DaliDimovski.com and Hello, Video Games use a 5-Star rating system. I review products based on my own personal experience with them, not necessarily to recommend them or to guide others, just to help make clarity for what someone can expect going in to a product. Because reviews are so subjective, either we like something or we don’t, or we’re somewhere in the middle. Therefore to simplify discussion and remain focused there are no half-star ratings.
When reviewing I look for three things:
- What is this product’s purpose? Is it telling a story? Is it focusing on specific gameplay? What are the creators aiming to do with their work?
- Does it achieve that purpose? Does it accomplish what it’s setting out to do? Or is it failing? Is it superficial, or copying something rather than being an effort to improve?
- Was the experience worth my time? Did it respect my time with it? Did I feel satisfied coming out of it?
Here are the current ratings explanations:
- 0 Star: This product is broken, does not work, is purposefully disingenuous, is essentially a wholesale copy of another, is advertising, etc
- 1 Star: The works is not enjoyable, it does not motivate me to play/view/use it, it has a lot of developmental issues and bugs and rough edits, it’s not something that I would ever want to visit to in its current state, etc
- 2 Stars: The work is playable/viewable/usable, even enjoyable, but it doesn’t do enough to set itself apart, it still has big enough bugs to prevent me from fully experiencing it, or it doesn’t achieve its purpose, etc
- 3 Stars: The work is good, enjoyable, has minimal bugs or tolerable “jank”, it is something that valued my time for as long as I experienced it, it is something I would recommend to family to check out, it is a like not a love, it is perfectly cromulent, it achieves all of its goals, it may not always be innovative but it’s a great effort, etc
- 4 Stars: The work is fantastic, it has little to no major technical issues, it is something I would be willing to come back to, it is mostly memorable, it went above and beyond to be unique or innovative, it left me with a connection or emotion, it may be divisive to some but that may be why I connect to it, it is easy to recommend, etc
- 5 Stars: This is an exceptional work, it is something I will remember, it is something that respected me, surprised me, motivated me to continue experiencing it, it is in my upper echelon of joy, it is easily apparent that the creators put their all into it, that art was at the forefront, that there is a clear message and resolution, that every moment was worthwhile, etc
Dali Dimovski/Hello, Video Games has the right to update these ratings and qualifiers as needed.