Why I'm Ditching Review Scores
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- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
- Why have I always used a 7-point system? What's wrong with review scores? What are some of my long-winded opinions on video game reviews in general? Sorry, even if you only want the answer to one of those questions, you're getting them all.
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/ arlostuff
TWOOTER: @ArloStuff
BOOKFACE: ArloStuff
This video was edited by the lovely Kane!
/ farfetchdreviews
Additional footage credits:
drive.google.c...
"Reloaded Installer #11" by LHS.
/ @lhschiptunes
I won't really miss the scores, but I'll miss the tiny dancing Arlo.
Litterally my exact same thoughts it was always plesant
same
That's the real casualty in this situation right here.
Yeah
He should put them at the end of review videos for the heck of it
I won't miss the scores, I'll miss the Arlos beneath the scores
Same
Exactly
SAME
same
My friend, do I have the gif banner of a blog post for you!
the-avocado.org/2018/02/15/the-arlo-day-thread/
If I were less lazy I'd cut the gif up into separate Arlos to serve as some thoroughly worthwhile emotes...
But I am as lazy as I am, so there you are, job for a more industrious individual I guess.
I'll be honest, I thought the Arlos on the 7 point review scale were just dancing.
I thought until I got curious about how they were dancing and decided to watch each other one
I think 6 and 7 he dances, especially 7 lol
Agree, they were small enough or not separated enough that I did not distinguished they represented the different attitudes towards the game in question. Still I love Arlo's reviews becuase he explains why he likes or dislikes something and I am better able to consider if that is something I would like.
I love how everyone, including myself, is more concerned about the removal of the Tiny Dancing Arlos rather than the actual system.
rip dancing Arlo's
@@tjmalanga4986 They were fun. May they live on as Gifs.
It was the only product that could successfully compete with Tiny Desk Engineer unless you consider the indie product Tiny Desk Gray Wolf. But now with Tiny Dancing Arlo out of the picture the market is losing it's variety and consumers are left unhappy.
The only reason I was disappointed of this video
Could always look at old videos with them
“I give *you*, my friend, a seven out of seven” gave me a rush of childish joy
I smiled so big
Hmmmmmm I don't know, I think we deserve a 7.0000000000001 out of 7. It's like he's not even trying.
@@LordDarner pfff
YEAH
Just like those koroks huh
Another important point: people often compare games based on just their review scores. Like, even games from different genres or games that got their scores for completely different reasons. It's impossible to say whether one game is 'objectively better' than the other just because it got a higher score.
Because DUH, obviously if MY Yu-Gi-Oh TCG game from 18 years ago and from a GBA console has an 8, it's WAAAAY better than the 2021 Switch Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, that just barely got a 7.
Yeah.
(?)
@@erik19borgnia nostalgia factor exist
Remember how people compared IGN's review scores of God Hand and Imagine Party Babyz?
Yes, but I would (nicely) argue that blurs the lines even more? The main point of a score is simply convenience; many people for what loss for the cause or not simply do not have the time to fine combe and mull through a persons 1 to 2 hours of stand up speech and assessments. That's why you have Like/dislike buttons; many just leave the Courtesy Like, zap to the end to see the Score and they're done. If the score then peaks their interest, they will return to indulge and dig for the meat n potatoes.
@@netweed09 Not a fan of that. Either you watch a review or not. A number tells you nothing, people's interpretation of the same number also varies wildly. Reviews aren't 1-2 hours, analysis videos are, but those are aimed at people who are already interested in the subject.
Its actually such a good point about the 5/10 score. I've always thought its crazy that something with a 5/10 is basically considered unacceptable instead of representing something average or medium. I feel like a 7/10 holds the place a 5 is supposed to.
5/10 literally means average
I mean YMS use 5 to mean mediocre, though according to American grading system, that's an F
@@ionlydrinkjesusmilk7256 woah crazy the MAL rating system is exactly what I thought of here too!
@@Tacom4ster exactly I think that’s why people think 5 is bad
I think it just follows the system we have in schools where a 7/10 is a C which means passing, 8/10 means average (B), and 9/10 means quite enjoyable (A), and 10/10 is amazing (A+).
The 7/10 mindset comes from the school system, where anything under that is usually a failing grade. People have essentially been brainwashed into thinking numerical ratings are more weighted than they should be.
and THAT weighting comes from over-reliance on true/false and multiple choice metrics. a literal random guess on a TF test can get you a 50%, thus getting 60% means you missed a lot more than it appears, doing only slightly better than pure guessing. It just barely gets better with ABCD. The best tests are the hardest to grade however (being free answer/essay/show your work), requiring the most work to actually grade+understand how well student understands the work. you cant just send those through the grading machine
@@deefdragon Bro I took a test yesterday for a subject I had no clue about. I had no idea what half the questions were asking about but with basic process of elimination and inferences I GOT ALL OF THE MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS CORRECT
@Kunoros Hound of Athreos what?
