A community poll about reviews in the Games Beaten thread.

[Exhuminator]

So most members always read some people's reviews thoroughly, and most prefer long multi-paragraph reviews. That's good information.

I'd like to add a thought to cap this thread off. (And this is something I'm guilty of just as much as anybody.) When someone writes an involved review in the Games Beaten thread, they have put considerable effort into that. They spent half an hour or longer putting that review together. They did this primarily to inform and/or entertain you. Basically you're getting free fun and knowledge out of their volunteer work. So if you do enjoy someone's review; take a moment to discuss their review, compliment their review, or at least thank them for the review. A little appreciation goes a long way folks.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I want to state that one reason I enjoy posting screenshots is because the vast majority of the time they're from my actual playthrough.

[nullPointer]

At this point I think whatever I write will just rehash what other's have said, but dammit I clicked the selection that said "I have an opinion not listed as an option, so I'll post a reply instead" so here I am as promised. For me that selection basically equates to the 'it's complicated' relationship status in Facebook. For what it's worth my other selection was "I only read some users' reviews thoroughly," though for me it's not so much about reading some users' reviews thoroughly as it is about reading some reviews thoroughly (regardless of the writer.) Again it's complicated. So here goes.

I will read almost every review for a game I've played before. It's interesting to compare mental notes on the experience, and also a great way of refreshing my memories on games that I've not played in a while. I will also typically read the full and in depth reviews of some specific members, regardless of the game itself (I won't mention specific members). This can be due to any variety of factors. There are some members for whom I I really enjoy your writing styles, whether it's due to in depth analysis, an obvious passion for the subject matter, or just an irreverent humorous viewpoint, some of y'all mofos have a real knack for writing entertaining reviews. Thanks for all of it. Some members have quite similar gaming tastes to mine (by my estimation), so likewise I almost always read their reviews as a barometer of whether I might enjoy a particular game (or alternately to confirm my opinions on various games as being clearly superior since other intelligent gamers obviously share my views, i.e. some good ol' confirmation bias).

Conversely there are some factors which contribute to my skimming over certain reviews (though for the most part this has nothing to do with specific members). Contrary to what one might think, if there's a review for a game that I really want to play, or plan on playing soon, I'm likely to skim over those reviews. I try to glean some general insight, but for the most part I'd much rather approach these games free from the debt of preconception. It's for this reason for instance that I haven't read many of your in depth (and awesome!) reviews on Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, to pick on a couple of currently hot review topics. I'll likely swing back to read those once I've formed some more grounded opinions of my own.

The other factor which contributes to whether I find myself just skimming over reviews equates to basic stuff. If a given review contains a lot of spelling errors, grammatical issues, text message abbreviations, and that sort of thing, I'll likely skim right through it. I realize that makes me sound a) like a bit of a snob and b) like and old fogey; but if the author can't be arsed to spend a couple seconds proofing what they've written, then it's likely I can't be bothered to spend an equal amount of time reading it. (This also makes me a bit of a hypocrite, because I'm certainly guilty for letting egregious typos slip through from time to time). I should note that reviews like these are few and far between though! For the most part this forum is blessed with folks who are passionate about games and about sharing that passion with others in a highly articulate fashion.

At any rate, thanks to all of you that spend a bit of time making entries in the Games Beaten thread, or alternately just sharing your love of gaming on the forums in general!

[Exhuminator]

Very nice and detailed write up, appreciate your thoughts.

At any rate, thanks to all of you that spend a bit of time making entries in the Games Beaten thread, or alternately just sharing your love of gaming on the forums in general!

Personally speaking; I'll admit the overall lack of feedback concerning detailed reviews, can make me feel like I'm just throwing effort in a hole sometimes. But the truth is I also post my reviews on HLTB and GameFAQs. I don't get feedback from those sites either, but I still do it for two reasons. With HLTB, I like to be able to go back and read my thoughts for every game I've beaten. I've been doing this since 2013, and I've got over 400 reviews logged there now (if you include my retired games list). As for GameFAQs, I think it's important to share reviews for esoteric games especially. Often times GameFAQs is the only place I can find reviews for idiosyncratic games I'm interested in, so I like to return the favor.

[ElkinFencer10]

Personally speaking; I'll admit the overall lack of feedback concerning detailed reviews, can make me feel like I'm just throwing effort in a hole sometimes.

I feel like this, too, but I know that there are a couple members who read and enjoy my reviews; I write for them.

[Sarge]

While I certainly would love feedback, I also recognize that much of my writing is just an outlet for expressing myself. I don't have a lot of friends in "real life" that I can discuss these things with, so this gives me an opportunity to work through some of my thoughts, and sometimes get some cool conversations going.

You can always tell which games made a mark with me, though; I tend to get long-winded if it made a really good or bad impression. I even tell myself going in I'm not going to type much.

[nullPointer]

Sigh ... as someone who lurks a lot more than I actually contribute, I should make it a point to at least express my appreciation on a more regular basis. For what it's worth, all three of you guys are on my list of members whose reviews I read regardless of the game.

Personally speaking; I'll admit the overall lack of feedback concerning detailed reviews, can make me feel like I'm just throwing effort in a hole sometimes.

Exhuminator your reviews are a great combination of in depth analysis, personal reflection, and historical perspective. Your insight often breaks with established consensus, but never in such a way that's baseless or without evidence. You're the antidote to the echo chamber, lol.

I feel like this, too, but I know that there are a couple members who read and enjoy my reviews; I write for them.

Elkin your reviews are a joyous and often hilarious outpouring of your love of games. To be honest I haven't played most of the games you review, nor am I certain that I would in many cases, but none of it matters because your reviews are so much fun to read. You're also always on point with the screenshots and so forth, which makes reading about games for which I'm completely unfamiliar quite a bit more enjoyable.

While I certainly would love feedback, I also recognize that much of my writing is just an outlet for expressing myself.

Sarge in your case, I think I must have very similar taste in games, because many of the games you've reviewed are either games I've played or games that are in my backlog, and more often than not I find myself agreeing wholeheartedly with your analysis. Your reviews are succinct, articulate and to the point (and you have an unabashed love for the 8-bit era which is right in my wheelhouse!)

So yeah at the risk of sounding like a kiss-ass or whatever, you guys contribute some amazing stuff to the Games Beaten thread, and it doesn't go unnoticed. Thanks again for all of it! So there's some feedback. Now get back to playing games and recording thoughts you dogs! The masses demand entertainment!

[marurun]

Indeed, you regular reviewers have given us circus. Now who will give us all beer?

[ElkinFencer10]

I feel like this, too, but I know that there are a couple members who read and enjoy my reviews; I write for them.

Elkin your reviews are a joyous and often hilarious outpouring of your love of games. To be honest I haven't played most of the games you review, nor am I certain that I would in many cases, but none of it matters because your reviews are so much fun to read. You're also always on point with the screenshots and so forth, which makes reading about games for which I'm completely unfamiliar quite a bit more enjoyable.

D'awww, you're so sweet. ;-*

[Exhuminator]

You're the antidote to the echo chamber

'Tis my curse sir.