Our Rating System Explained
Welcome to the Radiant Game Rating System! We believe in transparency, so this page explains how we approach scoring the games and movies we review. Our goal is to give you a clear picture of our perspective, complementing the detailed thoughts in the full review.
Quick Look: Pros & Cons
Alongside our detailed reviews, you'll often find concise "Pros" and "Cons" lists. These bullet points highlight the key strengths and weaknesses we identified, offering a quick summary of our main takeaways discussed further in the text.
The Rating Breakdown: Up to Three Pillars
When we assign a numerical score, it's typically derived from assessing up to three core aspects of the experience. These are:
- Story / Plot: This evaluates the narrative elements – the quality of the writing, character development, plot coherence, thematic depth, and overall storytelling effectiveness.
- Visuals / Presentation: Here we look at the aesthetic and technical aspects – art direction, graphical fidelity, cinematography (for films), animations, user interface design, and the overall visual and auditory presentation.
- Gameplay / Execution: This primarily applies to games, focusing on the core mechanics, controls, level design, fun factor, replayability, and technical performance. For films or other media where "gameplay" doesn't fit, we might assess the overall execution, pacing, direction, or the impact of the experience, or this category may not be used.
Important Note: We don't always use all three criteria for every review. Depending on the game or movie, we might focus on just one or two aspects that are most relevant to that specific title. For instance, a puzzle game might be rated primarily on Gameplay, while a narrative-driven film might focus on Story and Visuals.
Tip: Hover your mouse over the rating icons in a review – you'll see a tooltip explaining exactly what aspect that specific icon represents!
Calculating the Score
The final score you see is an average calculated from the scores given to the applicable criteria mentioned above. This provides an overall impression, but we always encourage reading the full review to understand the reasoning behind the numbers.
Our Ratings Are Subjective: Please Read!
This is crucial: All ratings on Radiant Game represent the purely subjective opinions and perspectives of our review team. They reflect our experience and assessment at a particular time.
- They are NOT objective facts. We don't claim our scores are definitive or universally applicable.
- They are NOT intended to tell you what to think. Your own experience with a game or movie may differ significantly, and that's perfectly okay! We encourage critical thinking and forming your own opinions.
- They are NOT meant to artificially inflate or deflate a title's reputation. We review honestly based on our genuine impressions.
- They are NOT intended to offend creators or fans. We respect the hard work that goes into creative projects and the passion fans have for them.
Our rating system is simply a tool we use to summarize our detailed thoughts. The real value lies in the discussion within the review itself.
We hope this explanation clarifies our approach! Dive into the reviews, see how we break things down, and most importantly, keep exploring the amazing worlds of games and cinema!