Agreed, atleast in the US the Grading scale heavily influences everyone. I grew up in a state where there was a 7 Point Letter grade system. Meaning Anything less than a 70 is failing.
What? Getting below 40% is a fail where I’m from
Man... I can't believe Arlo abandoned his scoring system specifically because he's bad a ring puzzles.
So silly 😂😂
I can't believe Arlo complained about animating the score, and then took the time to do it... Just for us! What a great guy
But... didn't Kane edit this video...?
I cant believe he took the credit for something that Kane clearly does :D
They had us in the first half not gonna lie
Arlo is so wholesome! He saved his last ever score for us! So nice of him to do that for us! I can't wait for the next review or whatever he posts next!
Arlo always emphasises how there are other people much smarter than him, but I think everything he said in this video shows that he's pretty darn smart.
I'd say admitting that you're not very smart, is the mark of a very smart person. Ignorant and closed-minded people fail to look for other people's perspectives and understand how much they actually don't know.
...As a result they are happier. Smart people realize that compared to the world, they are stupid in SOME way.
@@gyroc1_ I love the sense of relief that brings.
It's called "being humble".
gyro c one It’s called Imposter Syndrome and it’s the opposite of the Dunning-Kruger Effect.
You're illustrating one of the big issues of today's society, the fact that people are now apparently incapable of showing any shred of respect to someone who disagrees with them
the reasoning is something like this :
I know I am a smart person and this is my opinion, therefore anyone with a different opinion HAS to be an idiot
this attitude needs to disappear to allow conversation and debate to become respectful again
Cedrick Rozon Exactly. Such a mindset pervades the far left democrats. It’s why Resetera literally banned Angry Joe for giving Last of Us 2 under the guise of “bigotry toward LGBT”. They’ve even banned people for merely daring to say they believe not all cops are evil. Nope. You have to drink the kool aid and no deviation from their fanatical views will be tolerated. Any who dissent are “evil racists”.
@@ActionJaxonH
"far left democrats"
"far left"
"democrats"
pick one lmao
@@ActionJaxonH There's a lack of respect on both sides of the political spectrum right now, which is the base of the issue, Politics is supposed to be about meeting in the middle, not about threatening anyone you disagree with
He's wanting to diminish the chance of heated arguments and hate from his comment section, not discourage civil debates. Too many seek out fights on the internet and Arlo is just trying to do what he can to avoid fueling such.
@@SkyelreMinecraft And honestly, Arlo is a place of sanction or safety from such things.
After all these years, i just now noticed that the little Arlos beneath the review's score actually represent each one of the ratings, and are not just doing funny little dances...
Same here, although one time I tried to briefly decipher it and gave up due to the short time they are on screen. I think it would've made more sense to make 7 different static Arlo drawings expressing an emotions, and possibly even color-coded them too. Doesn't matter now though, the Arlo congo line of emotions is gone. Honestly, I'm fine with that too.
Most of them aren't technically dancing, but when you put that many animations next to each other, they always look like dancing.
Schools I would say are definitely to blame for that rule of 7. Getting 70 on a test means you did "average" or "Good enough"
Makes sense why People associate scoring that way
Schools are to blame for many issues, and this one makes sense like the other issues.
There are some countries where 7 is the maximum score for school gradings; but I grew up in a country where school grades are in a scale from 1 to 100, with 60 being the minimum to approve; and yes, it really affects the perception of the review scores.
Yeah 5/10 at school is just like a 1/10. It's really out of 5 since they only use 5 letters, but even then a D is a failure too, so it's really a scale of 4. 1/4 sucks, 2/4 is average, 3/4 is ok, and 4/4 is perfect.
Yep.
100-90 - A
x90-80 - B
x80-70 - C
x70-60 - D
x60-00 - F
A completely worthless system design to punish and keep people in line since it was NEVER about education in the first place, so people grow up with a screwed up sense of value to begin with.
Yes... Numbers are attachable to feelings/emotions.
I live in the U.S, and ever since I started getting grades of C- and under on exams or major assignments back in high school, almost every
Yeah, I completely agree Arlo. People get so caught up in the number and use it as some piece of evidence to fuel arguments about a game.
I will miss the dancing Arlos though.
Send my regards to Kane, he looks like a neat guy.
Ditto
ruclips.net/user/FarfetchdReviews
@@diegorr8378 Thanks for the info
❤️❤️❤️
Lynch told me otherwise.
