.get better.I welcome hard game.it's easy to me.so the surge is a great game.glad the surge have a sequel.word up son
A big problem stems from publishers using these review scores as a means to incentivize game development. It's sort of like how a grocery store will let you review your cashier in a survey. You give them a 7/10 because they were pleasant enough to deal with and gave you fair service. Well according to the parent company, only 9's and 10's are good, so anything below that is a failure that might as well be a 0/10 and the cashier gets reprimanded for it, even though they gave better than average service. It's literally the exact same concept.
what's funny to me is on my twitter feed players are loving it I think some game journalists are VERY out of touch with the people playing the games week in & out.
I blame a few things when it comes to this modern day furor that 7/10 review scores are supposedly 'bad'
1. Internet 'Outrage' Culture - Just the other day, I read a Facebook post of someone saying Days Gone is trash and they regret not getting MK11 instead. What followed was a cacophony of replies saying 'Thanks you saved me money', 'I knew it was going to be crap' and the like. All opinions formed by people that HAVE NOT PLAYED THE GAME for themselves based on the opinion of ONE person who didn't like it, and may have had a sour view of the game before it was even released. Since when have we become a hive mind? Can we not think for ourselves anymore?
2. Overblown Expectations - I think that because Sony's first party studios have been cranking out some absolute bangers this generation, it's also had the negative effect of making some people think that EVERYTHING that the publisher puts out is going to be potential GOTY material. Sure, have high expectations of something that will cost quite a bit of money and time investment, but realise that everything isn't going to be a better-than-sex experience.
3. Unpatched Code Reviewed - As much as I long for the 'good old days' of when games released 'complete', I accept the reality that in many cases nowadays games are 'works-in-progress' for months or even years after release. Case in point: Gran Turismo Sport. Sure, Days Gone had/has some issues at launch, but it's nowhere near as bad as something like Fallout 76 was, according to what I've read. I think there should be a byline in the review of upcoming games that inform readers that the review is based on pre-launch code and may have bugs that may be patched out during the launch period. I think that would be appreciated by folks that actually read the reviews and don't just dive to the bottom of the article for the score.
Years and years of conditioning have made us believe 8s, 9s and 10s are the only games really worth our time and money. It’s funny to then blame the consumer because they are wary that the latest blockbuster is only a 7.
This doesn’t happen the same way with movies, so I don’t see how it can be a problem that the gaming audience have created themselves.
Potential issue? Giving stuff like Persona 5 and God of War 10s. They are 8s really. The number of true 10/10 games should probably be counted on one hand. (Of course FF7, MGS1 and FF9 would be 3 of those )
I have never understood it either. 6 is an 'average' game in my opinion and 7 is just a good game, not great (8), not excellent (9) and not 'perfect' (10). There are a lot of games that average '7' that a lot of people enjoyed and wood agree they are 'good'!
Scores are entirely subjective. That's why when I did/do reviews, I don't use a number system.
In the case of Days Gone, it seems entirely appropriate. Decent game but nothing more. In principle though, no, 7/10 is not indicative of a bad game.
I view a 7/10 score as being good. It's just that with so many wonderful games available these days, I'd want to play something a bit better than merely good. But as with all review scores, they're a useful metric but I'd take them with a pinch of salt.
It’s not baffling at all. Everyone has time and money constraints. People are disappointed this game doesn’t fall into the top bracket of AAA games, so are worried about wasting time and money on it. That’s normal IMO and nothing new. Back in the 90s we all wanted our hotly anticipated games to get above 90%
@Wesker exactly. The generation is winding down, people would like it to go out with a bang and off the back of a number of critically acclaimed exclusives a 7 looks a bit wet. And from what I’ve seen, let’s be honest, it’s probably a fairly generous 7 at that.
In fact the only game worth playing with a 7 at the end of it starts with Final Fantasy AMIRITE LOL
Its mental to be honest. Even a 5 / 10 still has its qualities. It wont be genre defining, but it doesnt mean its awful. I would say when you are at 4 and under you are best of avoiding, but to write off a 7 is crazy. Not every game can get a 9 because not everything will do something new. And thats ok. If every game was deserving of such a high score, it would make assigning a value meaningless. I read a 7 as ticking most of the right boxes but not breaking new ground
I personally think a review score is heavily subjective.
About what's going on with Days Gone I must say that despite all the negativity around it (which is quite unreasonable), I think it's okay to buy "good" games. They're not all supposed to be perfect no matter how much we want them to be and that's fine, in a strange way. Days Gone falls into this category. It's not a disaster, and yet not a masterpiece either.
I don't understand why so many people try to underestimate "Good" games, these are a part of the industry too and need to be played. Even if it's for the sole purpose of raising quality if that makes any sense at all
Ranking all the PS3 games in the PushSquare forums lately has made me think about how we categorise games (well, all art forms, really) and how assigning a number value to something so subjective, individual and potentially personal is often impossible.
My idea of a ten is your idea of a six. Neither of us are wrong.
Put that broken system out there on the internet, that lawless land of drama videos and meme wars, and of course this kind of overreaction is going to happen.
How else will people justify being abusive to strangers whilst ignoring their own character flaws?
Huh, it kind of felt like the second half of this article is missing.
Anyhoo, not every game can reinvent the wheel or define a generation and that’s fine. But when these top games are commonly 50-100hr experiences, I want to stick to the good stuff. I’m sure there’s nothing wrong with Days Gone but with so many 8-10s out there I’ve yet to play, it’s going to be a “maybe in a sale” for me.
