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General discussionReview Guidelines & Review of the Month contest(176 posts)(176 posts)
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Posted May 30, 2016
Our guide to a world of awesome game reviews

Game reviews are important. They help developers get direct feedback on their games, and as gamers they help us make an informed purchase or share our thoughts. Writing a quality review carries a certain responsibility: to do good by both the game and the community. Striking that perfect balance is a challenge, a delicate art that we want to promote.

Next time you're about to write a review, you'll see our simple suggestions for crafting a top-notch review. You can always revisit them from the review form as well.

—Focus on your in-game experience: if you have general feedback or need tech support, contact us!
—Avoid politics and drama: let the game stand on its own merits.
—Critique responsibly: whether it's positive or negative, a great review should be helpful and informative.

We hope that these three essential guidelines will help make GOG.com reviews even more awesome than they already are, but we also don't want to stop there!



CONTEST: REVIEW OF THE MONTH

Together with our friends at ROCCAT we venture to encourage and reward the best reviews on GOG.com – and to that end, we are introducing our monthly Review of the Month contest!

Submit your review for any game (or games!) released on GOG.com between May 1 and May 31, 2016. This time around, the grand prize is the RENGA gaming headset, courtesy of ROCCAT.

Here's what you need to know:

—Once you've posted your review, submit it for consideration by also quoting it in this post's forum thread.
—Keep the review guidelines in mind. A good review can be both entertaining and informative, it can be brief or extensive. It doesn't need to be positive in its overall assessment of the game - as long as it's eloquent and fair (or hilarious), it has our attention.
—All eligible reviews must be about games that have joined the GOG.com catalog within the previous month. For this first phase of the contest eligible reviews shall concern games that came out on GOG.com between May 1 and May 31, 2016.
—Winners will be announced at the beginning of every month with the start of next month's contest. The first round of winners will be announced in early July, giving you guys a bit of extra time to fine-tune your entries. Remember that if you're not happy with the shape of a review you've already posted, you can always contact our support team to rectify that.
—The best review of each month will win a sweet piece of gaming gear, courtesy of the good people at ROCCAT. Any runners-up will receive honorable mentions and one $9.99 code each, to be redeemed at GOG.com.

Let's celebrate the reviews that hit the nail on the head — the most constructive, informative, or fun to read. Grab your keyboards and make some magic happen, GOGers!
Post edited May 31, 2016 by maladr0Id
Posted May 20, 2016
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vulchor: None of my reviews ever make it through. I've tried talking to support about it, but they basically told me to try to rewrite and send them again. The review system here is broken. This farce of a contest is a slap in the face to those of us who have tried to send good reviews through.
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skeecher: I find that this happens mostly when you go over the character limit. If they were long reviews, then that might be the reason. Thing is, you don't get a notification that you are over the limit and are left wondering why the review isn't listed. It's one of the many problems with reviews on GOG.
There is a little counter at the bottom of the screen that shows your character count. I've always made sure that I don't go over the limit, and yet the reviews still don't make it into the system.
Posted May 20, 2016
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Mr.Caine: heh. was this prompted by the response Baldur's Gate EE received?
Not just that, but likely the responses to other games like Gone Home ("WTF It's SJW rubbish/gay propaganda/etc.!"). There was also that whole madness surrounding Jack Keane 2 from the first Insomnia Sale, and going back further, games getting review bombed just because the forums didn't get the games they'd overhyped themselves into expecting would come. (Kind of like how the forums hyped themselves into thinking Skyrim/Oblivion/Morrowing/FO3/FNV would be coming this week.)
Posted May 20, 2016
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zeogold: What, a sewer pun? That stinks.
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dtgreene: Do I need to pun-ish you?
7 days of puns makes one weak.
Posted May 20, 2016
Why does GOG feel this is needed? Are they not happy with the reviews some have been posting?
Post edited May 20, 2016 by Stryder2931
Posted May 20, 2016
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dtgreene: For example, if a game has heavy amounts of sexism, that could negatively impact my experience of the game. Similarly, transphobia could easily turn an otherwise decent game into one which I would not be comfortable playing.
That depends. Is the sexism simply there for no reason at all, or does it make sense within the greater context of the game's world building and the characters being portrayed? Analogue: A Hate Story/Love Plus come to mind here.

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dtgreene: Also, suppose a game does include a transgender character. Is there anything wrong with discussing whether that character was well written in a review?
Again, that depends. Is the gender identity/sexual orientation of the character in question put in there *because* it's important to the plot and development of the character (I remember hearing an example of this from one of the Persona games), or is it just shoehorned in there as cheap pandering?

One would think that the "No politics" rule is so that people can evaluate a game on its own merits, as opposed to a review saying "Siege of Dragonspear has teh gayz gaffots in it, WTF 0/10."
Posted May 20, 2016
low rated
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dtgreene: I should point out that these mistakes are commonly made even by native English speakers, so don't feel too bad about making them. On the other hand, you should try not to make this sort of mistake.
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Starmaker: In almost two decades on the interwebs, I've never seen a non-native English speaker write "could of" / "should of" / "would of". So there's that.
That brings up one interesting point:

The English mistakes that people tend to make are affected by the person's native language. For example:

Russians often forget the use of articles ("a"/"an"/"the"). I believe this is because Russian lacks such words, or if such words exist, they are used far less frequently than in English.

