In honor of Gawker Media senior week—our final week of independence as we prepare for wonderful new buyers—the staff of Kotaku got together and started talking about all the things we’ve always wanted to do. I just kept coming back to one thing: review scores.
Although our review system has evolved quite a bit over the years, Kotaku has never used numerical scores. For senior week, we’ve decided to change that. But we knew we couldn’t just start slapping numbers on our reviews willy-nilly. It takes careful, laborious thought and effort to give a score to a video game. Quantifying a game’s quality is a meticulous process. Reviewers can’t just conjure up an ‘8.5' or ‘7' out of nowhere; they have to use rigorous methods of scrutiny and analysis to pinpoint the exact number that a video game deserves.
I don’t know what sort of formula other game outlets use, but after many hours of discussion and debate, Kotaku has come up with what we believe is our own perfect formula for scoring games.
Review Score = Number of Guns + [(Hours of Gameplay + Resolution + Framerate) / Price] + E3 Appearances + Official Trailers + (Plot Twists * Playable Characters) - Graphical Downgrades
Now let’s review some video games.
Uncharted 4
Nathan Drake’s final adventure is one of the most anticipated games of 2016. But how does it hold up?
Number of Guns (21) + [(Hours of Gameplay (15) + Resolution (1080) + Framerate (30)) / Price (60)] + E3 Appearances (2) + Official Trailers (27) + (Plot Twists (3) * Playable Characters (3)) - Graphical Downgrades (1)
KOTAKU REVIEW SCORE: 76.75
Overwatch
This fast-paced team shooter is Blizzard’s first new IP in nearly two decades. Is it good?
Number of Guns (21) + [(Hours of Gameplay (100) + Resolution (1080) + Framerate (60)) / Price (60)] + E3 Appearances (0) + Official Trailers (7) + (Plot Twists (0) * Playable Characters (22)) - Graphical Downgrades (0)
KOTAKU REVIEW SCORE: 48.666~
Mighty No. 9
Kickstarted by Mega Man producer Keiji Inafune as a spiritual successor to the iconic Capcom series, this platformer has a lot to live up to. How’d it turn out?
Number of Guns (2) + [(Hours of Gameplay (10) + Resolution (1080) + Framerate (30)) / Price (20)] + E3 Appearances (0) + Official Trailers (2) + (Plot Twists (1) * Playable Characters (3)) - Graphical Downgrades (1)
KOTAKU REVIEW SCORE: 62
With this formula, anyone can be a video game reviewer! It’s loads of fun. Jump into the comments and try it yourself!