Particularly when I’m playing Hollow Knight which is a stunning game and cost just over a fiver.
It's the dumbest thing ever. But what can you do. I still remember people giving Gamespot crap for giving GTAV a 9/10.
Like you said, it's because of tight budgets and scarce time, people want the best of the best. And being a PS exclusive continuing from a run of great exclusives that haven't scored less than 9 in the past few years, yes 7/10 is really disappointing coming from Sony. If it was some random publisher, then 7 is a good score. We have the RDR2s, the AC Odysseys, HZDs, Witcher 3s etc all with massively time-consuming worlds, there's no time and patience for 7s.
@kyleforrester87
Somewhat agree with this article. However games journalists don't help with this. Not referring to this site but when popular sites and podcasts like Kinda Funny ( for example Games Daily 26/04/2019, 16mins and 5 seconds in) refer to Day's Gone as a "dud" It's promoting the perception that a 72 metacritic score is not only below average but that it's a "review dud". So that anything less than amazing is bad.
I will happily buy a 7/10 game day 1 under the right circumstances (the subject interests me, I'm looking for a new game and can afford it at the time, also if it's made by a developer I trust Naughty Dog etc). So many variables go into it.
I do plan on getting Days Gone but at this point I'll be picking it up when it's in a heavy sale.
You know what? The problem is reviews are supposed to be opinions. (I think they should be more than that narrow take but whatever).
If opinions are fair, and you can go with some reviewers you feel match your tastes, meta critics is NOT a fair way to reflect them. Here we have very polarising opinions, someone doesn't like a male character focus, others like fun gameplay beyond everything etc. Very polarised opinions are not suited for an average score. It just doesn't make sense. Or else, admit reviews should be more than opinions and reflect facts more than a writers state of mind to say the least.
@QualityGeezer
Yes it's subjective, and a score is even more subjective that the review content. Thing is, average of very subjective and totally polarised opinions don't make sense. Meta critics should die but there's much interest behind it.
When I read reviews there is often a disconnect between the game and the score. For me Days Gone did not deserve a 7 seemed more like a 6.
I prefer reviews without a score. After reading it you should have a good idea how you feel about the game.
There are plenty of 6,7/10 games that I enjoy more than certain 9,10/10 games. Different tastes and all that
@FearIsUseful
I thought it was fairly common knowledge that the further back you stand from something, the less of it you're able to see. Obviously, people who play a game for themselves will get the most complete picture, but otherwise?
People who read the full reviews get a fairly-accurate picture.
People who skip reading the review, go straight to the score and surmise what it means get a fuzzy blob.
People who read score aggregate sites get nothing.
I don't know but I think I will be the first person to say this. I got horizon Zero Dawn immediately after getting my pro and up till now am surprised the game is such a huge favorite among ps owners, cos I actually felt the game was overrated. Personally it's not that good. I have played plenty of games which don't have that hype like hzd but they are among my personal favorites. Cmon guys we would all have the same girlfriends if we think alike. Am looking forward to picking up days gone after some good amount of patches, whether I will like it or not depends on me, not metacritic or whatever. DieKaiser92.. Ouut
This game is straight garbage
@get2sammyb
It did get 3 and 5 like and that's what people pick up even on this site s comments.
So from that point of view I can understand the disappointment of people who are obsessed with scores. It's just the result of the media and the gaming industry marketting review scores as important while its all BS imo
@kyleforrester87 Clearly never played Legend of Dragoon, Final Fantasy 8, Koudelka, Dino Crisis, Parasite Eve 2.
@TheArt RDR2 is wasting your time so much its not funny. And that one is no higher then a 8 bad controls. 😁 😃 😂
@Wesker Really back in those days i just wanted to have fun i could not care less if it was a 9. 😁
You should look for games that match your taste. If a racing sim was getting a perfect score, you still wouldn't play it if it wasn't your thing, but a zombi game getting a 6 could be awesome to you. And besides, a lot that was not appreciated at first got acknowledged later. Van Gogh never sold a single painting in his lifetime.
@JJ2 i just read that 3/10 review. The conclusion sounds like it’s pretty on point!
“Days Gone is the apotheosis of the more-is-more philosophy: more bars to fill, more gates to progress, more hours of playtime, more zombies per square inch because “more” is supposed to fill the hole where some semblance of meaning ought to be, bridging the gap between one mind-numbing mission template and the next. It’s the purest example yet of the video game as mere content to be consumed, down to the very fact that each storyline you’re supposed to be emotionally invested in is marked with a completion percentage. Days Gone is a void.”
It's interesting. And true, for the most part. And yet, most of the reviews stopped me from getting Days Gone... while I didn't like RDR2 at all, and the revered Sekiro proved to be way too hard for me
It's true that some disliked games can click for you: I may be the only guy on earth that loved Mass Effect Andromeda.
Days Gone is pretty good.
However, the shooting sucks so bad. It's clunky, inconsistent, the visual feedback on enemies is minimal, and shooting enemies takes way too many shots unless you get a headshot (which is inconsistent).
Aside from some of the dialogue, the shooting is my biggest gripe.
It's so bad that I almost regret buying the game day one. I don't regret it, but I'm damn near close.
It's a pretty average game. Not mind blowing. Not really up to Sony's standard either.
It's a bit of a disappointment if I'm being honest, but it's not a disaster or a bad game. I'm hoping it gets better though.