In playing Wizardry Gaiden 4, I stumbled across an item called the "Seclet Letter". Given how far apart "l" and "r" are on the keyboard, this is not a mistake that a native English speaker would make. However, somebody whose native language is Japanese could easily make that particular error, since Japanese doesn't distinguish between "l" and "r". (Note that this game was developed and released only in Japan, but has an option to put the item names in English.)

Going the other way, I have a question for any native Spanish speakers:

Do native Spanish speakers mix up "ser" and "estar", or is that something only foreigners do? (I note that both words translate into English as "to be", but they are not interchangeable, and a significant portion of Spanish class (for English speakers) is about which verb to use when.)
Posted May 20, 2016
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dtgreene: Going the other way, I have a question for any native Spanish speakers:

Do native Spanish speakers mix up "ser" and "estar", or is that something only foreigners do? (I note that both words translate into English as "to be", but they are not interchangeable, and a significant portion of Spanish class (for English speakers) is about which verb to use when.)
This seems like a topic that deserves its own thread.
Posted May 20, 2016
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Starmaker: In almost two decades on the interwebs, I've never seen a non-native English speaker write "could of" / "should of" / "would of". So there's that.
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dtgreene: Going the other way, I have a question for any native Spanish speakers:

Do native Spanish speakers mix up "ser" and "estar", or is that something only foreigners do? (I note that both words translate into English as "to be", but they are not interchangeable, and a significant portion of Spanish class (for English speakers) is about which verb to use when.)
I think that only foreingners use both as interchangeable, the native speaker don't make that mistake in general.
"ser" is for "permanent" status. e.g. "To be tall"/"Ser alto"
"estar" is for temporary status (for example to be in a place). e.g. "To be at home"/"Estar en casa"
There are more especific rules, but the general idea is the duration of the status.

edit: grammar
Post edited May 20, 2016 by Martin_Ariel
Posted May 20, 2016
No; U
Posted May 20, 2016
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Martin_Ariel: There are more especific rules, but the general idea is the duration of the status.
State of being, such as a bodily condition or quality vs. position or time.
Posted May 20, 2016
high rated
Ugh... I wasn't mean for a long long time now but I can't resist anymore...

Dear, dear GOG! How about, I don't know, finishing an old contest before posting a new one? Huh? It will be three years, you know. Some of us are still waiting :D

I couldn't resist that :D
Posted May 20, 2016
A review of The Witness:

Pretentious? Yes. Brilliant? Absolutely.

The best way I can describe this game is that it unfolds.

Prepare to sit back, relax, and spend a lot of time just staring at puzzles, scratching your noodle.

Prepare to spend a good chunk of time on one puzzle, only to decide to come back to it later when you have grown your understanding a bit more.

Prepare to be astounded when you discover the true puzzles the island holds, and the realization that you can't contain the puzzles into the little boxes Jonathan Blow has placed for you to find.

Understand that this game asks a lot of you, and it doesn't seem to thank you much for it. That's because it understands - and encourages you to learn likewise - that sometimes, the very process of learning how the creator thinks is reason enough to persevere; the very act of solving is itself its own reward.

So pick this game up, and enjoy it in its fullness. Take in the joy of mastering something new on a small, yet tangible scale. If you give it its due, you will not be disappointed.
Posted May 20, 2016
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Kenogu: *snip*
Were you writing a review or an advert? :P
Posted May 20, 2016
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Kenogu: A review of The Witness:
I think you're supposed to put the review on the game page, not on this thread.
And not to put down your review, but the way you word it, it feels more like a pitch to me...
Edit: I see a new ninja's in town.
Re-edit: My mistake...you ARE supposed to post the review in this thread. I should probably do that.
Post edited May 20, 2016 by zeogold
Posted May 20, 2016
My Braid review:

Famous for a reason

Braid is a clever puzzle-platformer game with unique elements. This is the game is considered to be one of the most famous of indie platformers alongside Limbo, and it has most certainly earned its reputation.
As far as gameplay goes, it's worth mentioning that death is impossible, as you can reverse time at your leisure. Each world is built around a time mechanic, such as use of a ring that slows anything thats get close to it, or a level which makes time go forwards as you move right and backwards when you move left. It requires a great deal of brilliance to not only think of these uses, but to integrate them properly into clever puzzles, and the creator deserves a great deal of respect for this.

The main game itself is not so difficult, but rather it's collecting the puzzle pieces where the challenge lies. They're tucked away in hard-to-reach places which require timing and ingenuity to access. Not all puzzle pieces have to be collected in order to progress through the game, however, and if you don't want too much of a challenge, you can seek out the worst ones by consulting a walkthrough. For those who want even MORE of a challenge, there are hidden stars to look for after the game has been beaten, as well as an alternate ending which can be achieved after finding all of these stars.

Some people have chosen to dislike the game because of the pretentious personality of Jonathan Blow, who's gone so far as to overemphasize the artistic value of his game which has a rather indecipherable and, arguably, purposefully vague plot. However, I'm of the personal opinion that the game should be judged independently of its creator. If you're a person who values what the man behind it is like, you might want to look up more about him before buying.

Overall, this is a "staple" indie game which I highly recommend. The art style is beautiful, the soundtrack is utterly fantastic, and the gameplay is only as much work as the amount of effort you choose to put into it.
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Community
General discussionReview Guidelines & Review of the Month contest(176 posts)(176 posts)
(176 posts)