What I Enjoy in a Good Game Review

The success of a review is only clear in its context. A review posted on a major website is going to have different creative intent than one produced on a personal blog or from an independent publisher. Similarly, what each reader constitutes as a good game review may differ to that of the market, other readers, writers, or even the editorial mission of the outlet publishing it. More than anything, I look for and enjoy two things in a good game review: how it felt for the writer to play through the game, and how that experience inspired them to craft their written response.

Let’s look at the first thing, as nebulous as it is. It’s difficult to describe how a game makes you feel when the words at our disposal are often inadequate and/or decoded across a spectrum. What does ‘fun’ mean if the game you are talking about is primarily focused on beating you senseless (*cough* Elden Ring)? Is it fun to get absolutely wiped out a thousand times? Well, yes it is, but not in the same sense as, say, being handed $10 000 and told to go spend it on whatever you want. However, if a writer is successful in conveying to me that playing Elden Ring made them feel like they were riding a rollercoaster that constantly derailed them at the most inopportune moments, only to be repeatedly dusted off and put right back on the tracks until they learned to anticipate every turn and make it all the way to the end with their dignity (and souls) more than intact – I’d get the sense of the kind of fun they had.

I don’t want to get hung up on specific words here. The point I’m trying to make is that a good game review will package words into conveyed experiences. As par for the course, it may weave through each paragraph all the PR guff expected from a review – the DNA of a title, its provenance, a sprinkling of setting, tech talk and performance appraisal. There should be that feeling from the reader that they are an invited friend, sitting beside the writer as they lead them on a merry palaver about this latest here video game. This setting can then be festooned with specific elements that the writer - someone with an entire play history and personal expectations to bear - feels are important to them to inspect and dig into.

My second signpost (or perhaps buoy is a better word) of a good game review is also difficult to identify and implement. It is how the act of playing a game inspired the writer to approach their review in the way that they did. One example that illustrates the kind of thing I mean is Kill Screen’s review of Infinity Blade. It was directly inspired by the 2010 title’s act of death and repetition, with the review revealing itself slowly, adding to words and expanding on the experience as the reader kept refreshing the text itself. While the original review was ironically killed after a website update, you can find it reposted on the writer’s personal blog here. A review inspired by the thing it is reviewing may seem lazy or corny, but what deeper compliment could you give to a piece of art other than to invite it into your own craft and present a clear example of its influence on you?

Not every review has to think of an analogous quirk. You can show that you were inspired from your time with a game via the care with which you craft the review. Your word usage, alliteration, poetic turns of phrase, even the thing(s) you choose to focus on or omit in the review, can all help to convey how your writing was inspired and influenced by the artwork. When it comes down to it, a great writer is going to write a great review. I do believe, though, that if writers can hitch themselves to a fast-moving body, one that pulls them up in a fever of enjoyment, that jerks them from their well-worn driveway and sets them down on an untamed path, then they can only produce a better, more heartfelt thing.

(Thank you for reading/subscribing to my nascent Substack. I am trying to build up readership, and it is difficult, especially as I have limited all of my social media. If you enjoyed this piece, please take some time to share it within your own circles. I would love to keep posting a mix of thoughtful and playful writings in future. I also have a vast collection of archived writing that I plan to tap into if I gain enough subscribers to make it worthwhile.)