The assessing of video game quality can be a controversial subject in the video game community. This can be a result of the criteria used by the reviewer, as evidenced by a certain IGN review. In this article the author will give their thoughts on the best criteria to assess video game quality by.
Gameplay
Gameplay is the most important criteria to judge a game on, given that interactivity is what separates the medium of video games from other mediums. The following criteria should be used to judge a game’s gameplay:
- Controls
- Does the game utilize the controller effectively? Are too few or too many inputs being used? Does the placement of the inputs result in combinations that are uncomfortable or difficult to use but give desirable effects in the game? Can the player remap inputs to achieve a control scheme that they would prefer and to what extent?
- Responsiveness
- Are inputs delayed? Do the sounds and visuals of the game effectively communicate when an action starts and ends?
- Engagement
- Is the game repetitive? How deep and varied are the mechanics? Do the mechanics sufficiently engage the player through the duration of the game?
- Challenge
- Does the game punish failure effectively? Does the developer prepare the player for challenges effectively? Does the player have a reasonable amount of time or information given to be able to react to new challenges?
- Multiplayer
- Does the game offer multiplayer experiences? Are the mechanics of these experiences consistently engaging for all players?
Multiplayer is of course optional but can result in making some gameplay faults easier to overlook. Although the player is ultimately the decider of how well these elements are executed, it is important to consider the developer’s intention. A few examples include:
- In a horror game, the developer may purposely have cumbersome or limiting controls to increase the sense of panic in players when confronted with sudden challenges.
- The challenge of a game can be influenced by its audience. For example, the developer may choose to have little challenge in their game to appeal to a less experienced audience.
- In some cases the developer may choose to make the gameplay unresponsive to achieve realism or a feeling of sluggishness.
Innovation
This criterion can greatly raise a game’s quality and even make some of the other criteria worth ignoring. For example, it would be reasonable to forgive a game’s technical quality in some areas if it included an amount of content that greatly exceeded any other game released at that time. The reviewer could consider the game’s likelihood of influencing future games or if they are reviewing it retrospectively they could look at how later games were influenced by it. However, those later games should not be considered to be of lower quality due to their relative lack of innovation.
Technical Quality
A game’s technical quality can range from making a game impress the player despite lacking in the other criteria to making a game unplayable. The following should be considered when judging the technical quality of a game:
- Optimization
- Does the game run at a reasonable frame-rate and resolution considering the hardware that the game is being run on? Does the game load at a reasonable speed considering the hardware the game is being run on? Is the game’s file size reasonable for the amount of and quality of the assets it contains? Does the game’s ambition (see above) exceed or meet the technical capabilities of the hardware?
- Reliability
- Do the game’s mechanics work consistently throughout the game? Do the mechanics work as intended by the developer? Can bugs or glitches result in problems that render the player’s save data useless? If they do, how often do new issues appear and how does the developer deal with them?
- Online Functionality
- Does the game adequately use the hardware’s capabilities and support its software features that relate to online functionality? How do players connect and how does this affect the responsiveness (see above) of the game? Are players connected in reasonable amounts of time given that they are available?
- Feature Utilization
- Does the game utilize the hardware’s features? Are these features implemented meaningfully?
- Settings
- Does the game allow the player to make technical choices for themselves if they disagree with the developer?
Generally the player decides how these elements are executed, but they may want to consider making exceptions for games that purposefully try to emulate the hardware flaws of other hardware.
Value
Because video games generally cost sizable amounts money, it is important to consider if the game justifies its price. The following criteria should be used to judge the value of games:
- Length
- Does the game have a sufficient amount of content for the amount of money that it costs? Is this content consistently engaging (see above)? Does the game offer a quality multiplayer experience (see above)? To what extent is the game’s length a result of the game not respecting the player’s time?
- Replayability
- Does the game encourage multiple playthroughs? Can intrusive elements of the storytelling, if present, be skipped? Does the game reward increasingly skilled play?
- Production Value
- Does the quality of the game’s assets and technical attributes justify the price of the game? A game developed by a large team backed by a publisher with a large budget should sufficiently impress the player to justify its price compared to a self-published game by a small development team.
Sound
Although it is often one of the most memorable parts of some games, sound is generally one of the less important aspects of video games when they are being played, with many being playable entirely without any sound. Despite this, sound in video games can still engage, immerse, and even emotionally affect players. The following criteria should be used to judge a game’s sound:
- Music
- Does the music achieve the developer’s intended effect for the player? Does the music play at an appropriate volume relative to the other elements of the game’s sound?
- Sound Effects
- Do the sound effects match the visuals and the timing of the player’s input? Do they match what the player would expect in the world that the game takes place in? Do sound effects play at an appropriate volume relative to the other elements of the game’s sound?
- Voice Acting
- Does the game feature voice acting? Is the voice acting of sufficient quality? Does the game offer voice acting for multiple languages?
Voice acting is of course a completely optional part of a game’s sound, given that it was generally not present for many console generations and was still not present in many games in console generations where it was prevalent. This criterion is one of the most subjective due to the large influence musical taste will have on the player’s opinion about it.
World/Plot
Telling stories is one of the weaknesses of the video game medium, and is arguably the enemy of fun gameplay, arguably the most important part and greatest strength of video games. Many games, especially from some genres in particular, completely lack any lore or plot and are still of extremely high quality. Despite this, games can use the lore of the game world and plot of the game to further engage and immerse the player. The following criteria should be used to judge the quality of a game’s lore and plot:
- World
- Does the game use an existing world developed through other mediums or other video games? Does it take place in the real world? How does the environment give the player clues about the story of the world? Does the game reward exploration with more information about the world?
- Storytelling
- Is the story of the game engaging? Does it immerse the player? Does it conclude satisfyingly? Does it make sense in the world that the game takes place? How intrusive is the story in the gameplay?
Bad Criteria
Reviews are often used by consumers to make informed purchasing decisions. For this reason, some criteria should not be used to assess the quality of a video game, and should be left to consumers to consider.
- Social or Political Implications
- The reviewer disagreeing with the message or values of a game or its creator should not influence their opinion regarding the game’s quality.
- Series
- The reviewer’s opinions on whether or not a game is truly deserving of being part of a series or its implications for that series’ future should not be considered when judging a game’s quality.
- Playerbase/Community
- The lack of a playerbase or a community that ruins the experience for the player should not be blamed on the game, unless the game’s mechanics or online features somehow promote these problems.