As much as the open world is the main focus, and probably the best part of the game, I think it detracted from a lot of the other gameplay elements.
Like combat which you do a lot.
I don't really let reviews deter me from buying a game, and often times I don't agree with them either. That's just me though.
I have so much games in my backlog im getting scared but i have the CE almost finished Dragon Quest Heroes 100 hours playtime. That game wasn't rated so high so why should i even care. I love the Dynasty Warriors games that a 6 all the time.
I love Final Fantasy 7 my favorite 2 characters are in there Cloud and Tifa but i think 8 is just as good with a awsome cast. But ofcourse Legend of Dragoon is the best.
Valkyria Chronicles is awsome just as Heavenly Sword. Why should i care what other people think. Play what you like dont listen too people who think GTA and RDR are the only good things around.
I personally think GTA is boring just as RDR the only GTA i liked was Vice City i love the 80's.
So for the people who think a 8 is the lowest score you should buy you are nuts.
@JJ2 They were only a couple of scores, though. There will always be outliers.
@Flaming_Kaiser Lol Naah it's a masterpiece.
It's quite annoying to think I skipped Sekiro because of Days Gone and now I don't feel like buying the former anymore because I wanted it day one. Now I might just wait for a sale. There are just toooooooooo many great games people haven't yet bought. To buy a 7 day one instead of waiting for a sale is expensive.
@kyleforrester87 Not saying it excuses the criticism, but you could throw that paragraph at literally dozens of other games.
Trouble is (and I’ve said this on here before) review scores have been a mess for about 15 years.
In the 80’s and 90’s, a 7 or 70% was seen as decent. Now it’s below average.
Now a decent is 8.5 or 85% at an absolute minimum. Stupid, but that’s the way it is.
People need to find reviewers that speak to them. Read their reviews properly and not just skip to the end and throw a fit because they see an 8 or lower.
Time to drop scores.
In the States, it’s easy to associate review scores with school grades...something we’re subjected to from the age of 5 until 18 or older.
A - 90-100
B - 80-89
C - 70-79
D - 60-69
F - any score below 60 is failing.
Someone making all Cs would be considered average, at best. I’m not saying it’s fair for the developers to have that mentality projected onto the game reviews, but it’s easy to see how it would happen.
For what it’s worth, I purchased Days Gone.
@get2sammyb you’re absolutely right - that’s why I’m so surprised that some (some!) of these incredibly mediocre open world busywork games tend to score so well. As for Days Gone, it sounds like it’s stuck in 2012 or something. Red Faction Gorilla much?
@kyleforrester87
I nearly feel high just having read that. Wowooo
Review scores are generally 70% right most of the time trust. My only problem is that it takes the opinion of just ONE editor on the site, I feel all editors of a site should come up with their scores and get an aggregate score representing the whole site but yea we know that would have reviews coming in pretty late. But honestly that would have made more sense.
@TheArt I don’t think it’s practical to have the entire team get a copy of the game (if they even could) and play it all in tandem. As you say, reviews would arrive late and you wouldn’t get much other content in the meantime. End result? Perhaps a point either side of what a solo reviewer would have given it anyway.
@Flaming_Kaiser Lol you think GTAV or RDR2 is overrated? Show me any game with a smartphone that players call friends to hang, call for taxis, order vehicles, generally browse an entire internet with its own Facebook, Twitter etc...show me. Where it has a stock market that reflects happenings in-game, show me. All the while managing an uber-like taxi cab business where you get called for pickups. Bounty hunting, hunting, Jetski, ATV races etc. You felt Kratos connection with Atreus? Michael had an entire family that hated him no matter what he did, he could never win. Show me a game that had you pretend like a dockworker and used handlers and cranes. I won't even start with the Online.
And then there's RDR2, show me any cowboy game out there...are there any? Show me any game with this hair growth and grooming realism. Show me ANY game with this realistic horses, with this number of horse variations. I could go on and on but this is basically why reviewers usually slap 10s on Rockstar games. 😉
@kyleforrester87 Yea but it would have made more sense and hold more weight.
@TheArt Push Square actually have something like that at the end of the month They vote for their favourite for games of the month. It’s not unusual for a game of a lower score to rank above a game with a higher score in that.
1. there are too many games and people do not have the time to play them all. therefore, people need to be more selective in what they play and if that means they only play games rated 8+ so be it. i can totally understand that.
2. games here in canada cost $80+ taxes... you better believe i will not purchase a game at full price that is uninspired and generic — a game like days gone is exactly that.
3. people have the right to deem a game worthy in any way they wish. if they want to dismiss a 7/10 and label it to be a failure — especially for sony 1st party which are known to be stellar — that is also fair. it is no different than overpraising games/movies... we see it all the time. that is just another opinion in the end. days gone actually sounds like it should be the in 6's to be honest.
I'd say for me that I agree with the author for the most part and would add that I generally stay away from anything less that a 7.5 rating. And watch multiple sites for an average. I'm not interested in merely "good" for my $$. I expect more from the money-hungry publishers.
Days gone is clearly better than 6/10 or 7/10
that is why almost game site reviewers cant be trusted anymore.
They just care about releasing review as soon as possible.
Isnt the fact that consumers associate a 7 as a terrible score actually reviewers fault? I've read some reviews,Days Gone for example, that all focus so heavily on the negative, they include hardly any positive points and somehow their end result is giving it a 7.
