Universal LIMBO (by Playdead)

Right.
Since it's one of those RARE absolute stellar mobile experiences that drive our beloved platform to the heights it belongs to. Therefore, it needs all the love and support it deserves.

 

It should actually not even equate to 60. With a 5 star rating system, 1 star is the baseline, the zero point. For TA user ratings and Apple ratings (and so I must assume also TA reviewer ratings), there is no rating lower than 1 star. So 1 star is 0, and 5 stars is max, 100. That means 2 stars is 25, 3 stars is 50, and 4 stars is 75. So the reviewer (the guy who gave angel salvation, which barely qualifies as a game, more of an IAP engine, 4 stars), rated Limbo 50, an F.

 

No, but it's not possible to feel that limbo deserves a 60.

I mean come on, look at the number of comments on Limbo versus any review out there. I've chastised a few reviews in the past for being off center, but here it's just laughable to almost give limbo a failing grade.

 

Everyone is absolutely entitled to their opinion. However, I will say this. TA posts reviews to help people make informed decisions and know what games to get. A review that 99% of people strongly disagree with seems like it would be less than helpful. If the majority of people who have played the game disagree with the reviewer, isn't it fair to say that the majority of people who read the review and decide not to play the game based on the review, would have actually liked it if that had given it a chance? In other words, while I realize TA doesn't want to, and shouldn't, base their scores off of what people want the score to be, at the same time, a score that is dramatically out of sync with the opinions of the vast majority of players is probably fairly called a "bad" review.

 

On metacritic, the reviews are based out of 100, 3/5 is 6(0)/10(0), a 60. Reviewers need to be aware of that when reviewing games.

And Jared, I'm fine with opinions, but when you are in such a minority, it's the equivalent of being the only reviewer to non-ironically give Bio-dome a positive review. Anyone who thinks it is a good movie otherwise is either looking at it from a nostalgic perspective (as in: "man, I sure had some fun with E. T. On the 2600!") or is flat out wrong.

 

Well all this reading has made me tired. Not letting the negative review affect my gaming plans. Not that I ever would trust one negative review versus the vast majority of positive. It seems like if you love this genre then this is a major entry into it.

 

Yup but my point is metacritic should actually make 3/5 stars a 50, not a 60. 3/5 stars is not the same as 3 on a scale of 0-5 because there is no zero stars. The scale is from 1-5, 1 star is 0/100, 2 stars is 25/100, 3 stars is 50/100, etc. This is the way the Apple 5 star system works, and the way the TA user rating system works. If the TA review rating system differs and allows for 0 stars as the minimum, that needs to be stated clearly somewhere since it would then differ from every 5 star system iOS users are accustomed, particularly since it is displayed right along with the average user rating, which as I said, has a zero point of 1 star.

 

Well, no, that's not actually what I said. All I said was it's fair to consider TA's Limbo review a bad review. The criticism it's receiving is warranted. That's all. And yes, maybe a review that is dramatically out of sync with what the majority of players as well as other reviewers think should be reexamined before posting. Not that all scores from all reviewers should match, but if one is 40% lower than the average, it's probably going to give people an impression of the game that is 40% different from what they would think if they played it, and therefore qualifies as a bad review.

 

Good luck trying to be consistent after this. You've set a pretty high bar for future games to be judged by TA

 

Then don't give it a rating. Just write your opinion. Then TA can float their opinions as independently as desired without impacting the game's metascore

 

I didnt say more that a one-line reaction to the Joseph's review because it contradicted mine. I respect opinions, and a review is simply a reviewer's opinion on a game.

This thought hit me while reading the rants and conversations in this thread:

TA is a well respected iOS-focused site and community. That said, people will more or less follow reviews by them. Those who have already played Limbo, may not agree with the review. Those who havent, though, will skip the game most likely.

Maybe after a while, maybe during a sale, or maybe someone gifted the app, or whatever divine intervention may occur, some of those who skipped it somehow got a hold of Limbo, and played it. Of course, based on opinions, some may like it, some may dont.

Im not a statistics freak by any means, but from what i see, the majority likes Limbo.

So from those people who trusted the review and skipped the game, and eventually got to play it, it might be safe to say, that most of them will end up liking Limbo. The bad part is that they might hate TA for having them skip a game they actually liked, and end up questioning TA's future reviews.

Im not saying the review must be changed or rigged to appeal to everyone, it's just that the thought occurred to me while reading the discussion here regarding the review.

Oh well, i guess we win some, we lose some, and this applies to TA as well. At least the reviewer had been honest on how he sees the games he played.

 

This. The problem is that here, on this platform, there are far less people reviewing, so one ham handed review is going to be far larger an impact. If I had not known the game before and trusted in Joseph's reviews to be fair and relatively unbiased, I might have passed this game as a mediocre game that is held up on a pretty outer appearance.

Like with the Eclipse review on 148apps, I believe the wrong person reviewed the game, but so be it. I'm sure you're right, this review doesn't tip the scales in the validity of reviews here to the "oh, them again" side. When a site can hold up Limbo as a 3 star game, and Tiny Tower, EVERY Angry Birds game, Nimble Quest, Pixel People get 5 stars, well it makes zero sense.

I think we need to go back to the OLD SCHOOL gamepro team reviews, where multiple reviewers rate and give short blurbs focusing on specific topics. Was that gamepro that did that? I can't remember.

 

I remember a magazine that did something similar.

One guy reviews the game and writes the article, but there are short quotes in the end from different reviewers which are not necessarily from the magazine staff. Each one had a rating, and the ratings varied.

The good thing is that we can see how most of them rated the game, all in one magazine.

In the internet, to get the most reliable review, you need to check multiple websites and youtube reviews to get an idea if one wants a game or not.

 

To be clear-I wasn't trying to say that Joseph shouldn't have been the one to review the game, just that the pizza thing was kind if a bad analogy.

I don't think there's many people who haven't played Limbo, or at the very least, heard of it. I'd expect anyone out there thinking of buying it to do the same amount of 'research' they do when trying to decide whether or not to buy any game...

We may not agree with Joseph's review, but it's also not like its the ONLY review Limbo has... And it's probably a very good representation of that rare occation when someone just doesn't click with it. We've all been there:;: a super popular game that the vast majority of people just can not freakn believe that we don't like what we're playing for whatever reason.... Just because you're in the 1-5% doesn't mean you should be silenced or ignored, and your views are just as valid as the 95-99% of those who enjoy the hell out of that rare gem that we just don't click with...

 

I don't disagree with anything you've said. However, the purpose of a review is to give people a tool to use when deciding whether to buy a game or not. A review that only reflects (or predicts) the experience if 1-5% of people is pretty much an irrelevant, and as I've said, a bad review. It's bad because if the purpose is to help people determine whether thy would like it, then a review which is so very far from what the majority of players feel has failed in its purpose. The reviewer has a right to his opinion and TA has a right to post it, but the fact remains that the review is both those things, bad and irrelevant. It's a shame that it comes from what I consider the best website covering iOS gaming, and even more of a shame when it's a review of a quality premium game that is important for the platform (which I think is why there is as much rage as there is simple disagreement in this case). It's just one review and it will soon be forgotten, but in my opinion, TA should not be the least bit surprised by the critical response it has recieved, which I think is perfectly justified.