How To Write Video Game Reviews
First, the question begs, why write this guide?
Because game reviews tend to suck, that's why. Reading reviews from any major gaming site normally means wading through writing that belongs in a high school classroom. I believe that this is primarily due to a lack of proper instruction on how to write a good review.
My own experiences as a review writer for gamezilla.com (it doesn't exist anymore) taught me what I needed to know about review writing. I wrote over three hundred reviews without knowing what I was doing, and while I had the occasional success, most of my reviews were crap. This guide is a distillation of what I've learned. Hopefully, it'll help you write your own review.
I've broken up this guide into individual sections that address some of my major concerns. Keep in mind that this guide isn't comprehensive. I've written it specifically to target problem areas that you’ll encounter when writing a review.
As always, remember that to be a good writer you need to read. Spend some time reading reviews on gaming sites to find what you like and dislike. Try to see the flaws and the merits in each piece. The more that you can understand what you're reacting to as a reader, the better writer you'll be.
Part I - Preparing for the Review
Before we begin, let's take a look at some of the things you'll need to keep in mind before you start writing...
Gameplay Is King
The first and most important rule is simple. Gameplay is King. I break my reviews into gameplay, story, and presentation, and I always consider gameplay to be the most important of the three. It gets a greater share of my attention, and a larger weight in my score.
Why? Because no matter what type of game you're playing, you're still playing a game. The story and presentation are important elements in their own right, but they rarely make or break the experience.
Gameplay should be on your mind at every step. When you're playing the game, think about the gameplay. Once you've started writing the review, keep thinking about the gameplay. As you're getting ready to score the game, think about the gameplay.
Know What Your Score Means
Let me ask you a question. If you tell someone that you're giving a game 4 stars, but you don't really know what 4 stars means yourself, how are they going to figure it out? Before you write your review, make sure you're absolutely clear on what your own scores mean. Once you understand it, you can help the reader understand it.
To do that, you need to publish your scoring criteria. It needs to be clear and easy to understand, something that anyone can interpret. Your entire scoring system must be thoroughly explained and documented.
Remember, there is no such thing as a perfect game. Consequently, there are also plenty of games that deserve your highest rating. Learn to recognize quality and lack thereof, whether that means giving a game a 1 or a 10. Do not hold back on your numbers. Use everything you've got, the entire range.
Choose a Good Scoring System
It doesn't matter how well you've written your rubric if you've chosen a bad scoring system. What you need is a scoring system that's clear and easy to understand that also expresses your opinion about a game.
Bad scoring systems are commonplace, and they serve to do nothing more than confuse and mislead the reader. That's why I think you should avoid using a system that ranks games on a 1-10 or a 1-100% scale. They aren't simple, offer too many different scores, and rarely get used to their full advantage.
If you won't use every part of your scoring system, don't use it. If your scoring system isn't clear, don't use it. If your scoring system doesn't reflect your opinion about a game, don't use it.
As a side note, there are review systems that use 1-100% successfully. They're scoring aggregators, like Metacritic.com or Game Rankings.com, and they collate a tremendous amount of reviews from a wide variety of sources. You aren't an aggregator. Don't use the 100% scale.
My opinion is that you should use as simple of a system as possible. I use a primary score that's a simple 'buy it, try it, don't buy it' rating, backed up by three secondary scores. The secondary scores are for gameplay, presentation, and story, and each gets a 1-5 rating, with 3 being a median or average score.
Part II - Reviewing the Game
Now comes the hard part, actually writing the review. Although, technically, I think that composing your thoughts on the game is the difficult part.
Structure
What constitutes a game review? Do you need to write five pages of copy, or just one? Can you use any tone you'd like, or should you stick to the third-person writing style common to newspaper's worldwide?
First, consider the length of your review. While you can write your review to any length, there are three formats I consider to be most practical. Capsule reviews are tiny, meant to be read in under a minute. Beyond that you've got short form, which could be considered anywhere from short to medium length. After that, you've got long form reviews, which can just be a few pages long, or alternatively a comprehensive look at the game.
For a short, capsule style review, you could work with as little as three paragraphs. Capsule reviews are my favorite, but they're also delicate. You'll need to explain yourself in a very small space. When you're working with this size of review, limit yourself to the high points, with a little extra detail thrown in for the gameplay.
When you're dealing with short and long form reviews, try to divide your review into sections that give attention to different parts of the game. The long form review, especially if it's comprehensive, can really benefit from this treatment, as long as you have enough to write about.