It is very rare I see reviewers giving AAA games they find bad lower than a 6. Even fallout 76 a game that was absolutely panned by critics managed to get a lot a lot of 7's from reviewers.
The thing is, this is an averaged score based on the scores given by numerous reviewers. Its not like a single reviewer has dared to give Zelda a 9 whilst everyone else is giving it 10.
This is the 'average' opinion of multiple reviewers, it isn't just one person's opinion - not that I think gamers should look to just one person's opinion, one person's viewpoint, but look at numerous reviewers.
Now that has been said, there are numerous reviews that obviously gave this game a 'higher' score - of course that means that some gave lower scores too. The 'average' of these comes out at 72% (or 7.2/10). That isn't cause to shun this game - you may be one of those who enjoy it and would rate the game at an 8 or maybe 8.5 - especially as there have been a few patches to fix some of the performance issues.
Of course you maybe one who agrees with the reviewers that rated this below 72 too but the difference is that the reviewers are doing this for a job. They may not be as 'interested' in the setting, the story, the game-play when assessing it objectively and just 'given' it to review. If you are keen to play it, you may end up enjoying it - maybe more after having your expectation lowered by a '7' score.
I can bet that everyone here has at least 1 game that they don't 'agree' with the Metacritic score, that they would score higher or lower, agree more with 'some' reviewers scores and disagree with others.
To me it seems completely over blown - After games like Uncharted 4, H:ZD, GoW and Spider-Man, Day's Gone releases with a decent score - its just not around the 9/10 mark like the others that were made by completely different studio's!!
@BAMozzy
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Get back to your bridge! Quit trolling us with logic!
5 is an average game. But is 5 the average grade?
Nonetheless, if I can play 20 games a year, and 3 games are given a 10, 8 games are given a 9 and 10 games are given a 8, I won’t spend time with 6’s and 7’s unless the game really appeals to me.
Well 99% of(so called) RARE Xbox Exclusives that have come out this Gen get 1/10 so 7/10 isn't bad What I have seen of the game looks good to me so I will pick it up after I have played the Billions of games I still got to play.
I think the view the seven is substandard partly comes from Metacritic traffic light system putting orange on all games below 75% it’s like Metacritic is say proceed with caution when Push Square considers 7 to be good.
7/10 is a good score, I adore gravity rush 2 and shantae half-genie hero that's pushsquare score 7 in the reviews.
Sometimes what the critic want and gamer want can be really different, while it's okay to decrease the score because the reviewer think the gameplay is bad or there's a lot of bugs in the game, I don't think it's fair to review games and give it a low score because the protagonist is a male white guy or something like that.
Well, if by average we mean average of what we play, then 7/10 is below average. It has to have more of an appeal on a personal level when there are so many 8,9, and even 10s I could play. Now calling it trash and such is people trying to be edgy and cool on the internet. That much criticism makes them feel smart. There is reason for disappointment and to skip it, particularly if it’s a longer game. But we also need to calm down with the trash statements.
I don’t think the facts agree with this article. Just take a look at distribution of scored on metacritic, and you’ll see that 70 is significantly below the median score, and likely a full standard deviation below it.
We may want 50 to be average, but the reality is that 80 is closer to the average.
People are correct then to take a 70 as a sign of caution, given limited time to play games.
@ShogunRok
As I understand it from an article on another site, it seems a lot of reviews for Days Gone are being called out because it's apparently "obvious" that the reviewer hasn't actually played much of the game.
Now I don't know which reviews those are, but if it is true, then surely those reviews are questionable at best, irrelevant at worst. But sites such as Metacritic don't make allowances for such things.
The problem is that games such as Days Gone take time to complete, and get better as you progress - but websites (especially the bigger ones) are under pressure to get reviews up quickly. Those two things are to some extent mutually exclusive, especially if a review includes 'problems' which are then sorted with a day-one patch.
Anyway, for me personally, reviews often don't matter at all. Not just the score, but the whole thing. As an older gamer, I know what I like, and I've been looking forward to this game since it was announced. I knew I'd enjoy it so I pre-ordered... I not only didn't care about the scores, but I haven't read a single review of the game.
So far for me, it's been one of the best experiences I've had on PS4. It's atmospheric, it's a subject I love, and it's executed very well indeed. My biggest surprise so far is the stealth mechanic... it works really well, and I haven't yet felt that it's screwed up and cost me, which so often happens in other games with similar mechanics. Plus it looks fantastic.
And those hordes are genuinely unsettling. I encountered my first one yesterday, and it was possibly the most apprehensive I've ever been made to feel by a video game. The first encounter with a Thunderjaw in Horizon made me pause and consider my options; the horde had my stomach in knots wondering how I was going to deal with it with what I had... I decided to run away and come back later.
Yes, it absolutely borrows heavily from other games - but it borrows the best bits and makes them its own. Besides, so many 'big' games do that and no-one questions it.
I heard rumours of awful loading times, but I've not experienced them. That may be subjective though, as I'm old enough to remember waiting 25 minutes for Arcadia to load from tape on my Commodore 64, so I know what truly long loading times feel like. You kids today wouldn't know a long loading time if it slapped you in the face with a C2N cassette deck. ;-P
I'm not saying it's perfect, though. I've had a couple of issues - one crash to the OS, and the sound drop-out glitch when upgrading the bike exhaust; the latter did have me considering stopping playing until it was fixed, as sound is so crucial in the game... but it's resolved by reverting to the original exhaust. Other than that, it's been great, and is already one of my favourite games so far.