I always liked your 7 point scale. It was basically asking the question, "Is this a good game?" And the answer would be as follows :
1 - Strongly disagree
2 - Disagree
3 - Somewhat disagree
4 - Neutral
5 - Somewhat agree
6 - Agree
7 - Strongly agree
I feel like such a basic score is good, but I prefer Arlo not having to worry about scores 😁
Yeah, it was a great scale. The reason I like scores is that I get a broad idea of the quality a game has, whereas the reviews that don't have it a lot of the times don't get the point across. I can understand the virtues and faults of a game, but if you don't tell me how they relate to each other, I may leave the review without knowing if I want the product. The point of the scores is to tie all up, that's why they are important, even if it's not possible to give an objective answer.
That's what I thought too!
I completely agree except I would change the question from, “is this a good game?” to, “did Arlo like this game?”
If I were to review Dark Souls I’d have to admit that it’s very well-made, but I do not like playing it myself. We should all try to find reviewers whose opinions we generally agree with and listen to their recommendations to get an idea of whether or not we’ll like that thing, rather than look at some industry-wise aggregate of a thing’s supposed objective “quality.”
@@Mati303s That's true, but good review have a sum up at the end telling exactly that : did the reviewer consider the game good ?
So hopefully you will get an alternative to scores here.
I like how ProJared used to rate games: instead of a number, he used an object or an experience to rate/describe his feelings towards a game. For example, Kid Klown in Crazy Chase got a Bee Sting/10, because the game was short, painful, and seemed to last longer than it actually did, like a bee sting.
Or what about the Sseth review system?
"I give this game a completely random, but quantifiably high score, which can only be expressed on a graphical calculator."
@@Tubuxis That works too, lol.
GOOD WORK KANE
Too bad ProJared is....y'know.
@@arigat-s0244 cringe
13:46 “A game is not a person, it doesn’t deserve anything”
Perfect
I just wanted to say right now that I love Sonic and the Secret Rings.
If it doesn't deserve anything then why would I give away my money to purchase it??
@@Zeriel00 because you deserve to entertain yourself with your hard earned money, or just cause your grandma loves you.
@@Zeriel00 I mean by definition purchasing something isn't "giving away" your money
@@Pureheartt13 I thought you were going to say Sonic 06 and I almost found someone in the 0000000000.1% I think that’s less than one person.
I never knew the little Arlos represented his feelings. I thought they just danced
That utterly defeated look while working on the Origami King review...hang in there! 🤣😭
Kane is dead inside
That's what I thought
I actually find scoring systems flawed to begin with. I prefer a brief summary of the pros and cons, and why they feel this way. A lot of people only play a game halfway, and slap a score on it. This isn’t as reliable as a brief explanation of why.
That's not a problem with scoring systems, that's a problem with reviewers. If you use a ruler incorrectly, the measuring system isn't broken, it's that you didn't properly measure.
Same here. A score is fine at a glance, but knowing *why* a game received that score is far more important to making a decision on whether or not to purchase.
@@NintenDub I'm inclined to disagree. The general playerbase that comes in a week later is far worse in the way of reviews. With toxic concepts such as review bombing and hating a game based on the most minute things, players are far too emotional and reactionary to be trusted as reliable review sources. I'd take a professional reviewer any day. Since they also have to disclose whether or not they've been paid for the review, that can help gauge things too (although most are giving their genuine opinions despite constant accusations that reviewers are bought out for good reviews).
Agreed. With films too. I couldn't care less about the score someone sticks on something, especially since a lot of the things I dislike and like about things may differ from what other people dislike and like about things... And that is the case in many places, things that one reviewer hates I might not mind or even love, something one reviewer loves I might not like very much or outright hate/disagree with.
I'd rather someone just tell me what they like and dislike about a game and pinpoint a few other things they may deem as notable and that's all we need.
Same
I’m sorry but I strongly oppose this decision. I agree with everything you say in the video but I am worried about the mini arlos. I know Covid is tough but I don’t want you lay off any workers. I am deeply concerned for the health and safety of these arlos so I am sorry to say I do NOT support your decision.
UNDERRATED COMMENT
You had me in the first half not gonna lie
very pog
@@SuperCrazyfin same here
So you just miss the arlos?
Alro: "it's all worth it I promise"
Kane: "Existence is Pain"
Arlo: "I have never given a game a 1"
Me: Only because you never technically reviewed Sticker Star.
I still don't think it's a 1,prob a 2
I’d give it a 3 personally
I say in his own old review score system, Sonic 06 would be a 1 and Sticker Star would be either a 2 or a very HIGH 1
Change is inevitable, change is good. Arlo will remain one of the best
Well said Kim
Too bad you won’t change your country
@Ice Goomba Sorry my bad.