Remember your objective: You need to give someone a clear idea why they should or should not be playing this game. Give the reader something to think about when they read your review. Get into the details of the gameplay, and let them know what to expect. If the game sucks, make sure you're saying so loud and clear. And remember; don't waste the reader's time.
Write for Your Length, Not to It
You need to understand how long your review is going to be, and then write for that length. In simple terms, if you've written a one page review, but you need to cover three pages with it, start over and write a three page review. There's nothing worse than reading a review that tells me how to use the analog stick on my PS2 when it should be telling me about the game.
Consider your structure, what sort of review you want to write, and then write that sort of review. This can be difficult if you’re transitioning from one review style to another, but it is very important. I have read too many reviews that suffered because the reviewer had to increase the word count.
If you’ve written a good piece, something that’s articulate and well voiced, and your editor wants you to inflate it, stand up to them. Don’t let someone tell you that you need to add three new sections to your article because you didn’t write exactly to their review template. While I normally advocate trusting your editor in all things, don’t be afraid to tell them that you’re not comfortable artificially inflating your work.
Avoid Common Writing Mistakes
To write poorly is to be an amateur, in the derogatory meaning of the word. You're writing for the reader, and as such you owe the reader a well written article. In this respect, do whatever you can to avoid common writing mistakes, of the sort you made in your high school writing classes.
If you’re working with a good review site, you might have an editor to rely upon, and they can be a godsend. That said, don’t get sloppy. Your editor is there to work on the style and presentation of your work, not to grade your paper for you. You don’t have any excuse for writing poorly.
Be sure to keep up on your reading. You’ll want to pay attention to style guides and grammar readers. They’re a tremendous boon to even the experienced writer, and they can pay off dividends in the long run. Besides, if you were never that good at writing to begin with, don’t you think you should brush before you start publishing your reviews?
Here’s a short list of some of my favorite books on writing:
The Elements of Style
The Associated Press Stylebook
The Chicago Manual of Style
There's a style guide written specifically for the game journalism field called The Video Game Style Guide. I haven't tried it myself, but it's worth checking out if only because it was designed specifically for our sort of work.
Avoid Common Review Writing Mistakes
Once you've nailed your basic writing problems, look to the problems that are common to review writers. Your enemies are hyperbole, ornate writing, and the general lack of a spine. These three flaws are common among video game reviews.
Hyperbole is easy to avoid. Don't make ridiculous statements about how a game is going to cause or cure cancer. Don't waste the reader's time with a two paragraph introduction that tells them you're excited without telling them anything about the game.
Learning to combat ornate writing can be a little trickier to handle. My advice is to take a page from The Elements of Style and omit needless words. As a writer, you have a voice. You need to trust that your voice will come out just as well with five words as with ten.
Finally, have a spine. If the game you're reviewing has a problem, let people know about it. You need to establish a firm and confident tone in every review you write. Read some of the reviews from your favorite site while ignoring the scores. Chances are that you won't be able to tell what score the writer gave the game from the text alone. That's bad, and it is something you should avoid.
If you can find a review that doesn’t make these mistakes, is clear and unambiguous, make a copy of it and refer back to it regularly for inspiration.
Part III - Them Bits What Got Left Over [sic]
That's it, in a nutshell. These last few bits don’t seem to fit anywhere else, but I’d like to mention them anyway.
Carefully consider your own work if you do nothing else. Rereading and rewriting your own material can reap you tremendous benefits.
Don't divide the game into too many pieces. I think gameplay, story, and presentation will do nicely, but I'll understand if you want to expand that.
Do form a strong opinion about the game and let your reader know it. Indecisive reviews benefit no one.
Don't be pretentious. Your scathing review of Halo 3 isn’t going to dent Microsoft's sales. Write your review because you have something to tell people, not because you need to trash-talk.
Do criticize. The single most valuable thing you can do for a reader is to talk about a game’s flaws. And it doesn't matter what game we're talking about. You should do so especially if it's a popular, well liked game. Don't let games hide behind clever marketing and mass-market appeal.
Finally, listen to your audience. If you didn't like this year's GOTY, but several million other people did, chances are it’s actually a good game. Maybe it deserves something more than two thumbs down?
In Closing
I hope this article does you some good. When I was writing reviews on a regular basis, I wanted something like this, but didn’t have it. With any luck, this might steer you in a good direction, and help you avoid some of the pitfalls that seem to plague our field. And know that I’m not writing this as the first and last opinion on the matter. I’m just another writer with imperfect ideas, trying to ply his craft and leave a few bits along the way. If they help you, then I’ve succeeded.
Questions and comments are welcome.