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I don’t understand why more reviewers don’t use a 5 star system

GooseMan69

Member
Because they hardly ever score games below 6 anyway. Like what’s the difference between a 1/10 and a 3/10? Or a 7 and an 8? Just switch to the 5 star system.

1 star - unplayable
2 stars - below average
3 stars - just about average, slightly above
4 stars - good
5 stars - extraordinary

Then use half stars for everything in between.

The way reviewers use the 10 point scale is goofy. They already utilize the system above. They just choose to bog it down with useless numbers instead.
 
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Kenneth Haight

Gold Member
Stealth Starfield thread

Arnold Schwarzenegger Shut Up GIF
 

Robb

Gold Member
Wouldn’t we just end up the same either way, with games skewing 3 and up and never/very rarely getting 1/2?

Maybe we should just move to a 3-star system right away and skip the extra steps.
 
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Matsuchezz

Member
Because they hardly ever score games below 6 anyway. Like what’s the difference between a 1/10 and a 3/10? Or a 7 and an 8? Just switch to the 5 star system.

1 star - unplayable
2 stars - below average
3 stars - just about average, slightly above
4 stars - good
5 stars - extraordinary

Then use half stars for everything in between.

The way reviewers use the 10 point scale is goofy. They already utilize the system above. They just choose to bog it down with useless numbers instead.
5 stars and using half stars is again a 10 point system.
 

Tsaki

Member
10 = An experience of a game. One of the best ever made.
9 = Amazing. Buy it at full price.
8 = Great game. Buy it at a sale or full price if you really like the setting.
7 = Good game. Buy at a sale only.
6 = Average. Don't buy. If it is gifted to you or it's free from a sub service (or pirated), consider if it's worth your time.
5 = 4 = 3 = 2 = 1 =0 = Bad game. Don't buy or rent. Not even worth shitting on it.
 

HoodWinked

Member
In a typical scale the bottom 0-5 is pretty pointless like knowing the scale of how bad is useless to knowledge. Feel like 5 star system operates kind of this way but i think aggregate sites may or may not translate the scores linearly.

10 - perfect
9 - very good
8 - good
6-7 = playable if youre a fan
0-5 = not worth playing
 
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reinking

Gold Member
I think most agree that Karak Karak has a pretty good rating system. That is pretty much what I want to know, buy it, wait for a sale or never touch it.
 

Arachnid

Member
The real scale:

10/10 GOTY
9/10 Good game
8/10 Satisfactory
6/10 Trash
4/10 Disgusting
2/10 Who the fuck made this?
This is the main problem with the 10 point system at the moment. 7 is generally what people consider the mediocre game. Anything below is trash, with only 8-10 being worth playing.

You've gotta admit, 3/5 stars sounds better to the general populace than 6/10. It sounds like the game is slightly above average, which translates better. 5/10 should be average.
 

Shake Your Rump

Gold Member
I hate to break it to you, but a 5 point system is just as broken. You will get an inordinate amount of 5’s.

What you really need is a practical rating. Something as simple as “buy/rent/pass”, or “worth/not-worth playing”.
 
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Cyberpunkd

Gold Member
Because they hardly ever score games below 6 anyway. Like what’s the difference between a 1/10 and a 3/10? Or a 7 and an 8? Just switch to the 5 star system.

1 star - unplayable
2 stars - below average
3 stars - just about average, slightly above
4 stars - good
5 stars - extraordinary

Then use half stars for everything in between.

The way reviewers use the 10 point scale is goofy. They already utilize the system above. They just choose to bog it down with useless numbers instead.
Want a real answer?

Score inflation.

Why?

Because a publication knows that giving 2/10 or 3/10 will get them black listed from all future reviews and probably advertising money.

It doesn’t matter if it’s 3/5, 6/10, or 60/100, it will always be close to bare minimum and the full scale will not get used. The best way is not to use a score but going with Recommend / Not Recommend.
 

Damigos

Member
Because they hardly ever score games below 6 anyway. Like what’s the difference between a 1/10 and a 3/10? Or a 7 and an 8? Just switch to the 5 star system.

1 star - unplayable
2 stars - below average
3 stars - just about average, slightly above
4 stars - good
5 stars - extraordinary

Then use half stars for everything in between.