7 is by no means a bad score. It is, however, slightly mediocre. The problem is that there's so many games that are an 8 or a 9 that gamers would rather play. I would probably say that being mediocre is worse than being outright bad as some 'bad' games can be enjoyable. I still play 007: Nightfire local multiplayer because it's fun but I would never say it's not bad.
A good game can get 10s or 100s of hours of playtime. A 7 isn't considered great because if you have limited time and like a variety of genres there really isn't a need to go down as far as a 7 when choosing what to play. Yes, tastes differ but as a general rule the majority of people can't even fit in the 8+s
7 out of 10 is an ok score here but until anthem and fallout 76 recently, it was pretty rare for big budget AAA games to score less than that. For most web sites, 7 out of 10 isn't a good score!! Even here, think of the number of games with higher scores. For most people with limited time/money, you do want to invest your time into something that won't disappoint you. For me, 7 out of 10 means if your a big fan of the genre or the aesthetic, there's something there for you but otherwise, wait for a sale or give it a pass. I also think there's no way this article would have been written for a third party game and doesn't need to defend what the reviewers opinion of the game was!!!
Absolutely spot on. Review sites now give away so many 8s - for this very reason. Drives me nuts. A game gets a 7 and in comments it’s all “thanks I’ll avoid then” what??? 7 is great.
8 should be game of the year type. 9 game of the generation type and 10 should be straight in conversation for all time best.
7 is like a if it’s in your gaming genre get it...
I bought Days Gone for one of my girls and she is having a blast with it, much more so than RDR2 which she hardly touched. And that is all that matters to me, how much enjoyment and playtime they and I get out of it.
There's two things really; One, most people have started expecting Sony exclusives to be amazing, must-play titles. That Days Gone isn't could be seen as a failure.
Two, games are expensive and take up a lot of time, Days Gone has come out in a fairly quiet period but if you wait say a month you're likely to get it cheaper. If it doesn't sound like you 'need' to play this new amazing game straight away and it's 'just' a good game then you may as well wait.
Reviews are at times a pain and a good thing . Yes negative reviews can sway people from buy said game or games . Personally what sways me from buying certain game is not being able to play a small portion of said game . Yes sound petty but as hard as I work for my money I can not buy a game on good faith anymore tired of buying the game and it being garbage and stuck with it or getting ripped off by Gamestop for half the value a day later . So until Demos become a reality again reviews are the only thing that helps decide to buy or not to buy.
@Kmcroc5472 GameStop is a glorified pawn shop. They have to make a profit too. If you want to get a better price then sell it yourself. You’re paying a convenience fee by selling it to GameStop.
@Jaz007 I know that but not to many options out here in Florida . Have any insight to online sites that would offer more , any information would be great.
Most games are 50+ hrs long. There are tons of games that have scores of an 8-10.
You guys always make articles about how 7 is good according to your own policy - so now I have to read your review and read your review guidelines and then play a 50+ hr game that is buggy but OK.
Days Gone needs to fix its bugs. That is unacceptable. If it had shipped polished and ready (like all of the other Sony exclusives) it would have scored an 8+. Fix the game.
Games also drop in price almost immediately. So it becomes a question of paying full price when you know they will patch and fix the game. A 7 score with technical issues is not a DAY ONE game for most players as they know the price will be reduced and the patches will improve the game.
"...review scores are a big deal."
Sorry, but NO!!
In my opinion and I have always said, the reviews are simply "personal ideas", because to be objective, many things are required, and really, to be honest, nobody has the absolute reason, really the people who say they are experts in criticizing and reviewing something, in this case, a game, he/she can not leave out her/his personal preference and he/she will not have 100% knowledge to make comparisons, or to take in consent different ideas, both from creators and consumerss to have a totally objective review and therefore, the review, never , NEVER be 100% reliable.
Also, if we add that the reviews can be done by ignorant people; who has a grudge or unconditional love to a certain kind of games, to a company or franchise; or that simply has interests that alter the main idea of doing criticism and review, then the review continues to be less reliable; and even if they did, as in metacritic, averages of several ideas, with what I mentioned earlier, it also ceases to be reliable.
In summary, a review is easy to damage the image of what is possibly a great game and / or give great image to a game that does not deserve the success that is trying to show in that review
Now, of course, a review can help us to know a game if one reads the review well and see the signs of whether the critic tries to be a good critic or simply wants to get attention and does things to cause some damage; but it is not always easy, and more if we really want to take a review very seriously.
Therefore, that reviews ""are"" the big deal, then, I regret to say it is not, simply no, no and NO!
and if someone takes the reviews seriously, I apologize in advance, but as"it is said out there.", he/she lacks a self-criticism
I rarely see people say a 7 is a bad score these days. I see more people freaking out about the subject like this lol. Are there really that many people on Metacritic giving it a 7 and saying the game isn't good?
Some of ya'll taking gaming to seriously, grow up
It's a combination of factors, I think. A preponderance of games are good, certainly serviceable. I suspect that a solid majority of games score 5 or better, with a plurality likely 7+ (allowing for possible confirmation bias, natch). Expectations shift up the scale accordingly, along with the knowledge that games take time, and if I'm going to sink 20, 30, or 100 or more hours into a game, I want it to be worth the investment.
Then, of course, there's the Internet. Bless its little collective heart.
