Yeah it’s great. Has a real fun factor and feels like they’ve perfected the Sonic move set finally after two decades of tinkering. The open world feels Nintendo like.
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I quite agree mate
Game looks really fun, happy to see the positive reception for the game! I’ll definitely check it out soon.
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So you think a rating of “good” is too low for a game you yourself described as “good” ? 
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Thanks for the review with other things coming out and saving for a new car.
I will wait for a decent sale on this 
I understand the editorial team’s view on reviews and review scores. I know they have their own interpretation of what each numeric score means. But I would argue the site’s interpretation of those scores in pretty meaningless when 99%+ of gamers will only interact with Xboxera’s review through Metacritic or OpenCritic.
On the aggregation sites, scores above 75% (I think) are “green” or good. Scores below that become yellow then red. A score of 6/10 is not “good” when viewed in the context of it dragging down the aggregation scores out of the green area.
To add to this, almost everyone has some experience with “grading” or scoring in an academic context. In virtually every school setting in the world, from elementary school through university, a score of 6/10 would be a low score - typically the lowest possible passing grade. In most of academia, scores in the 75% range are considered “average” so scores above that would fall into the “good” category.
So, Xboxera can tell us that a 6 from them actually means “good” but if we all have years and years of conditioning to interpret 6 as “below average” or “barely passing” - and if that is how every aggregation site interprets it - then it is a somewhat futile argument.
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The review score is fine to me. Personally I don’t see 6 as negative. My favorite games of all time have something like 74-76 on metacritic even.
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I dont think 6 represents good . 7 to 8 to me is good
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This is a good point actually. I have always been pretty annoyed that the full 1-10 scale is not used properly, but when you put it like this it makes sense.
Viewing it more like there is a pretty big base a game needs to hit “to pass” makes sense, just like in grades. However, maybe it would be better if everyone used 1-100 then.
It does at Xbox Era. I’ve posted the link and excerpts from the Scoring Policy. You should cross-check your meaning of numbers with what Xbox Era’s meaning of numbers are. Focus on the entirety of the review and ignore the number if that’s causing such grief.
I do recognize the points @profjjj has made. Though using the industry rating scale is absolutely bonkers, cause they have out 9s and 10s like candy.
Anyways, this is all the more reason why there should not be a singular score for reviews, but the industry forces that requirement in order to have the reviews listed on the popular industry sites.
To be clear, I am not complaining about Sonic’s review score in particular. I haven’t played Sonic and don’t have any opinion at all about how good a game it is.
My concern is purely about how Xboxera’s review scores fit into the “meta” of all review scores. I completely understand Jon and Nick’s (and others) complaints about the current range of scores that are given out being too narrow. But, that appears to be the reality we live in.
In economics we talk about the difference between “normative” and “positive” statements and arguments. Normative statements have a value judgment attached to them, while positive statements describe the reality of the world we live in. So, we can gripe all day about there being “too many wasted numbers” in the 1-10 review range, and that reviewers “should” give out a wider range of scores (these are normative statements). But that doesn’t change the reality of the vast majority of scores being interpreted through the lens of the meta and open critic scores where 7.5 or better are good (this is a positive statement).
Just imagine if Xboxera were to give Pentiment (or Redfall or any other first party game) a score of 6. Do you think the developers at Obsidian are going to take solace in the fact that 6 is “good” on Xboxera? Or are they going to be pissed that the 6 is dragging down the metacritic score?
Trying to set your own definitions of review scores when there are already well accepted industry norms - like them or not - is likely to cause the site more headaches than its worth.
Just so we are perfectly clear, I love this site. I want Xboxera to succeed. I don’t see how rocking the boat on the definition of review scores facilitates that.
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I fully understand what you’re saying, do agree with what you bring up. It’s a shame the review sites don’t attempt to standardize scoring policy. That’s a large hurdle to overcome but seeing as that is their sole reason for existing, they should do something about it. It’s well beyond time.
My point on posting the scoring policy was to make others aware of it, so if they completely skip over the entire body of a review and only look at a singular score they need to be aware of the scale. That’s what seemed to be happening in this situation, at least how I perceived it.
Standard Disclaimer: I had no part in creating the review scoring policy and I am not involved in doing reviews (at this time).
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Sorry if you thought I was attacking you. That was not my intention at all. I understood why you posted the scoring policy.
I’m not sure who crafted the policy. I assume it is some combination of Jon, Nick, Jesse, and maybe a few others. I’m positive they had the best of intentions when writing it, I just worry about the unintended consequences.
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Oh no, I definitely didn’t take it as any sort of attack at all, it came across as absolutely and perfectly fine conversation, so no need to worry or be overly concerned about my perception of it. Those last disclaimer were to be perfectly clear since not everyone follows the ins and outs of the site.
It’s all good.
I love the open discussion especially when you bring in the educational aspects.
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The professor makes a very convincing argument.
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Great/Good is more or less the same for me and I get what you saying. I’ve this issue with EDGE mag review scores and while it correct to say, that 6 = good, it doesn’t come across like that.
If I saw a Film, Game or say a Football player getting 6 out 10 for their performance in the game, I don’t see that as good.
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If anyone wants to hold off a code based on the score we give they can feel free. I’ve given games a 4 from DANGEN and they still send us reviews. Scores are a nearly useless thing to me and the last part of any review I do. I look forward to not doing them as a site a.s.a.p.
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Whilst I agree with this in principle, the meta around those scores is also different.
Whilst we want to change the way scores are seen, we should recognise that places have eroded their owns scores and the context followed. We all didn’t decide to think 7nis crap, the scores that suggested games who aren’t 7s got them, leaving only 7 to 9 as the range.
In other places the full range might be used but even then you might not see a player get a 2 or a film get a 3 either.
Essentially, what I’m saying is this - when Edge give a 10 it means something. It made headlines when Immortality got it. Why? Their history. Their context. Their meaning. The rest, the crowd, they don’t matter because you know Edge mean it.
I don’t know how Xboxera make their scores up, but if it is a single or a team score averaged then along as the standard is being set it needs to be understood.
Essentially, I reckon meta critic should have a weighting system for their scores. Maybe they do! But if IGN give is 7.3s all the time, then there 8.3 probably has less weight than a 9 from Edge.
My list is still shaping up but Sonic Frontiers is definitely a game of the year candidate.
So far things are
- Vampire Survivors
- MultiVersus
- Elden Ring
- Sonic Frontiers
- Saints Row
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder’s Revenge
- A Plague Tale Requiem
- Gotham Knights
- Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
- God of War Ragnarok
*Still need to try Bayonetta 3
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