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Eurogamer moving to a five-star rating system (starting with Tears of the Kingdom)

vestan

vestan

#REFANTAZIO SWEEP
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Dec 28, 2017
24,633
www.eurogamer.net

Eurogamer reviews are changing

Hey again, Tom here. I'm really excited to announce today that Eurogamer reviews are changing. Here's a bit about how, …
www.eurogamer.net www.eurogamer.net
Hey again, Tom here. I'm really excited to announce today that Eurogamer reviews are changing. Here's a bit about how, and the thinking behind why.
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For years now, I've felt our existing review badges weren't working hard enough for us, or for you. We ended up recommending a lot of games, or not giving a badge at all to many others - which meant readers not acquainted with our odd four-point scale had nothing to go on. We rarely used Avoid, because it always felt a bit mean.
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It's been eight years since Eurogamer ditched the 10-point review scale and we're not going back to that - the argument then that it felt broken through overuse of its upper half still stands. At the same time, I strongly believe we need to convey how we feel about games in a more straightforward manner.
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In my blog post a couple of weeks ago, I wrote that I was keen for Eurogamer to look back to its roots where appropriate, as a home for video game coverage that feels fearless and helps drive the conversation. It's a conversation I'm keen for our reviews to stand out in, to match the brilliant writing you've come to expect from our team. There's more about all of that below from reviews editor Chris Tapsell, including detail of a new accessibility options listing I'm also delighted to be adding.
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For now, I can't wait for you to see Eurogamer's first starred review with our verdict on Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Join us then.
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Why not ditch scores altogether?
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I have massive respect for websites which have done this, and I've seen this suggested by readers. We're extremely fortunate to have readers who care about good writing, who want to read critics who think deeply and seriously about games, who love the medium and who hold it to high standards as a result. And honestly, we're lucky to have readers who just want to read.
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But the reality is reviews without scores will be seen by and read by fewer people, and have less influence on the industry overall. That's more than just a cynical point about 'getting clicks'. Trust me when I say reviews genuinely aren't major traffic drivers for sites like Eurogamer - even the ones you disagree with! - but we believe in our reviews, and their relative visibility and weight matter.
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Removing scores altogether would feel like running from that problem rather than trying to engage with it - which doesn't feel particularly 'Eurogamer', or like the right thing to do, either. Score-aggregating sites, social media accounts, and internal publisher feedback reports and scored mock reviews will still exist. Developers will still see bonuses tied to metascores. Maybe most importantly, readers - not just Eurogamer's - will still, naturally, compare our reviews to others, because this is just how humans think about things. It's better to get involved.
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As much as people focus on them, scores also add at-a-glance usefulness, and so if our reviews can be clear and useful, and entertaining and insightful to read, that's a good thing. My personal hope is also that by seeing our scores amongst the others, people will realise that just as in film criticism, food criticism, or reviews of books or plays or TV shows or just conversations amongst your own friends, people respond to things differently. It would be weird and frankly rubbish if they didn't. Ultimately, we have a better chance of impacting that for the better - and become much harder to ignore - if we get stuck in with scores of our own.
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A lot more in the article above breaking down their reasoning for the change and what it will look like in practice. I liked Eurogamer's badge system but I get the change all things considered. Another perfect score to add to the pile for TotK I suppose.
 
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Dest

Dest

Has seen more 10s than EA ever will
Coward
Jun 4, 2018
14,055
Work
Feeling that they're going to start with a 5/5.
 
Zebesian-X

Zebesian-X

Member
Dec 3, 2018
19,735
letterboxd-5-stars.gif
 
Nere

Nere

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Dec 8, 2017
2,147
It's been eight years since Eurogamer ditched the 10-point review scale and we're not going back to that - the argument then that it felt broken through overuse of its upper half still stands
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I don't understand this argument at all, then don't overuse the upper half of 10-point scale review? What stops them from overusing 4-stars and 5-stars in their reviews instead?
 
--R

--R

Being sued right now, please help me find a lawyer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,784
The recommendation system in paper was good, but it still felt too... inaccurate? Like 2 games could have no recommendation but the actual quality difference between them is huge. Stars work better.
 
Alek

Alek

Games User Researcher
Verified
Oct 28, 2017
8,471
I think that scored reviews drive more traffic. So in that sense it's not a complicated decision.
 
oni-link

oni-link

tag reference no one gets
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Oct 25, 2017
16,032
UK
They shouldn't have told anyone just so we'd get to witness the chaos of "Eurogamer gives TOTK a 5"
 
Nugnip

Nugnip

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,744
I think a five star system is alright. It's the metacritic/opencritic score that is getting weirder. I mean, in my head for example, a 3/5 star game is a pretty ok B game, no problem with that. But it translates to 60/100, and that usually mean it's pretty bad.
 
vixolus

vixolus

Prophet of Truth
Member
Sep 22, 2020
54,496
Nere said:
I don't understand this argument at all, then don't overuse the upper half of 10-point scale review? What stops them from overusing 4-stars and 5-stars in their reviews instead?
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yeah instead of avoiding "Avoid" for being mean they will avoid using 1 stars for being mean! But it isn't a word! And they will probably use more 3-5 stars in reviews anyway just like most reviews are 6-10.