I've enjoyed plenty of games that get middling, average scores. If I like a genre I'm more likely to go for a game if it gets even less than stellar reviews. People get so hung up on the score, and in a way I like that some publications have done away with them (Eurogamer). The only issue then is people don't agree when the game doesn't get a recommended or essential badge. Either way, this is the internet, you can't win, but the only people that lose are those who take the scores as more than just guidance. Then again, they're probably the same people that still say indies are rubbish and buy Call of Duty every year.
Games I preferred the most like BloodRayne always got 6s so I never follow reviews, It's what I see. What I like that matters.
Great article, this is a subject that I was noticing coming up in the Days Gone review. A 7 sounds perfectly solid to me, especially given that most reviewers were probably playing with an unpatched copy of the game.
I am currently enjoying the heck out of World War Z and that game did not get great reviews. Other games that didn't score super high but I enjoyed greatly have included the first Kane & Lynch, and Tenchu for the X360. Meanwhile, there are tons of 'masterpieces' that I have tried for a few hours and that I have just never bothered playing again.
I agree with the article in that 7 should not be deemed a critical failure, however in my case - money is one limit but also time is currency as well and I have a whole line of 8’s and 9’s sitting on deck waiting to be played and only limited time and resources.
If it’s a game I have a particular interest in, like the Tomb Raider series, I don’t care it it gets a 6 or 7, I’ll play it. Now at a 5, I might hesitate to play. But for a game I don’t inherently care for (zombie themed games), then it needs to be a consensus 8 at least or a 9.
For example, if The Last of Us 2 scores a Metacritic of 70, I’ll wait for a sale on that one too.
A person has to draw the line somewhere and 7 is about that line unfortunately. But it doesn’t make it a bad game. Just too many God of Wars, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s, Spider-Man ‘s, Persona 5’s, and Witcher 3’s to play yet.
@Nightcrawler71 mad max a good example of a 7 imo. Its not groundbreaking but it is alot of fun. I played it from start to finish without touching another game so to me thats a good game. Ive seen alot of people bring up mad max when talking about how this game has reviewed so im leaning towards getting it soon if wallet will allow.
Few things to blame here.
1) Metacritic and that type of sites. I have seen reviewers say they only have numerical scores so they can be listed there and that means views for them. So many feel forced to use them.
2) People. Sorry but even here for days before launch were saying its going to be 80-90% and firm on it. Then turn around and say 70 is good! Nobody says "it's going to be 70% for sure and I can't wait". People are obsessed with scores.
3) people don't read reviews. I seriously doubt most read them. How many people said how this game didn't deserve a score and how many of those people said exact why parts of the review were wrong? Barely any of them. Why? Because they didn't care about why, they only cared about the score.
People are afraid of feeling like a fool for liking a bad reviews game or movie. They don't want to be made fun of by their peers. So they have to justify the score anyway they can.
It's ok to like a bad reviewed game. Hell, look at rotten tomatoes, the audience score is almost always higher than reviewers for fun movies.
So it's ok to like the game, you don't have to justify your purchase by slamming a score.
But pushsquare, why do you use numerical scores? Just for metacritic? If you you honestly believe 7 is a good score but know others don't, then why not rate it higher? Who cares if YOU think 7 is good when most clearly don't. You want to give a number that clearly expresses if it is good or not yet you purposely pick a number you know most will consider bad. You need to change your scale because you can't change the world's opinion.
I think the problem is that schools use the percent system and anything below an 80 is bad. So as kids grow up and get involved in games or otherwise they use this mentality from grade school as thus see 7 or below as bad. Hell I do as well, but that hasn't stopped me from buying games but did taint the experience.
I guess I don’t just factor in a numerical score when I’m reading up on a game I’m curious about. I mean, I do factor in the score that’s given, but I also take the time to consider what a given reviewer has written. What are the strong and weak points of the game? Is there anything present that really undermines the experience? Is there a strong foundation to build on that some patching might solidify? I consider that against my own view of the game. Is it in a genre I really like? Does the subject matter really capture my interest. All those things go into a final decision to make a purchase or not. Not simply a lone number at the end or a review, or an average posted at Metacritic.
@Ichiyama As per community rules
Do not use profanity; Use of unsavoury language including profanity and swearing is not acceptable, please remember that this website has users of all ages.
So let's watch the language please.
Thanks for understanding
I have not purchased it but many on my friends list have. A majority have complained about bugs, so a 7 being a good game with bugs seems just about right.
I will wait for the bugs to get fixed and pick it up on discount. I bought God of War and Spiderman on day one.
7 out of 10 is not a bad score but a little bit on the disappointing side when it's a AAA game imo. Not so much if it's a low or medium budget game.
Even the first Ucharted did not get the best reviews... An that went down as Ps3 and Ps4 flagship titles. I've played Days Gone on launch day an I was drawn into the story and world.... Game is a bit challenging espeically on the hard diffculty.... I wish they would release an online multi player mode or even a horde mode with co-op.....
I think with Days Gone it just looks like a low score relative to all the 8s, 9s and 10s PS4 exclusives have been getting recently. In that respect it is “low”.
Also The Order: 1886 scored 62 on metacritic and I friggin loved that game!