ALL HAIL KIM JONG UN!
Good to know that Kim Jong-un likes good content
Hey u watch damien lee
"Looking for literal perfection is just... why?:
Couldn't of put it better Arlo
nothing is perfect, because everyone has their own opinion of what makes a game good. For example some people might think cuphead is bad because the gameplay is too challenging for them, that just means its not their type of game or some other thing. but for me cuphead is so good, i decided to s rank all the bosses with default weapon only and i think its the best game ever.
Really well-made points, I largely agree. One thing I hate more than critic scores, are user scores. Apart from review-bombing, so many scores come with the description "My actual score is a 6, but I gave it a 10 to balance out all the wrong reviews"; WHICH MISSES THE ENTIRE POINT OF AGGREGATE SCORES.
6:43 "How many games out there are actually, truly perfect?" Um, Arlo, you're really forgetting about Garfield Kart here.
crazy frog kart was better
Jambo safari
Pie
I imagine some of the problems with review scores come from school, where anything below a 60 is failing and “good” only really starts at 80.
This channels sense of humor alone is a reason to watch
It's all about that /20 X5 scale system...that's...ughhhh... simple?
Oh hai SwitchUp
hello switchup
Love this.
I love your channel too SwitchUp.
I'm a loyal viewer there.
pleasant to see you guys here glen, or mark ?
You guys make it wooooork.
When the Origami King review is gonna be so harsh that Arlo changes his entire review process for it lmao
That's the tea. But I'm ready for a harsh review.
origami king was a divisive game.. people either loved it or hated it.
@@otherlego it seems to be that way ever since Super PM, which is still kind of sad. Loved Super tho'.
@@Allister23 There are people who disliked Super’s gameplay but _loved_ its story. I can’t think of anybody from the N64 Era that likes anything about Paper Mario post-Wii.
EXCUSE ME ARLO!? YOU GAVE ME A 7, I ONLY DESERVE AT THE MAXIMUM A 5, DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PROBLEMS I HAVE
I agree, I mean even your name has Glitches in it, so I'm pretty sure 7 out of 7 is unfair.
I don’t even think I deserve a 2
“Even a 7 is considered a mediocre score”
I’m having DAMN. flashbacks...
6.8 too much water
-IGN
Justice for MBDTF, fellow melon-head.
This whole video, while not directed at Anthony, could be a callout post for him lmao
Arlo, all we humbly request is for you to make publicly available a gif of the 7 emoting Arlos. Perhaps each of them separately as well if you could be so kind.
This is the way
Reviewer: *Reviews game in any way*
Literally like hundreds of people: And I took that personally
You know, at first I was like "nooooo you can't get rid of scores, its always so fun trying to guess what your gonna give it" but you made some good arguments. I think it does open up more meaningful discussion to not give a score.
Can you please put a little dancing Arlo about how you feel about the game though,, we need the small Arlos
I'll miss the mini Arlos more than the actual scoring itself. Your reviews have always been great! And you can tell in your voice when youre reallly excited about a certain aspect in a game, its adorable.
Idea: remove the numbers, keep the mini Arlos
yes ٩( 'ω' )و
Actually a good idea. Having the expression shown without a numeric value shown is easier to connect.
Arlo honestly, you gotta start like a podcast channel or something. You have so many good things to say about gaming, the gaming community as a whole and just how people should act in general. I'm very impressed with this vid, I give it 7 out of 7💙💙💙
I never got the idea of 5/10 being bad either: I always thought of it as meaning a game either has little to no truly good or bad qualities, or it has too many problems to be considered good but too many positives to be considered bad; if its quality amounts to being middle of the road, it only makes sense to rate it at the middle of the scale. My interpretation of the 0 to 10 scale is this: 0 is bottom of the barrel, 1 is abysmal, 2 is awful, 3 is pretty bad, 4 is below average, 5 is average or mediocre, 6 is okay to decent, 7 is solid, 8 is great, 9 is amazing, and 10 is a masterpiece; this way, the scale is actually balanced and logical, but apparently most people are viewing this the same way as grading in school, where anything below 70% is an F, and that never made sense to me. I remember once getting into a debate about if Breath of the Wild is good or not with someone who considered themselves a Zelda purist, and one of the points they made against the idea of Zelda games doing anything differently (I think, I can't see how else it would be relevant) was that the DS Zelda games were both a 5/10, and they would then call them trash; to them, I’m sure that's what 5/10 meant, but to me, that was downright contradictory to say. Come to think of it, that might be why The Geek Critique said that Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, Sonic Adventure DX, and Sonic Heroes were critically panned; if you don't know, he makes reviews, or Critiques as he calls it, which I enjoy, but there are some occasional things that can best be described as questionable, such as how he claimed the Adventure GameCube rereleases and Heroes were all critically panned when upon release in his Shadow the Hedgehog Critique, when in reality, the reception seems to have been mixed; in fact, SA2B and Heroes got over 70 points on Metacritic, which is almost enough to have generally positive reviews by their standards, so it's possible that either those ratings don't reflect the critically reception they actually got or he considers 5-7/10 bad.