The way reviewers use the 10 point scale is goofy. They already utilize the system above. They just choose to bog it down with useless numbers instead.
but half stars is a 10 point system..no ?
 

twilo99

Gold Member
I think both systems work when it comes to entertainment.. for example iMDB is 1/10 and goodreads is 1/5 and I can't say I've been misled by either.

Steam's system is alright.

Gamepass is 1/5 but can't really be trusted because you can bomb that with ease
 
I prefer a 20 point system. 1-10 with half points.

What I like about some current reviewers:
SwitchUp = I like them doing a score for each section and then adding it together
psvrwithoutparole = I like the cost of the game being judged with a recommended price point. And showing what accessories are supported (should be standard for VR games)
 
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Aenima

Member
Because they hardly ever score games below 6 anyway. Like what’s the difference between a 1/10 and a 3/10? Or a 7 and an 8? Just switch to the 5 star system.

1 star - unplayable
2 stars - below average
3 stars - just about average, slightly above
4 stars - good
5 stars - extraordinary

Then use half stars for everything in between.

The way reviewers use the 10 point scale is goofy. They already utilize the system above. They just choose to bog it down with useless numbers instead.
You ask for a 5 star adoption, but then sugest half stars making it into a 1 to 10 scale, so.... what reviewers already use.
 
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Aenima

Member
The only scale people believe in these days is

5 - just ok
4 - crap
3 - crap
2 - crap
1 - crap
User reviews do it better:

5- I liked the game / its exclusive to the platform i own
4- dunno what this means
3- dunno what this means
2- dunno what this means
1- Dont liked the game/ cant play it
 

Kakax11

Banned
I just use my eyes,if they like the trailer i just buy it

I mean how can i trust IGN after they reviewed the best JRPG in history with a 6.8/10 score?? those bastards

I appreciate the .8 after the 6 though, that took effort

 
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NickFire

Member
I think 5 stars is the cheap and lazy way out. Way too many games getting the same score just to make reviews easier or less controversial.
 

Katatonic

Member
IMO the best review system was EGM's back in the day.
4 succinct reviews by different staff members whose individual tastes we were familiar with ranging from 0 - 10 with 9.00 for megaton games and 10 only reserved for actual perfection. They were also clear that the scores were based using each system's libraries as a reference point.
I was never steered wrong.
 

TheInfamousKira

Reseterror Resettler
You understand that if a 5 star grading system was the industry norm, there'd be people like OP making threads here like "Why do more gaming sites not use 10 point systems?"

Arguing semantics when the subject is game journalism is a Morton's Fork. Duck or stand your ground, it's shit either way.
 

Mr.Phoenix

Member
Just divide the 1-10 point reviews by 2 and the 1-100 point reviews by 20. Would bring everything to your 5-point or 5-star scale.

It's what I do, You'll find that most games fall within the 3 - 4.5 star range.

The real problem is not the review system though, it's the reviewers. We are in a world of score inflation.
 
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Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
It doesn’t make any difference. People need to learn to read actual reviews instead of just looking at the scores.

I personally don’t need any of them, I played games long enough to know if the game is for me or not long before review comes out.
 

Solidus_T

Banned
I think the scores out of 100 are the best. They provide an overall snapshot of how the reviewer felt about the game. Of course, people should be reading the reviews accompanying them.
 

KXVXII9X

Member
I thought it was much better when there were at least decimals or the full range from 0-100.

Idealistically, I think it is better to look at the contents of the review as something someone dislikes may be something I don't mind and vice versa. I also prefer reviews that tell you if they recommend a game or not.
 

Luipadre

Member
How about no scores? Im so fucking tired of metacritic/opencritic threads and score discussions. Some people just sitting on these pages refreshing them all day and shittalking games on forums. Unbelievable
 
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Did you know that 10 - 7 is = 3? And then 3 + 2 is = 5 and then if we - 1 is = 4 and then - 4 is = 0 and +3 would = 3? Half Life 3 confirmed.
 
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Fbh

Gold Member
While I do like the 5 star system, I think it's not used as much because it's too broad and thus probably generates less engagement.
Fanboys can't fight over their respective exclusive getting 88 or a 92 if both just get 5 stars.
 
It’s should be a fractional system based on prime numbers divided by their adjacent squares, multiplied by the weighted value of any present co-signs.
 

Spyxos

Member
I never liked 5 star rating. Maybe only for movies, but for games i always looked at 10 or 100 ratings.
 
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