REVIEW
HOW WE REVIEW
We review each game on its own merits, and try to match it
to a reviewer who’s a passionate expert in the field. The main
aim of reviews is to help you make buying decisions. To this
end, we’re selective about what we review, and try to focus
on the notable, interesting, exciting or surprising.
DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT
DLC might be new missions for a game, or it might be a single
new item. If we think you want to know about it, we’ll review it.
EARLY ACCESS
Any released alpha, beta, or otherwise unfinished game that
you can currently pay for. For these games, we won’t assign a
score, but we will tell you whether they’re worth your time.
THEY’RE BACK
Whenever there’s a bargain or re-release of a significant game,
our expert will revisit it and tell you whether it holds up today.
With jokes.
The Editor’s Choice award is
granted in addition to the score,
at the discretion of the PC Gamer
staff. It represents exceptional
quality or innovation.
Find out more
http://www.bit.ly/pcgreviewsOUR SCORING
SYSTEM EXPLAINED
00%-09% Broken or offensively bad; absolutely no value.
Example Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude
10%-19% We might be able to find one nice thing to say about
it, but still not worth anyone’s time or money.
Example Gettysburg: Armored Warfare
20%-29% Completely falls short of its goals. Very few
redeeming qualities.
Examples Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse
30%-39% An entirely clumsy or derivative effort. There’s
little reason to play this game over a similar, better one.
Examples Trials of the Blood Dragon
40%-49% Flawed and disappointing.
Examples Aliens: Colonial Marines
50%-59% Mediocre. Other games probably do it better, or its
unique qualities aren’t executed well.
Examples Primordia, Homefront: The Revolution
60%-69% There’s something to like here, but it can only be
recommended with major caveats.
Examples No Man’s Sky, Ghost Recon: Wildlands
70% -79% A good game that’s worth playing. We like it.
Examples Prey, NieR: Automata
80%-89% A great game with exceptional moments or
features, and touches of brilliance. We love it.
Examples Overwatch, Night in the Woods
90%-94% A compelling recommendation for most PC
gamers. Important to PC gaming, and likely ahead of its time.
Examples Bayonetta, Dishonored 2
95%-96% Far and away one of the best games we’ve ever
played. We recommend it to the entire world.
Examples Half-Life 2, Kerbal Space Program
97%-100% Advances the human species. Boosts the
immune systems of nearby children and small animals.
Small claims
As games journalists, we naturally
spend a lot of time talking about the
big things when it comes to games- the core concept, the overall art
style, the thrust of the story. But part
of me thinks that the things that
really make a game sing are the little
details, small choices that add up to
that intangible ‘gamefeel’. Take the
cumbersomely named WH40,000:
Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters. The
big picture is immediately appealing - it’s Warhammer XCOM, and it
executes that really well. But the
things that will make it stick in my
memory are small touches, like the
way the Space Marines move,
appropriately agile despite their
heavy armour, or the wonderfully
neurotic dialogue of your on-board
Tech Priest, or the fearful, frenzied
barks of cultists as they see you
coming. Sometimes not seeing the
forest for the trees just means you’re
looking at some really lovely trees.
ROBIN VALENTINE
PRINT EDITOR
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