its just to drive more traffic by slapping a number on it rather than no number or a phrase
 
oni-link

oni-link

tag reference no one gets
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Oct 25, 2017
16,032
UK
Veil said:
Is there any difference between a five star system as a 10 point scale?
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About 5 points

Serious answer is all scales are arbitrary, one persons 10 might well be another mans 6 or 7

Metacritic and other aggregators have fuelled this belief that a games score is an objective rating a game gets based on quality
 
OSHAN

OSHAN

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,932
I can't speak for everyone, but it seems no one considers 5/10 "average", at least based on every Edge thread. Star rankings aren't as easily misconstrued, until Metacritic gets their hands on them, at least.
 
Thorrgal

Thorrgal

Member
Oct 26, 2017
12,327
Nere said:
I don't understand this argument at all, then don't overuse the upper half of 10-point scale review? What stops them from overusing 4-stars and 5-stars in their reviews instead?
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Was going to post this lol, it makes no sense. It's basically the 10 point system but less nuanced, hence worse (for me).
 
Oghuz

Oghuz

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,911
It will only be a matter of time before they go back to the 10 rating system. Especially after reading their argument for not wanting to go back to it. EZA walked the same path also.
 
Red Kong XIX

Red Kong XIX

Member
Oct 11, 2020
7,882
I know Era dislikes scores, but for regular consumers it's very useful.

5 stars are the best way to do it imo
 

Deleted member 14089

Oct 27, 2017
6,264
Will there be weighing or reflective scoring in terms of the performance or technical aspect of a game?
E.g. Technical competency .

I see that they mention DF for their tech reviews, but I'm sure there can be some incorporation in the scoring to take their assessment into account. Scoring can be reflected around; How does it maintain its target framerate, How many technical options are there provided (e.g. motion blur settings, different modes that do add/provide things), how does it visually hold up (e.g. resolution, high material work/textures) and just general game stability (e.g. crashes or weird glitches/inconsistencies).
I think there could be a good internal framework for that and I'd be disappointment if that's not reflected in the scoring.

It doesn't have to tank the scoring unless the game is mega broken.

Nonetheless, interesting to see them return to scoring on a scale again.
 
crazillo

crazillo

Member
Apr 5, 2018
8,185
I like 5 points way better than a 0-100 or 0-10 scale. I taught at university and it's hard as shit, almost impossible, to measure exams in the right way for fair grades. I tried though.

But I can tell if a game is a masterpiece/GOTY contender (5 stars), an excellent entry (4 stars), a decent game with flaws but good for fans of the studio/genre (3 stars), a technical mess or a game with serious flaws (2 stars) and the bottom of the bottom (1 star).

Unless you can convince me why a game is a 83 MC and not a 82, of course.

Too much weaponization over scores as well, so I'm all for it.
 
Helix

Helix

Mayor of Clown Town
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Jun 8, 2019
23,791
I'm glad this system is implemented, it would be really helpful for when reviews for uhhhh... Humanity comes out
 
.exe

.exe

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,233
Veil said:
Is there any difference between a five star system as a 10 point scale?
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Because the numbers get smudged a bit, I imagine there is more room for both the author and reader interpret the score.
It's less complicated to award a 3 out of 5 than the ballache of differentiating between a 6 or 7 out of 10.
 
Lumination

Lumination

Member
Oct 26, 2017
12,478
Shame that EasyAllies went back and now so is Eurogamer. That "Recommended" badge held some weight for me, personally!
 
Kaitos

Kaitos

Tens across the board!
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
14,707
I feel like people are much more open to giving a bad game, say, a star and a half instead of a 3, even if they technically mean the same thing.

People grew up with a grading system where anything below a 60% was an F.
 
Gay Bowser

Gay Bowser

Member
Oct 30, 2017
17,707
Nere said:
I don't understand this argument at all, then don't overuse the upper half of 10-point scale review? What stops them from overusing 4-stars and 5-stars in their reviews instead?
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The problem is if Eurogamer uses the full scale, people compare their scores to the rest of the gaming review space, where 7 is "average," and misconstrue Eurogamer's meaning

Like, there's never been a clearer indication of the 6-10 scale than Redfall, which is apparently an almost unimaginably bad game to come from a major publisher and yet is still in the top half of the scale
 
SupersonicHypertonic

SupersonicHypertonic

Member
Apr 20, 2022
1,821
TOTK already having impact by making reviewers change their scoring system lol.

I don't think 5 stars changes much, if you include .05 then it's no different than a standard 10 point system. Theres no way there will ever be a score system that everyone will agree on is fair so I think over analysing how to score a game is over thinking. Just keep some kind system and stick with it or do a simple out of 10 like majority of reviewers.

At end of the day the actual written/video review itself should be enough to convey exactly how the reviewer feels about a game.
 
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