I think it's because there is no reason to play a mediocre game over an excellent one.
One could also consider many NSMB games as mediocre, and another could consider Shrek 2 (GameCube) as mediocre. Someone else might think that Mario Party 9 is less than average, and another could think the same of the Bee Movie Game, and think that Mario Party 9 is just average.
To me, 4 and below signifies a bad game, and one you should avoid. 5 signifies a game that you should only play if you are very interested, otherwise it might be a waste of money. 6-7 seem like general fun (think Wii Sports) or games that satisfy a niche, but not much more (think Picross). 8-10 are games that everyone should play, and are guaranteed to be enjoyable.
To me, I wouldn't consider SA2B or Heroes to be critically panned. Your friend says to me that only friends of 2D Zelda would enjoy the DS Zelda games enough to be worth the money.
The main issue of scores seems to be no-one agreeing on how good a score is, and games only being considered worthy of purchase if they score 7 or above - obviously, if something is scored less than that, it won't be purchased by the general public, and the franchise won't get too many more fans.
@@miimiiandco act like player himself isn't mediocre huh during school 🤭
Old comment but it's probably because of conventional school grading systems. Getting a C or 70% is seen as average and anything below that is getting note home from your teachers and a scolding from your parents lol. It's infiltrated every rating system we have and I don't see it going anywhere until school rating systems are changed entirely.
I respect this decision immensely especially because of how toxic much of the Internet is 90% of the time.
Arlo is clearly incapable of doing it properly anyway if he actually thinks I OF ALL PEOPLE deserve A PERFECT 7/7. What a tasteless hack.
That was a joke. I love Arlo.
90%? Don't you think that's a little high? I'd say it's probably 75%, or maybe closer to 84.32%
@@difty-dift You clearly are not the brightest are you. Obviously it's a 84.33%. Duh
I mean, I totally agree. In every way.
But can I also use this wonderful string of comments to say that the remaining 10% is still pretty neat?
"Toxic" is an overused term that means nothing.
"A seven? How are we supposed to know what that means?" Remember, stay in school kids so you can do trivial math like input fractions into calculators.
Thanks. I needed that chuckle today.
THANK YOU!
I'm a day late here, but it always makes me happy to see a reviewer ditch review scores. I was happy when SomecallmyJohnny did so back and 2010, and in 2020 I'm happy when Arlo does.
One point I want to hit up on is why people get so defensive: people think opinions can be objective. A lot of people will be convinced they have the formula of objective, universal criticism and will then try to explain why someone who came to the "wrong" conclusion is so wrong. You can see this with fans of certain reviews (not naming any names, but you can probably guess who I'm talking about) in that they'll actually very polite s but will become quite aggressive should the "opposition" try to stand their ground. Because to them, opinions can double as facts (e.i. become objective opinions) once they make enough logical sense™️. Combine that with how this mentality lends itself to confirmation bias, and you have people who REALLY don't like reviews guilty of wrong think.
I get why you're dropping the scores, and I think it makes sense. I'm not gonna lie though, I'm gonna miss seeing the 7th Score Arlo do his boogie lol 😂
Same her dude.
I mean here
I've been playing video games for decades and I really regret letting review scores dictate so much of what I played or didn't play for so many years. They can have such a profound psychological impact on my own personal enjoyment of a game that I've mostly stopped paying attention to them. Enjoying games is always more nuanced and more personal than a single number can convey. I wish more reviewers thought like you, Arlo.
Personally, sometimes it's hard to see how the bad/good points balance out, so I love having a score to help illustrate that, like if there's a bunch of negative points brought up but it has a high score, it helps flesh out the opinion more in my opinion. Sometimes I'm left confused as to the overall opinion of the game is at the end without it.
This video makes me appreciate Game Explains’ review score of, “liked it, liked it a lot, mind blown, etc.” more. Keeps it positive while hitting on what you may not like.
I think your decision is right! For example: Game Two is a German Gaming Show where they never show scores. They just say if they recommend a game or don’t recommend it and for wich People that Game could be a Good Choice.
Idea: At the end of each video you could give games 2 or 3 specific awards regarding how much you liked certain aspects of them ("One of my favourite battle systems in x type of games", for example), ala the bonus stars in Mario Party!
Game dungeon also does this system, it's always fun to see what kind of awards he gives to the games.