@Jaz007
Thats the thing though. People have been tricked into putting to much faith in some random numbers. 10 doesn't mean you will like a game more than a 7 game. It's pure marketting BS
@SakuraHaruka
I agree review are trying to play on their self importance but are getting worse and worse. It's not even about the game any more. Read some of Eurogamer and Gamespot wokeness and you lll see what I mean
@JoeBlogs
I think saying people to form their own opinion isn't necessarily meant in a bad way. It's just trying to help. For my part I couldn't care less what people buy. I do think people got conditioned into trusting what the writer says as if it's a fact. I mean read some of the reviews, there's some beautiful bs. Like 'eww I have to kill things' or' Deacon is a selfish bastard and I don't like him' or 'ugh one of these games where women take a back seat and look stupid' type of arguments haha
Late to this party but I don't bother with review scores. Not to sound pompous but if you are frequenting game sites like Push Square you are an informed consumer and it is up to you to make your own decisions.
The issue has really come to a head because of sites like Meta Critic and the issue with that is that those scores remove nuance and are not scientifically calculated but culled from what the reviewer submits. They turn an inexact process into pseudo science which people take as gospel. Then people make a flash judgement. It is a microcosm of the internet and the way it is shaping our culture. Sorry that got heavy.
Bottom line is, read reviews, find reviewers and sites you feel are in line with what you would like. Look for balanced reviews. Days Gone is a good game from all accounts. You can play it, the game is fun to play, it has a relatively OK story. It isn't exceptional, it doesn't break new ground, it has some teething bugs. If this genre of game is your thing, buy it, If not, think twice. Simples.
5 = adverage
6 = ok
7 = good
8 = very good
9 = great
10 = fantastic
@wiiware Still they scored MGS survive a 8.
@TheArt I stand by my opinion GTA was nothing special to me and RDR i hated it. 🤓 👍
@JoeBlogs
This one isn't a review per se but 'impression 20 hrs in' which is very similar.
I think it's brilliant. I'm sure a few people nearly shed a tear haha
'the first things I did in Days Gone was climb on a roof, and bash a child to death with a stray slab of wood. The meter charting my progress to the next level went up a tiny bit.
The kid was a zombie, I guess—in Days Gone, they’re “freaks”—but this is, or was, unmistakably a kid. Five, maybe six years old? I don’t know their name, I don’t know how they got this way. All I know is the game said to clear the roof, and provided no options for me to deal with the situation other than coldly bashing in their skull. '
@kyleforrester87 This.
5/10 basically means 'it just works'.
Why should someone pay 60-100 $ for something mediocre? When you pay top dollar, you want it to be for a top game. Ergo, if someone wants to pay this much for a game, he wants it to get an 8/10 score at the least.
I think a 7/10 review score would be deemed good or bad to many people depending on the profile of said game. For instance, if a much hyped game like Ghost Of Tshushima came out to an average review score of 7/10 then I feel many people would be a tad disappointed whereas a game off the radar a little, such as A Plague Tale: Innocence, was to score 7/10 then I feel many would look upon it more as a positive review score.
@Flaming_Kaiser Nobody is perfect, sometimes even pushsquare did something weird. Man what a weird reviews that was lol.
@wiiware I will never let that one slip. 😁
@Flaming_Kaiser hah i was just remembering that aswell!
boy was that review nonsense.
i mean a game that does everything to take away your money AFTER you already bought the game is nothing new but this game just went so far in that stuff (having to pay for saveslots) that even EA has not gone that far yet.
and the review did not even mention that !
anyway i myself must admit that i always skip to the score before reading the review and it depends on the score if i continue reading the review as a whole.
but yes some review sites have become less trustworthy.
from amateur mistakes such as appointing a person that doesn't like the genre to review the game with that genre or trying to force their political believes into the review and have the score be based just around that.
it's why i trust pushsquare the most out of all the other major sites.
it always tries to stay neutral regardless of what developer made it or what the game includes.
the staff leaves out political stuff (gender,race etc) out of the review,and they make sure the right people review a game that fits for them.
Further to my earlier comment...
While review scores mean nothing to me, they irritate me because so many people give them too much weight. The fact that this article exists, and some of the comments, are proof of that.
The review is just one person's opinion, yet people will make their purchasing decision based on it, and many won't buy a game which - just as an example - scores below 8; or maybe their 'favourite reviewer' doesn't like it, so they decide they won't either.
Consequently, many people will miss out on excellent games, sales will be affected, and many perfectly good games won't get sequels as a result. It's particularly galling to see sites giving games low scores claiming they are 'bland', or 'repetitive', or 'just another zombie game' when they routinely dish out 8+ to things like Call of Duty, which is essentially unchanged in 15-20 years and even sells people the old maps year after year. Note I'm not making any comment on whether CoD is good or bad, only that the FPS genre in general hasn't really done anything new or innovative in a while. And I like FPS games!
Unfortunately, when it comes to Days Gone specifically, it also pains me to say that there are quite possibly other factors at play with some of the review scores. At least two major sites threw up the "gruff white dude" nonsense, and as much as they may deny it, you can bet that bled into their final comments/scores, which is unfortunate for Bend, and just sad in general.
I was actually quite relieved that it's not a total masterpiece. Not enough time to play all the amazing games out there already.
@jdv95 Yeah and then seeing some grear games get a lower score it stings it stings.
@Paranoimia I totally agree with your comment. Now you cant have a white dude or you will get nailed too the cross for it. The zombie fatique is nonsense as well. If we see zombies in COD its great fun. I always get the idea people want people too feel bad if their is a white dude on there. I remember with Horizon Zero Dawn that indians (plesae dont get mad if i say the wrong word for it) got mad because the white people insulted their heritage.
@Flaming_Kaiser Agreed, "zombie fatigue" is nonsense. I love games like this. Sure, some people may be tired of it, but fans of the genre? Unlikely. Why would fans be any more tired of zombies than NFL fans would be tired of Madden, or football fans be tired of FIFA/PES?
