What Does a 7/10 Mean to You?

[Deleted member 4034]

I'm really looking forward to whoever makes the third version of this thread.

But I always see this thing on here, among the usual reviews are pointless mindset, that when games score around 6 or 7 that the critics hated it.

Do you actually perceive a 7 that low or do you feel others will and that's why you might take issue with it ala the Travis Strikes Again review thread.

I personally see it as fine. Some apparent flaws, but still a good, enjoyable experience.

Like, what about a 7 would make you tick if the next Pokemon, Animal Crossing game got one. What made people tick about Polygon giving The Last of Us a 7?

 

[Razor Mom]

A lot of my favourite games are 7/10 average reviews. They're flawed, but theres a lot of 9/10 "nearly flawless" games which I don't enjoy at all.

Could be a great experience.

Edit: amazing to see how many people think anything less than an 8 is trash. Funny to think there'll be countless films that those same people enjoy with 3 star ratings (6/10) .

 

[Like the hat?]

I'd personally think it's probably the kind of game I would really enjoy. A good game where the judgment is not clouded by some sort of hype.

 

[Baccus]

An interesting, risky game that tries to eat more than it could chew, but is probably unique enough to be worth it.

 

[Normal]

7 is below average. It's like getting a C. Congrats, you barely passed your class.

Metacritic.
1-6: Garbage
7: Below average. Lots of flaws, but one thing might stand out
8: Average
9: Good
10: Excellent

Like the only reviewer that doesn't use this scale as far as I know is AJ. But IGN, Gamespot, etc. all seem to use that scale lol

Edit:

IGNs scale literally says otherwise, but okay.

Click to shrink...

I guess that what happens when too many games get 8s, 8 ends up feeling like the average. They all might be "good" games, but when game ends up getting a less than a 8, it does make me think the game isn't good.
I guess if the video game reviewers want to fix the perception of their scale, then they should use it all of it then and not just 6-10. Might take a generation or so, but 5 might become the average instead of 8.

 

[Comic Obsessed]

I don't know. There are quite a few great games that have gotten 7s for inexplicable reasons.

 

[quesalupa]

I usually take it that the game is overall solid. Could have the potential to be great or less than good depending on preferences.

 

[Deleted member 32374]

To me, it means that the game was engaging enough for me to finish it.

 

[Nostremitus]

A pretty good game

 

[Voytek]

Decent game that is probably worth checking out but not at full price.

 

[Deleted member 135]

Heavily flawed but with a core that has potential.

If review scores weren't inflated it would be just average, but a 7 score is not good. Its below average, disappointing

 

[Mifec]

Probably the most 7 game I ever played was ME andromeda while something that's above average but still not great or amazing would be FFXV which is a 6.

7 is below average. It's like getting a C. Congrats, you barely passed your class.

Click to shrink...

Only if you're using a dumb scale.

On an actual good scale a 6 is above average.

 

[Anthony Hopkins]

I think all 7 games are trash to me. But I could be wrong.

 

[Exto]

It means it's worth looking into for me. I've played plenty of 7/10 games that turned out to be very fun. Not well made I grant you, but fun nevertheless.

 

[Nostremitus]

7 is below average. It's like getting a C. Congrats, you barely passed your class.

Click to shrink...

C is exactly average, though...

 

[el_skywalker]

Nearly gutter trash.

Seriously, reviewers are WAY too generous with scores, so most 7/10s mean a bad game.

There are obviously exceptions though, like Edge.

 

[Deleted member 1413]

It's a game you enjoyed but probably wouldn't go out of your way to recommend.

 

[EJS]

A good foundation, but lacking in several components that make up the whole package. It is like a flower with a very strong stem but was only exposed to just enough light and water to survive rather than thrive.

 

[Exto]

I think all 7 games are trash to me. But I could be wrong.

Click to shrink...

For years I thought exactly the same and put those on automatic ignore list, but I found that there are hidden gems that put 10/10 games to shame in terms of "fun" level. Kind of like a good comedy film that received a 7/10 from critics but turns out to be hilarious.

 

[Deleted member 46493]

If single player, play once, enjoyed, and then never touch again.

 

[Deleted member 1041]

Utter garbage.

I mean, if reviews would use the full 10 scale consistently, 7/10 would be ok. But its so hard to take most review scores seriously, that a 7/10 is basically garbage thanks to the score creep.

Thats why its the content of the review that matters, and not the number.

 

[Ryuelli]

7/10 is good, but probably won't stick with you for long or won't necessarily appeal to everyone. They're by no means bad though. In the Gamecube/PS2/Xbox Era this would have been a game like "Lost Kingdoms".

Spoiler

I agree with TLOU being a 7/10 game.

If single player, play once, enjoyed, and then never touch again.

Click to shrink...

This is 99.9% of games for me in general, much less 7/10 games.

 

[PurelyChris]

7 isn't a dirty number at all. On my site 7 means 'very good'. 6 is 'good'. The fascination with numbers needs to end, or there at least needs to be some kind of standardisation because seeing games scored a 7, and fairly, and then seeing people here dismissing a publication as clickbait is embarrassing.

 

[Unknownlight]

For me, < 5 are for games that I explicitly dislike, 5 is for a game I feel nothing towards, and > 5 are games I enjoy.