Replying to bump this! This idea is awesome!!
When you watch a review without a conclusive score and just hear the persons thoughts and opinions on the game it leads you to draw your own conclusion based on your own opinions so I think this system is better
This is basically how I've been viewing Zero Punctuation for the last decade.
I had no idea journalists were dealing with this and it explains a lot. I look forward to your future reviews.
6:45 "How many games are actually, truly perfect?"
2. Pong and Tetris.
Tetris graphics are last gen
@@djiboutinationalanthem5252 Tetris effect slander in my replies? Nah bro
Pong????? aRe YoU TaLkInG aBoUt MaRiO TeNnIS?
Anon BonBon I don’t know man I think Tetris 99’s graphics are really what any game should strive for
Let us not forget Knack!
"I give YOU, a 7/7"
Oh come on Arlo, I think I clearly deserve a 6.2 at most!
In all seriousness, I'm actually glad for the change. Scoring systems for games have always been very inconsistent and divisive, so hopefully this change will be a net positive.
For the record, I really appreciated your 7 point scoring system and the animated Arlos that went with it. For me it accomplished exactly what you set out to accomplish.
At the same time, I totally get why you're dropping the scores.
When he started going over what each of the 7 points mean, I lost track of his voice and could only focus on the lil dancing Arlos.
*”Too much water”*
Gotta admit that was hilarious when it came out regardless of the number
"7.8/10, too much x" is still a joke I frequently use and likely will my whole life
I enjoyed the water sections of the game, honestly. I think it’s more of a joke about the line itself then the score. Too many HMs isn’t cited because everyone agrees with it.
@@emerson_5 Yeah, I feel like the issue was the poor wording of that line. Had the reviewer found a better way to express that there were too many water routes, people wouldn't have made as big a deal out of it.
My head cannon is team magma was trying to fix their ign score
@@psap29 I think the issue is that for the overall review summary, there are only 2 negative points; and 'too much water' seems quite silly to be half of the negative points.
You’re 100% correct about scores. I never thought much about it before, but looking back it’s obvious that they have to go because of how sensitive we humans can be. And while I won’t miss the scores, I will miss the little Arlos. Thank you for giving them one final hurrah in a humorous and heartwarming way! The Arlo Way! 😉
I've always liked the GameXplain 'Liked It, Loved It' scoring system. It's so far removed from traditional number scores that the audience comes in with no preconceptions, but it's still provides a decently accurate concise view of the reviewer's feelings about a game.
It honestly makes sense. I can tell that watching your reviews will be much more enjoyable without the looming shadow of an ending that completely reduces the whole experience to a single number.
It brings much more emphasis to subjectivity and appreciation for the actual work the developers put into the game. In other words it would make even reviewing the game a delightful experience.
Much love. Keep it up Arlo.
Although it was difficult on your side, I always enjoyed the scoring. Especially the cool little Arlos expressing what the score means. I thought the 1-7 scale was genius. Will miss them. I think the scoring added a valuable element to your reviews. I can appreciate that complaints makes it difficult and the process unenjoyable, but as for me I have no complaints.
If I may, I give Arlo's reviews 7 cups of coffee out of 7. :)
I don’t know why but That ending part when he says “I give you my loving friend a 7/7” that made me shed a little tear, and I don’t even know why😭
Scores or not, I’m just glad to see you appearing directly in your videos again. The quality has definitely improved and it’s more enjoyable to watch from start to finish!
I agree with not giving review scores, they have stressed me out in the past as well in just daily conversations and people's minds are just so fixed on them. That said, I give you a 7/7. :D
So you want to stress him out? Why do you hate good ol Arlo? :(
Here's an idea: make all review scores binary. 0 or 1 representing whether the reviewer determines the game is competently made or not. This is the only objective scoring method. The score would be accompanied by an in depth critique, but the score would only be reflective of the competency of the game rather than subjective quality.
@crazy silly nah, that's too subjective. Now, I'm not saying that my binary system is totally free from subjectivity, it is a rating after all. Once you start throwing around words like "good" and "bad", all objectivity that the score could represent goes out the window. Also, this is would mainly be to mess with score aggregators and force people to pay attention to the actual content of the review, which would still be reflective of the reviewer's subjective experience with the game.
I’d say expand that to a 0-2 scale. 0 is basically unplayable or it doesn’t start. 1 is playable but buggy to the point where it impacts the experience, and 2 is competently made.
@@cubedmelons876 wouldn't it be more fair to say -1 to 1. A bad game gets a negative score a good game gets a positive score. 0 being an average grade or a more subjective game.
e.g.
