GameObserver uses a 10-point review rating system to give a general overview on the quality of a game, with the lowest score being 1 and the highest being 10.
Each score is accompanied by a superlative to give further context to what the score means, 10 being ‘masterful’ for example, and a note on whether the reviewer ‘recommends’, ‘cautiously recommends’ or ‘does not recommend’ the game. Our recommendation is independent of the score and up to reviewer discretion. For example, while a reviewer may have scored a game 8/10 because they enjoyed it as a fan of the genre, they may cautiously recommend it if they believe it won’t be to everyone’s liking. Similarly, some of our reviewers may cautiously recommend a 5/10 game, whereas others would not recommend it.
Our scores are presented with a short summary of one or two sentences that briefly summarises why the reviewer has given the game that score.
Each review from GameObserver is based on the version of the game available to the reviewer at the time of writing. While many games may fix any problems highlighted in the review with post-launch patches and updates, our score will not be adjusted after publication. If an update or patch is particularly significant, then we may add an editor’s note at the bottom of the review to highlight that an improvement was made after the review’s publication.
For live games that are continuously updated with major content updates, while our score given upon the game’s release cannot be changed, we may write a Revisit Review on the update and note whether we recommend players revisit the game in the current year or not. Major DLC expansions may be given their own review and score.
GameObserver’s reviews are posted on review aggregators OpenCritic and CriticDB.
Review Codes
Any review codes offered to GameObserver by developers, publishers or PR teams will be considered by the editorial team. If GameObserver accepts the code, we will confirm this in writing and endeavor to create some form of content for it within a reasonable amount of time.
If we have not replied to an email or other direct message offering a review code and confirmed our acceptance of it, then we have not accepted the code and it should be understood that we will not be covering it.
Any content created using a review code will have a disclaimer stating so, either in writing if the content is an article, or in a verbal statement at the beginning of video or audio content.
Our team does not receive compensation in exchange for creating any form of content, including reviews. While we do receive review copies of games, this does not influence our score and if a review is based on a review copy given to us, we will disclose this in the review.
Review Rubric
10/10: Masterful – This is the type of game that doesn’t come around very often, it’s among one of your all time favourites. While it doesn’t need to be perfect, it does nearly everything right, stands out within the genre, and you believe will become a classic in future years which other games will draw inspiration from.
9/10: Outstanding – This game is one of your favourites of the year and a possible Game of the Year contender. We recommend this game to anyone, even those who aren’t usually a fan of the genre.
8/10: Excellent – This game stands as a contender for one of the best within its genre. It’s exceptional in some way and you have to think quite hard to come up with any faults for it. You would recommend this game to other fans of the genre.
7/10: Solid – This game is very enjoyable for fans of the genre and has at least one feature that makes it stand out.
6/10: Decent – If you’re a fan of the genre, then this game is worth trying out. While it isn’t perfect, despite its flaws, it comes together well and you’ll still have a somewhat enjoyable time playing it.
5/10: It’s Fine – Not bad, but also not amazing. This is a game that fell flat and you struggle to find any sort of feeling towards it because of this. While other games in the genre might be more worth your time, fans of the genre may want to still give this one a go.
4/10: Lacking – While this game does have some parts of it which are good and maybe shows some promise, its execution is poor and ultimately, as a package, the bad outweighs the good.
3/10: Poor – There may be one or two things about this game worth mentioning in a positive light, but overall it makes too many bad decisions and is an unenjoyable game overall. You wouldn’t even recommend this one to fans of the genre.
2/10: Dire – This is one of the worst games you have ever played but maybe there’s just one small thing worth giving it credit for. But this one small thing is completely overshadowed by how bad the game is overall.
1/10: Abysmal – This game is near unplayable and you can’t believe it’s even been released. It’s an uncommon kind of bad game that you struggle completely to find anything positive to say about.