7 means a game that I think is okay. Not great, but enjoyable enough.

 

[stan_marsh]

Nothing, I don't care about reviews.

I look up gameplay and decide .

 

[Zvonimir Boban]

For me a 7/10 is a pretty good game.

7 is below average. It's like getting a C. Congrats, you barely passed your class.

Click to shrink...

First of all a C is not below average.

Secondly, if 70% is below average for a class then that school needs to fix its grading system.

 

[verygooster]

7/10 says Above average execution to me. It's at the very least worth checking out.

I've played "7/10" games where I got far more enjoyment out of it than the reviewer did, but sometimes I notice "7/10" is usually like a "FANS OF THE GENRE WILL LIKE THIS" game.

 

[The Albatross]

Game has to really be my genre or fit my niche for me to pick it up. I've bought plenty of 7/10 games, but they've always been like "my genre" of game.

Now, I'll still give games a 7/10, but if the general consensus is a 7/10 then I have to be into the genre to get it.

 

[Strangelove_77]

A 7 means it was worth playing. A 6 and under is a waste of time.

 

[Deleted member 17207]

For me, a 7/10 is what will convince me to jump onto either side of the fence of a game I'm sitting on. If I want to try a game but I'm unsure, a 7/10 will usually mean I'll buy it (maybe on a sale). If there's a game that I feel like I should try, but am unsure about how it looks, a 7/10 will convince me to save my money.

Travis Strikes Again is a recent example of this. I don't really have a crazy desire to play it, but would've picked it up if it was an 8/10/ The 7 (and lower) convinced me not to buy it.

Now, a game like Yoshi coming out, a 7/10 on that would probably be like "eh I'll give it a whirl" because it generally looks pretty good.

I realize this probably doesn't make any sense.

 

[pswii60]

7/10 games often turn out to be some of my favourites.

Dandara, QUBE 2 and The Turing Test recently come to mind.

Enjoyed those three far more than most of the games in people's GoTY lists.

 

[Budi]

Pretty good game, worth giving giving a chance. Especially if the genre is to someones interest.

 

[Deleted member 1759]

I think I enjoy 7 games more than most 9 or 10 games.

 

[Richietto]

It SHOULD mean a good game.

 

[gogojira]

It means ... we march.

 

[Conor419]

Honestly it means one of three things

1. Decent-at-best game
2. Great game that the critics didn't understand
3. Horrible game from a big IP that critics were too afraid to go in on.

More often than not it's 1

 

[Deleted member 4034]

7 is below average. It's like getting a C. Congrats, you barely passed your class.

Metacritic.
1-6: Garbage
7: Below average. Lots of flaws
8: Average
9: Good
10: Excellent

Like the only reviewer that doesn't use this scale as far as I know is AJ. But IGN, Gamespot, etc. all seem to use that scale lol

Click to shrink...

IGNs scale literally says otherwise, but okay.

 

[Tali'Zorah]

I'd give a game a 7 if it was good, and I enjoyed my time with it, but it was largely forgettable. Far Cry 5 is the archetype of a 7/10

 

[JINX]

Average/okay

 

[Taker34]

It has no meaning to me personally. Being influenced about a 7/10 review of or metascore just shows how much you are or want to be influenced by reviews. There are a ton of fun games out there which have low or no reviews at all.

You can easily see the psychological effect that number can have on potential customers who don't have time to inform themselves about all games out there. It's obviously below an 8 and why would you buy a 7 over an 8 or 9 - aka why would anyone buy an "inferior " game, when relying on those score systems.

 

[DontHateTheBacon]

Good game with some great moments, but overall just a solid, good game.

 

[LossAversion]

Spoiler: It means it's time to put on my bathing suit...

 

[hey it's that dog]

It means it's probably not worth my time unless it's a genre I really love. Whether it means "average" or "good" doesn't matter to me. There's way too many games out there to spend time on one's that are only "pretty good." Unless it looks like something that scratches my particular itches very well.

 

[aisback]

A good game but ultimately forgettable

 

[Lux86]

it depends, a 7/10 game of a genre that i like may be a really good purchase for me personally.

 

[Hope]

Worth trying if the genre is for me. I won't get such a game for fullprice.

 

[Scuffed]

Wait until a sale. To me it basically means unless it's a genre or a series I am particularly drawn to I would not be getting it at launch or pre-ordering.

 

[Servbot24]

In my rating system that means good. If I read that from someone else it means only buy if you have a very strong personal inclination to do so.

 

[Deleted member 21411]

It means either

Game didn't live up to it's expections
Mediocre
Or it's nitche and it's not the game isn't worth the time it just might not be appreciated for what it does

 

[Harmony Friends]

It's "fine".

Anywhere on the gradient from "solid but unremarkable" to "a game that could have been great, dragged down by its flaws, but not so much that I don't still like it" (inclusive).

I hate this mentality of thinking about it like school grades, where a 70/100 is a C-. School's grades are meant to show you how much you got wrong. We don't need over half of the scale to be dedicated to how bad it is for purposes of reviewing. "Mediocre" "Bad" and "Godawful" are sufficient degrees of badness for reviewing.