Sticker Star [-1]
Majority opinion states this game is bad, more bad about the game OBJECTIVELY than good. Poorly made
Colour Splash [0]
Large divide in opinions about game, Arguments for both positive and negative - how good the game is SUBJECTIVE
Thousand Year Door [1]
Majority opinion states this game is good, more good about the game OBJECTIVELY than bad. Well made
In the end review scores are there for the reader to see and then read the actual review and understand why the think the reviewer gave the game the score. More or less the score is the teaser trailer.
@@Logicalleaping The kind of scale we're talking about is based on whether the game actually works or is too buggy. The score is supposed to be as objective as possible. For example, on my scale, Simcity 2013 would've gotten a 0 at launch, since it was so broken that it flat-out didn't work. Fallout 76 would be a 1, since it technically starts but is so buggy that the bugs severely impact the experience. 2 would be something that works fine. And the actual review would be to discuss the quality.
You should say "Well, here's the thing" more. You sound cool when you say it.
"7/7" I feel like I'm a 5.6/7. Not enough backflip.
Not enough water. Stay hydrated!
Were you not able to snap the bad guy's neck?
I rate Arlo's decision to remove scores a "6 out of 7."
Are you serious? That’s too low. It should be a 7. You are doo doo, I guess?
wHaT! It was a perfect decision, why wouldn't you give it a 7 out of 7!!!! That makes no sensese !!!!1!!1!!
I’ll miss the scores but what a heartwarming way to send it off. We don’t deserve your happy dancing 7 Arlo.
People who see games that aren't rated above 8 or higher:"THIS GAME MUST CLEARLY BE THE WORST OF ALL TIME !!!"
Personally speaking, I think a 9 tier scoring is honestly perfect, since it adheres to avoiding absolutes as your previous scoring system operated, while also providing a bit more nuance/ wiggle room but not to an overbearing degree:
1 - Inexcusably bad with little to no redeeming qualities. Not even worth getting ironically.
2 - Straight-up bad and/ or unpleasant with a handful to some redeemable goods buried underneath loads of garbage, though ironic enjoyment may vary.
3 - Certainly playable but overall the bad outweigh the good
---
4 - Lukewarm/ Unremarkable
5 - Middle-of-the-road/ A Mixed Bag
6 - Satisfactory/ Decent
---
7 - A Bluntly Good Game/ Some Issues but the majority are bearable/ Bronze
8 - Pretty Good to Great/ A Handful Of Minor Issues/ Silver
9 - Awesome to Amazing/ Few Issues/ Gold
It really boils down to what Arlo said after all those record players stopped at once:
"That was annoying"
The scores are a hassle. The numbers are a pain, and he explains his point of view perfectly well with words.
Although I'm going to miss the small Arlos dancing, I think this is a very wise decision. Great video!
I enjoyed this 20 minute explanation, despite the fact that I would have accepted Arlo just announcing 'no more game scores' with no questions asked.
“You just don’t like it cause you’re bad at it” this annoys me so much. Somebody’s skill level doesn’t invalidate their experience. Every experience is valid. Some games just aren’t fun at all when you’re bad at them. Extreme difficulty is not for everyone
Exactly. This is precisely why Sonic 1 and Zelda 1 are so bad. They’re too hard.
@@dannysmi7162 this. I can’t get into a lot of older games because of a. difficulty and b. little quality of life
6:07 Ah yes I see Arlo is true to the Jedi ways. He does not deal in absolutes
While I agree with all your points, I’m still gonna miss scores, it makes it a lot more intuitive and easy to digest the general consensus of what the reviewer thought about the game
Sooo happy to hear you're no longer doing number scores. Just talk about the good and the bad. Trust us to watch the whole review and decide for our selves if it's for us ❤💙
"at least one of my reviews"
Yes. It was 3 hours long.
Everything changed when the Review Nation attacked
Let the revolution begin
Good thing we have the Arlo bender
I'm glad to see you making a mature decision. Ultimately, whether people want the scores or not does not matter. What matters is a creator being able to create the way they want to. No one has to answer for why they want to make something, do something, say something, in a certain way. Getting insight into the system and your opinion on it though was a fun watch, thankyou for another good video
I'm actually really glad you're getting rid of the scoring system. I've never really like scoring systems, since what people want out of a game can vary so wildly. Games are just so subjective that putting a number at the end of a review does more harm than good.
I like how ACG does it. "buy, wait for sale/rent, or leave alone" but also I watch for the full discourse
That final few seconds of him putting a score on me... just made me smile 😃
I'm still happy to watch whatever you make. I really just wanna hug you when Covid is over
I wanna hug everyone when this is over man.
@@jonathanwilson7949 Same!!
