It wouldn't really matter what system is put in place, people will always be people on the internet. They will always find a way to game the system and post a trollish review, or label it "incorrectly", etc.

If you're keen on reading reviews, just focus on the ones that actually provide substance and ignore the rest.

Originally posted by datCookie:

It wouldn't really matter what system is put in place, people will always be people on the internet. They will always find a way to game the system and post a trollish review, or label it "incorrectly", etc.

If you're keen on reading reviews, just focus on the ones that actually provide substance and ignore the rest.

True. That's basically what I was doing anyway; I just wanted to vent about it, mostly because it's funny in an annoying kind of way.

Originally posted by Supa Ninja:

Originally posted by datCookie:

It wouldn't really matter what system is put in place, people will always be people on the internet. They will always find a way to game the system and post a trollish review, or label it "incorrectly", etc.

If you're keen on reading reviews, just focus on the ones that actually provide substance and ignore the rest.

True. That's basically what I was doing anyway; I just wanted to vent about it, mostly because it's funny in an annoying kind of way.

Totally understandable.

I've seen some fantastic ones that have less substance, but do highlight how fun a game can be xD

Originally posted by Supa Ninja:

There has been too many times where I see a Not Recommended Review where they say the game is good, BUT there's some issues that need fixing. Is this a me problem? Should I just accept the fact that people will misuse the Review types to get their point across better?

How exactly is that misusing the review system? If a game has problems and I say that I don't recommend it because of those problems, that's literally what the review system is for. There's threads like this all the time where people seem to think the system would be better as a 5 star or 10/10 rating system, but nobody can ever explain why.

If I stand outside of a restaurant and someone on the street asks me if I would recommend it, I'm going to tell them yes or no. The review part is where I can explain why I picked that, but in the end, it's still a binary answer. You either recommend something or not.

They should add a character length filter if one does not exist already.

Originally posted by Supa Ninja:

One could make the argument that there should be more options for types of Reviews, but let's ignore that for this Discussion. This is based on the fact that we only have two options right now: Recommended, or Not Recommended.

Efficient answers require efficient questions.

Originally posted by Supa Ninja:

There has been too many times where I see a Not Recommended Review where they say the game is good, BUT there's some issues that need fixing. Is this a me problem? Should I just accept the fact that people will misuse the Review types to get their point across better?

You're failing to grasp the nuance in the statement there.
People have differing standards for what the deem worthy of recommendation.
The "It's good but..." means that the game on a whole is good but it's flaws are just problematic enough to prevent recommendation.

Originally posted by Supa Ninja:

If you Recommend the game, why not just put your criticisms in the same review, but... just... make that Review POSITIVE!? Like, am I actually just going crazy for something that doesn't matter? Sure! But it's still so weird, man.

Why? If the game doesn't meet the persons standard for recommendation it doesn't meet the standard.

Some opeople will recommend a 5/10 game. Other people won't recommend a game below 9/10
That's how people are.

A negative review is probably gonna get more attention than a positive review from a developer who cares about their product. Thus whatever issues the game has are more likely gonna get picked up by the developer.

Interesting replies here. I agree with a lot of points; Start_Running may just be correct when they say I'm not grasping the nuance. Maybe I need to think about this super hard idk. At the very least, this has definitely helped understand the mentality of the people who do this, and it's up to each person to decide whether it's justified.

The negative reviews are usually more useful then the positive reviews. In fact more often then not I'll buy based off of those negative reviews. Once I'm confident that the deal breakers aren't deal breakers. Then I'm far more receptive to those deal makers.

I also tend to be wary of games with overwhelmingly anything. That speaks to a game attracting a narrow audience with a narrow view. They hate it or love it, because it is or isn't exactly that. You go into that review section, and you're positively swimming in Kool aid.

The system is actually better then most. I'd rather people say how they feel. Then elaborate as to why they feel that way. I want to know what their gut tells them. First I look for that honesty, and then I look for some effort. The person who actually wrote more then a couple sentences.

Originally posted by Dodece:

The negative reviews are usually more useful then the positive reviews. In fact more often then not I'll buy based off of those negative reviews. Once I'm confident that the deal breakers aren't deal breakers. Then I'm far more receptive to those deal makers.

I also tend to be wary of games with overwhelmingly anything. That speaks to a game attracting a narrow audience with a narrow view. They hate it or love it, because it is or isn't exactly that. You go into that review section, and you're positively swimming in Kool aid.

The system is actually better then most. I'd rather people say how they feel. Then elaborate as to why they feel that way. I want to know what their gut tells them. First I look for that honesty, and then I look for some effort. The person who actually wrote more then a couple sentences.

This right here is 100% correct. Dodece take my points. I try to write genuine reviews highlighting both good and bad aspects of the game but when I buy a game i look at he negative reviews first! Mainly because if everyone hates some random trivial thing (or as of late the game has been review bombed) i can base my buying off that. I think I understand what OP is saying... kinda... and I personally think that being limited to a Recommend/Don't Recommend option does leave something to be desired. Reaper mentioned folks who would recommend a 5 star or a 10/10 system which i personally would endorse but unfortunately don't have any other reason than preference. As far as people's ratings are concerned, it is what it is. I have 1 review of a game I genuinely hate but still gave it the steam thumbs up because, simply put, the game wasn't horrible(ish) and had some redeeming qualities that other's may enjoy.

There indeed have been times I wished there was a "neutral" option with the system; often enough, it is a case of "would recommend for 'X', but not 'Y'", like titles that cater to niche interests that would bore most people. Or the titles that are a bit more towards the mediocre side, but not so much to warrant avoiding it either (but more like 'if you have exhausted other options').

sounds like good reviews to me.

liking a game and recommending it, but letting others know it has issues, is a good thing.

one would think seeing all the spam reviews, would be more of a complaint.

ie... blanks reviews, 1-2 letter/number/symbols reviews, reviews that look like someone rolled their face across the keyboard, meme/copy paste reviews, one liners like "game is good" with no relevant info, rage reviews, begging others to ignore other reviews, ascii reviews, the list goes on...

that said and like another mentioned, a "neutral" review option, would be welcomed, as not everything is a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down", some could have the opinion, of being between both positive and negative.

have a nice day

Originally posted by MonkehMaster:

sounds like good reviews to me.

liking a game and recommending it, but letting others know it has issues, is a good thing.

one would think seeing all the spam reviews, would be more of a complaint.

ie... blanks reviews, 1-2 letter/number/symbols reviews, reviews that look like someone rolled their face across the keyboard, meme/copy paste reviews, one liners like "game is good" with no relevant info, rage reviews, begging others to ignore other reviews, ascii reviews, the list goes on...

that said and like another mentioned, a "neutral" review option, would be welcomed, as not everything is a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down", some could have the opinion, of being between both positive and negative.

have a nice day :gk_smile:

Yeah, exactly. I was trying to say that you could make the Reviews Positive (which in Steam's case means you Recommend the game) while still giving the presumably valid criticisms you want to give. Steam's way of handling Reviews is definitely super simple, but it can work well if the actual Reviewers know what they're doing... which... yeah, can you IMAGINE?

It could easily benefit in a lot of ways from being more of a range thing, though. Like... maybe percentage based? Idk I'm not a professional; if you think this stuff doesn't make sense take it with a grain of salt.

You have a nice day too!

Originally posted by Supa Ninja:

Steam reviews are a bit strange

Many are written by shills and marketers employed by the game makers.

That explains that.

Also, many people are banned for leaving negative reviews and criticism on various game discussion forums on Steam and outside of Steam.