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How influenced are you by review scores?
I was looking at screenshots of Face Noir which look amazing, and it reminded me a bit of Post Mortem, as in, the general vibe of it. Anyway, I then took a nostalgic look at the AG review of Post Mortem and it had only scored 2 stars, which I didn’t know. I remember really getting stuck into Post Mortem and enjoying it, so was quite surprised it scored so low. Then again, I enjoy every adventure I play so I’m probably not that fussy. There are several games where after seeing a low review score I’ve steered clear of the game. Perhaps I would have never played Post Mortem had I seen the score beforehand. Perhaps it’s sometimes dangerous to follow review scores since we might still be missing out on a fun game. This isn’t to say reviewers are scoring them wrong. But just that we all have different expectations and enjoyment levels. However, seeing a low score can put us off immediately.
Review scores, do you heed them or take them with a pinch of salt? Have you gone ahead and bought a game knowing or not knowing it has a 1.5 to 2 star rating, and ended up really enjoying it?
First registered in 2005. Original creator of: Place that Quote! - Adventure Game Sounds - Decipher the Anagram! - Name that Inventory! - A Face to Place!
Perhaps it’s sometimes dangerous to follow review scores since we might still be missing out on a fun game.
Perhaps it’s sometimes dangerous to ignore review scores since we might end up wasting time and money on an awful game. 
More seriously, I strongly believe that scores are utterly stupid and I wish they would all go away forever. (Aggregate scores are an even higher level of stupid.) Reviews, on the other hand, are essential. I would never consider buying a game without first reading a review to tell me what the game is really like. If the review is done properly, whether I share the reviewer’s tastes is irrelevant – and therefore so is the score.
I’ve often found that scores can vary so much across the boards that it is ludicrous to acquire any reasonable impressions. On the other hand with reviews I always try to sift out the pertinent information (the graphics resemble…, the perspective is…, etc.) and generally ignore the reviewer’s personal opinions which are too often biased towards his or her general likes and dislikes. As long as the review has answered my own relevant questions and has warned me of any serious shortcomings i.e. ‘to be continued,’ I ultimately let my own inherent interests and tastes decide if it’s right for me.
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day.
Give a man a rod and he will sit on a boat and drink beer all day. - USA Network
Well, I liked 15 Days which was panned by the Adventure Gamers reviewer and others. 
I guess in general I pay attention to reviews. But when I go to Metacritic it’s the user reviews I pay attention to, not the critics.
I never go by single review, I try to check out sveral in order to get a better picture of the game. But if they all say that the game sucks, then I most likely won’t get it.
How influenced are you by review scores?
Zero. Zilch. Nada.
Everybody wants to be Cary Grant.
Even Me.
-Cary Grant
Reviews were important for me, now with youtube i dont need them, just looking at videos
can help me make my decision. Rest is trial and error, many games i loved are niche
and are not for everyone and given the limited taste of reviewers, i do my own thing in selection. However reviews can help my curiosity, so that i dig up more about the game
before purchase.
I take them into consideration, but I also check user reviews, comments and do some online research. If a game is severely under- or overrated there is usually a heated discussion following the review, so that is something I pay attention to as well.
How influenced are you by review scores?
I usually pay attention to low scores and ignore high scores. There are a few underrated (IMO) games on this site, but many overrated ones.
You might want to apply the opposite in your case.
I usually like to read extreme views in either directions - if the criticism is more valid than the praise (or vice-versa), I’ll skip (or more likely delay) playing something. If almost all the reviews are mild praise, I’ll read a few from sources I respect.
I think the key is to actually read the review (read several, actually) and take the score for what it is: an abstract representation of what is ultimately a subjective thing.
Some of my favourite games have gotten average-to-poor review scores such as Another Code on DS. I also enjoyed Post Mortem. I’ve despised games that have been awarded great review scores. It’s good to remember that it’s all just one person’s experience with a game.
Scores, reviews and opinions influence me only a bit. While i choose games to play based on my own terms and tastes, scores etc. can slightly improve my appetite for it and I can move it up in my to-do list. Also vice versa.
That said, the source of opinion matters big time. For an example I personally don’t trust Gamespot much. But if someone in this forum says that he loves Machinarium and Limbo and this new X game he played is having similar vibe, the new X game gets some boost in my eyes (even with GS 3.0 score).
i REALLY enjoyed Post Mortem and when i discovered adventure gamers i went to see reviews of games i played, i was shocked to see the score, i was like, fuck it, you don’t know what you’re talking about )
Review scores, do you heed them or take them with a pinch of salt?
For me it does matter quite a bit, not so much when it comes to new game, but when I’m looking for older games to play. I quite often either browse through the top reviewed games list, or the top 100 list, or simply look in the game database for games I haven’t played yet, and here the rating acts as a sort of filter, where I only read the actual review for games with a relative high rating.
But when it comes to new games and new reviews, I take the rating with a pinch of salt. I read the review and try to make up my own mind, whether or not this seems like a game I would be interested in. I also often check what other reviews the reviewer has written and how much I like/disliked games they have given high/low ratings in the past, and I of course listen to the opinions of my fellow members on this forum, read other reviews and in general try to find as much information as possible.
Sometimes however I also buy games more or less in the blind, before any reviews are posted or as pre-orders, and I have only regretted it once. But I always know something about the games before I buy them, e.g. i bought both Face Noir and The Raven as pre-orders. Face Noir partly because of some pre-views and partly based on the demo you can download, The Raven also partly based on pre-views but mainly because it is KING Art Games, and their games have never disappointed me so far.
Have you gone ahead and bought a game knowing or not knowing it has a 1.2 to 2 star rating
Yes, at least a couple of times.
and ended up really enjoying it?
No never!
I always end up realising why they got so low a score in the first place, and agreeing with the reviewer that they are crap.
There is however some high rated games that have disappointed me greatly, or as Antrax wrote:
There are a few underrated (IMO) games on this site, but many overrated ones.
You have to play the game, to find out why you are playing the game! - eXistenZ
I like Adventure Gamers reviews and mostly get influenced by them.
“Going on means going far - Going far means returning”
I think the most important fact is the reader/reviewer connection.
If I have read the reviewer before and trust his/her judgment based on previous games then I tend to be more influenced than a review by someone I don’t know. Overall though I will probably be more influenced by the narrative in the review rather than the score itself.
Most of the time though, I know what I like and generally have a decent idea if I will like something or not from watching trailers and quick looks of gameplay.
An adventure game is nothing more than a good story set with engaging puzzles that fit seamlessly in with the story and the characters, and looks and sounds beautiful.
Roberta Williams
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