Hug him now
I got an ad for butternut squash on an Arlo video. My life is complete
"I give YOU, my wonderful friend, a 7/7." Yay! I feel Important!
I really liked the 7 point scale! I always thought it was a great way to score a game, and I've always thought to myself that if I ever wanted to review a game for some reason or another, I'd probably use the scale myself because the numbers on a 7 point scale feel appropriately significant. Maybe it was just me, but a 7 point scale just felt really intuitive to me and was very easy for me to understand. I understand why you're making the decision you are, but I do feel somewhat saddened about it all because it gave your reviews some extra personality that was also just really helpful in pinpointing your exact feelings on a game. I think the two review scoring methods I've always liked most have been yours and GameXplain's, as they make it most clear to me how the reviewer FELT about the game, rather than just giving a score because the game "deserves" a specific number. I'll miss the 7 point system, but if this is what you feel is best, then I guess it must be done.
GameXplain’s system is the best and imma tell you why cause I have nothing better to do with my life. How you feel about a game is purely emotional. Yes it may be based off of facts, but at the end of the day, it’s how you FEEL. Putting something on a scale is trying to grade something inherently emotional logically. The problem is we can’t really quantify our emotions. So Gamexplain uses an emotional scale rather than a logical one. It’s intuitive because we don’t have to think about how it makes them feel or guess what that really means. They just straight up tell us.
I mean I have problems with Jim sterling but thats a bit much guys
13:45
"and nothing like the Zelda incident has happened since"
Well to be fair there is also the fact that Jim Sterling is busy getting himself into every other possible controversy under the sun.
Bah, this review is skewed. I DEFINETLY don't deserve a 7/7
Arlo: Kane! It’s 4 o’clock! Time to start editing!!
Kane: yes, dear....
For the people saying first I have a blue shell
Very good comment
Guys! I found it! An original comment! This is such a rare occasion!
You’ve become more unoriginal and boring than the first commenters
Good one.
@@GabeLev oof
15:05 Oh so that's where the meme came from!
This video really changed my perspective on reviews. I had always viewed them as more of an objective analysis than a subjective measurement on how much someone enjoyed a game and I think I agree with him. The number is pretty arbitrary
Sorry Arlo, if you don't review 64 Remastered, Sunshine Remastered, and Galaxy Remastered in three seperate 3-hour-long reviews, you'll have to face the consequences, bye bye
Two and a half years after the fact but good call ditching review scores. Grading systems for subjective experiences are always dumb. And I never got the “it’s in the middle so it’s bad” logic either. That’s like school grades where a C which should be the middle is given when you achieve like 60-70% of the wanted results and not half of it, and that’s where I think this thinking comes from.
I recently had the experience with a film (Matrix Resurrections) which got 67% on Rotten Tomatoes and yeah, the film had issues, but I still enjoyed it, especially the first act, and how would I have known that the first act is that good if I had skipped the film? Likewise I didn’t like stuff about the highest-rated game (on a 100% scale) I ever saw: WarCraft III: Frozen Throne, which scored 98%. Yet there was stuff in there which I really didn’t like 🤷♂️
Honestly, I can kind of see why people focus on scores so much. I think we're conditioned into this from our early childhood. For example, just think about school. When you're writing an essay at school for an exam, you'll get a grade for it, and usually your teacher will give some reasoning for that grade. Now unfortunately, grades have too much of an impact on our futures lifes, meaning we're kinda pressured into trying to improve them in whatever way we can. So when we get a C on an exam, yet in our minds that C doesn't quite match up with what the teacher gave as a reason, and especially when we see our classmate getting a B despite haven a similar essay and despite the teacher giving similar reasons, we will actually feel treated unfairly and will try to haggle our way into a better grade. Have done so myself in couple of times back in school. We're basically trained into caring about scores from childhood, and I'm pretty sure this extends to review scores in our adult lifes. We're trained to view scores as a measurement of performance, rather than an expression of a subjective feeling.
All of that being said, the decision to drop review scores is 100% the right one. The content of a review is what should matter, not an arbitrary score, and I've observed small review sites struggling with this exact problem for an eternity. Dropping scores is really the only sane option when you want to make reviews.
Ah, the irony of you saying that Arlo's decision to drop review scores is "100% the right one"! LOL, jk! 😆
But, seriously, yes, I do agree with you that our perception of numerical scores stems from school grades. Anything below a 70 is considered "not passing" and 50-and-below is considered "failing". So, there are 50 numerical scores -- half the freaking scale! -- that all essentially mean the same thing: "bad!" (albeit to varying degrees). You COULD say that the problem with review scores is more broadly a problem with many scoring/ranking systems in-general!
@@alkankondo89 I actually noticed the "100%" thing while typing it, so I guess you could say "pun intended". :D