Black ops 4 got a better review & that's just a blatant cash grab with no single player & riddled with micro transactions so I don't trust reviews.
For me, a 7/10 is a 'wait for sale', only because there are usually plenty of games I can play in the meantime. 9 or 10/10 are drop all other games and play before the internet ruins it with spoilers.
This article’s headline picture explains it all. 70’s are “yellow” scores on Metacritic, which has an umbrella effect on the industry. People reflexively see green as good, yellow as a warning.
Some things are just that simple.
Do you guys ever re-review a game after the updates/patches and dlc or free updates come out? Could it increase the score if they fix a nagging bug?
@jdv95 Opinions huh buddy.
Bit late to the comments party, but agree with this article and I sympathise that it must be annoying that so many nowadays don't consider 7 to be a good score when the grading criteria literally says it is "good". I'd be fine with you guys removing the numbered score and just putting their corresponding words in capital letters as the review grade, as I think folk will soon get used to the lack of a number, so long as the grade is easy to locate on the page.
Personally, i prefer a scale of five stars over a scale of ten points. In music and book reviews it is also more common, as far as i can tell. To me, the smaller the steps the more confusing it gets, cause how good is a game that scores 73%...?
How is it that when RDR or other triple AAA games have launched they have not been reviewed until the reviewer had enough time to play the game, some of them took a long time to do this. This game while not as long should have still been afforded the same treatment yet it was reviewed by all sites the moment the embargo lifted.
I look at games that gets scores like a seven, as games that are good, but contains flaws that may be deal breakers for some. And these flaws usually are very important to make note of, given the type of game.
For example, Epic Mickey. I was VERY excited for this game. The idea alone. The great Warren Spector interviews. The concept artwork. Pixar getting involved with the story. That awesome trailer with Mickey being dragged out of his room. My excitement was gone once the reviews started to roll in. The dings it received for the camera and controls kept me from buying it. Two very important things when it comes to a gane like Epic Mickey.
I recently started playing Recore:Definite Edition (Xbox One). This game got a lot of 6 and 7’s as a final score. I’m having a blast. The flaws do not detract from the fun I’m having with the game. The load times have caused me to stop playing (they can kill my vibe, taking me out of the game), but it never stoped me from coming back later. I don’t mind the backtracking. I think people were so harsh about it because there were other factors that really bothered them, and the backtracking compounded those very complaints. Maybe they didn’t mind in other games, because there were incentives for (or while) doing it. I’m not bothered by it at all.
@JJ2 I have liked 10/10 games more than 7/10 most of the time. We have different opinions, but often time when most people think a game is 10/10 there’s a reason behind it. Red Dead 2 and Persona are 10/10 games, and I’m very hard pressed to think of games rated an average of 7/10 that are better. They’re some of best games I e eve played. P5 is the best in fact. There are different opinions sure, yours may not match, but saying there’s nothing to it just doesn’t hold up. There is a better chance on average someone will love a 10/10 more than 7/10 average rated game. Exceptions exist and I have some of them, but there is a general trend.
@Kmcroc5472 I think you’d have to use E-bay or Amazon. I don’t know if there are any local exchanges sites or not. My point is that it would be a bit of trouble to set up an online sale and ship it and all that on Amazon or E-bay, to do it yourself. That’s why you get “ripped off” because GameStop does it all for you. You’re also paying for saved time. You could also see if anyone wants it on Facebook, sell it to a friend.
@Jaz007
Actually I dont care about scores at all. A lot of people feel the same way. Im personally convinced they r just random bs numbers but thats me haha
A lot of people also obsessed with scores. If thats their thing whatever. I just think differently. I liked RDR2. I like DG even better though not in the same way. Different type of enjoyment
@Tasuki Right on. Thanks, Tasuki.
@Paranoimia Copy and paste zombie modes in shooters somehow are perfect. 😁
BF and COD games how is that exciting. 😜
When you compare it to Sony's other first party releases, like Uncharted 4, God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, even their second party stuff like Spider-Man, Ratchet and Clank, Detroit Become Human, Bloodborne etc. a 72 is a massive disappointment.
is 72 a bad score? For a Sony exclusive I believe it is, because Sony exclusives are held to a very high standard.
I decided not to buy the game. Games are expensive and I'm not going to shell out 90 dollars (with tax I live in Canada so games cost more here) For something that is getting such mixed feedback. For me review scores are a reliable indicator of how good a game will be, not always, but most of the time. I have sometimes enjoyed games that didn't score that well on metacritic. I enjoyed games like Ryse son of Rome. The difference is part of my enjoyment came from the fact that I only paid 10 dollars for that game. If I pay 10 bucks for a game and I don't like it, I just shrug it off because I only lost 10 dollars. Money is a huge factor.
@JoeBlogs The "Scores don't matter" argument is nonsense for sure. If that case i might as well just go to my local game store close my eyes and randomly pick something. because ultimately doesn't matter right?
Scores DO matter. They help us make informed choices on what to buy and play. and there is A LOT of stuff about Days Gone that people just don't like. Many of the survival and crafting mechanics in the game are pointless and tedious, The game stretches on for WAY longer then it has to. Tons of performance issues, The story moves way too slow, lots of repetitive gameplay, I could go on.
Honestly, if I had to choose between Days Gone and DMC 5, I'd go with DMC 5.
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