You may be too young to remember this, but I remember when the only way to evaluate a game was on the art you saw on the box and any screenshots on the back. There were reviews, but they were all from publications, and more often than not, you didn’t have access to this information when you had to make a decision on buying the game that you wanted.
I both dislike and miss those days. The mystery of not knowing what you’d get in the full experience. The sorrow of finding out you and that game just didn’t “click”. All of these points come together to create a risky, but fun purchasing experience of trying out a game and seeing if you’d like it or not without anyone else giving you any feedback on whether it was good or not. You didn’t have anyone else to give you a nice review score. It was all on you to come up with a decision during and after play.
Now, let’s go to the modern-day.
Modern Day
Modern-day, we are bombarded with information. We’re told what to like and how to feel and if we’re looking for something to confirm our projected thoughts on a game we’ll find it. Now, I’m not saying these are inherently bad or unnecessary; sometimes you want to have a different opinion on a game before you make a purchase and that’s fine. But, I recommend not looking into review scores, because those numbers may dictate your experience and only further point out, give ideas, or make you feel that the way the reviewer is looking at the game is the only right opinion.
We won’t allow games to surprise or blindside us; we take every precaution against that, instead of giving ourselves the chance to see the experience for ourselves first hand. I know I did many times write off a game I was interested in thanks to a review score or enjoyed it less as a result of watching the review. If you’re thinking about looking into a game or trying one out, try not to look at the review before you play the game. You may be exposed to something you haven’t gotten to experience in a long time.
Take a chance on a game just by looking at the gameplay, screenshots, or even just how cool the characters look. Take a plunge and try it out for yourself and formulate your own decision on the game. You may be extremely surprised.
With that said, have a nice day/ Good luck game-making!