Review policy and scoring

Below you can find our review policy and scoring system.

Our review policy
To deliver our reviews to readers, we receive review keys from developers, publishers or their affiliated PR firms, either before or after the official release date.

At Oyun Günlüğü, we accept and abide by any embargo guidelines set for review keys received before the official release date.

“Commissioned or bribed” reviews have never been accepted and never will be.

Although reviews are shared with the providing company after publication, reviews and their scores are never discussed with any member of the development, publishing or PR team before they are published.

We don’t always receive “promotional keys” for reviews. Oyun Günlüğü editors occasionally buy games and hardware with their own money for review purposes.

Reviews on Oyun Günlüğü are not always the same length. They are not published until thorough analysis has been carried out and every opinion is supported. Through demo reviews, early access reviews and full release reviews, we offer recommendations to players and share our views based on our editors’ “personal experiences.”

Reviews remain in draft until they are approved by the Oyun Günlüğü management team. The scoring system is also a two-step process. Reviews are scored on a scale of 1 to 10, and the management team approves the final score. If even one member of the management team feels the review does not reflect the score, they can propose a new score. The final score is discussed until an agreement is reached. Review scores are never changed without the approval of the editor who wrote the review.

When reviewing early access games, Oyun Günlüğü takes their development process into account and does not score these reviews, as the game is not yet complete.

Our reviews editor does not allow fake reviews (plagiarized or AI-generated). If you come across this in any of our reviews, please contact us.

In addition to digital and board game reviews, Oyun Günlüğü occasionally reviews gaming hardware and accessories. These reviews will not be scored; instead, we will give a recommendation on whether the product is worth buying.

Scoring System
1.0 - 1.9 (Disgraceful)
There is effort behind every work, so very few games deserve this score, but we still come across games like this on rare occasions. These games are poorly made not only in terms of gameplay, story and technical aspects but in every respect, and they have no redeeming qualities. Because they are unplayable, they offer nothing good at all. Everything is so bad that there isn’t a single good moment. Games in this range cross the line into being unplayable, both in terms of enjoyment and technically.

2.0 - 2.9 (Awful)
These games are not just awful, they are also insulting to the player. They have almost no positive aspects. They are set apart from the lowest category only because they can, very rarely, contain some minor elements of quality. Due to bugs that affect gameplay, serious control problems and a poor story that significantly diminishes the experience, these are games we would not recommend to anyone. Embarrassing.

3.0 - 3.9 (Very Bad)
Bad and unoriginal ideas. While even a bad game occasionally has small sparks of brilliance, a game that receives this score is consistently tedious. It is noticeably flawed, has serious problems and offers very few redeeming qualities. It is so bland and boring that it feels more frustrating than fun. For these reasons, it falls into the category of games we would not recommend to anyone.

Examples:

Aquarist
Age of Empires Mobile

4.0 - 4.9 (Bad)
This is where games start to more or less fall apart. Although these games occasionally contain one or two bright ideas, they are wasted by poor execution, so we definitely don’t recommend spending your time on them. They lack important qualities. While they are basically playable, bugs, complexity, a poor story, technical issues or something else can really spoil your enjoyment.

Examples:

Prison Loop
Filthy Animals

5.0 - 5.9 (Mediocre)
These are the kind of ordinary productions we mostly forget a day or two after playing. They are mostly not worth your time. While some of their features are good, their shortcomings stand out more. These games are not bad; they are just so repetitive and full of unoriginal ideas that they offer nothing new. Maybe you can check them out in your spare time. They most likely won’t be remembered.

Examples:

SuperPower 3
House Builder
Redfall
Payday 3

6.0 - 6.9 (Decent)
At their core, they are not bad games, but you need to overlook some significant drawbacks. Overall, they may do some things well, but they also have fundamental problems. They have aspects that keep them from being mediocre and make the gameplay quite enjoyable, but either they never become truly good, or even when they do, some bad parts that drag them down stand out too much.

Examples:

Brotato
Assassin’s Creed Mirage
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn
Dragon Age: The Veilguard

7.0 - 7.9 (Good)
These are well-made, enjoyable and playable games. They could have been better, but despite their shortcomings, they are satisfying. Their strengths outweigh their flaws. Despite some technical or design drawbacks, they are very fun productions.

Examples:

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
The Last Case of Benedict Fox
Street Fighter 6
Starfield

8.0 - 8.9 (Great)
These games combine well-written characters, fluid gameplay, a strong story, gameplay ideas that bring innovation to the genre and a technically strong foundation. Although some shortcomings stand out from time to time, they contain enough good elements to make us overlook them. They have notable strengths. Although a few small things hold them back, they are extremely fun and accomplished.

Examples:

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
South Park: The Stick of Truth
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
System Shock

9.0 - 9.9 (Excellent)
If a game receives this score, it means there is something in it that has had a significant impact on us. We consider it one of the most important examples of its time and genre. Because of very small, unobtrusive shortcomings, they are not masterpieces, but overall they are outstanding. There is one small issue holding them back a step, but that’s all. These games are not masterpieces, but they are so well made that they can be recommended to anyone who loves playing games.

Examples:

Age of Empires 4
God of War
Dead Space
Horizon Forbidden West

10 (Masterpiece)
There is no such thing as a flawless game, but games that earn this score deserve to be called masterpieces. A 10 is rarely given because these are generally the finest products of the gaming world. As a masterpiece of its genre, it raises the bar for those who come after it. They are extremely accomplished, engaging and technically solid; in other words, they are outstanding in almost every respect. They should absolutely be played by everyone, and other developers should look at these games and analyze what makes them so remarkable.