How We Handle Reviews at DAR Games

Time for a Captain America sit down

As the main games writer here, I figured it was time to actually go over reviews. I’ve already done two but realized that we needed to lay out how things work. It’s nothing overtly complicated, pretty standard stuff but it’s still important to put out there.

I’ve gotten codes from publishers and PR in the past during my time at Vice and still maintain a number of those relationships, so for the most part, that’s where the games come from that I review. I will always note when I was given a code and receiving a code from them does not guarantee a good score.

It’s important to me to be as honest as possible about the games I play and review. So, whether it’s a game I bought myself because I wanted it, or it’s one that was provided to me, know that you’re getting the fairest and most honest opinion possible.

So, here is the DAR Games scoring scale:

10: Elite in every way. 10 doesn’t mean perfect, but it’s about as close as it gets- aka Ocarina of Time

8–9: High Quality. A must play- aka Ghost of Tsushima

5–7: Solid. Flawed, but there’s definitely some enjoyment to be had- aka P.N. 03

3–4: I mean…you can play it if you want. I wouldn’t do that- aka Mortal Kombat: Special Forces

1–2: Why would you even do this to yourself? – aka Mortal Kombat Advance

In the past, I’ve avoided a numbered score in favor of saying whether or not I recommend a game and how strongly I recommend it. While I think that promotes a level of engagement with the actual review itself, I also recognize it’s easier for the readers and PR/Publishers to have a score so that there is something a bit clearer to go off of. Hope you enjoy everything we have coming here.

-Anthony