Things to keep in mind when writing reviews and impressions of free games

Introduction

I suddenly realized that the number of articles in the "Games" category of this blog has exceeded 360.
While we don't limit ourselves to free games, we also have articles on shareware and consumer-oriented games, and the number of such articles has increased considerably.
Here, I'd like to take a moment to reflect on the things I keep in mind and pay attention to when writing reviews, impressions, and strategy guides for free games.
I feel like my writing style has changed quite a bit compared to my earlier articles.

The difference between using the words "impressions" and "reviews"

I used to avoid using the word "review" much, but now that I've organized my thoughts, I'll write them down.
An opinion piece is "a subjective monologue written not for anyone in particular," while a review is "a subjective introduction presented to a third party."That's how I see it.
Both fall under the category of subjective opinions; the only difference is who the writing is directed towards.
Going further, "criticism" involves conveying an objective evaluation to a third party, but most of the articles I write on this blog are just impressions and reviews, and do not go as far as criticism.
This way of thinking,Thinking about how to write reviews and impressions of visual novels.I've written about it in more detail in that article.

Things I keep in mind when writing the introduction section for free games

I apologize for the lengthy and rambling introduction.
I'd like to list the things I keep in mind when writing reviews and impressions of free games.

First, let's talk about the introductory section.
In this section, I've made a point of using plenty of screenshots of each screen so that readers can get a feel for the game's atmosphere.
While the download site does have screenshots of the game, we're targeting people who feel that's not enough.
I think that if you can get a general sense of whether the game's atmosphere is to your liking by looking at the game screen, that might lead to actually playing it.

I also intend to include the completion time whenever possible.
For people who don't have much time to play, knowing how long it takes to complete a game is important information.
Knowing the estimated completion time allows you to control your play pace.
Furthermore, we believe this approach can help bridge the gap between players' needs—whether they want to settle down and play for an extended period or just play a quick game.

The introductory section of the article is written with the intention of recommending the game to a wide range of people, so I generally don't write anything negative.
I try to introduce aspects that I found distinctive or similar to other works so that players can get a sense of the game's content before they play it.

Things I keep in mind when writing reviews of free games

Next, regarding the comments section.
Since my impressions are primarily subjective, my policy is to write only what I personally felt.
If a review contains spoilers, it will be marked as "Contains Spoilers"; otherwise, it will not be marked.
When discussing the appeal of a work, if the story is absolutely essential, I may include spoilers.
butBasically, I try to write my impressions while avoiding spoilers as much as possible.

The biggest difference between free games and other games is that they are "free of charge."
It doesn't cost any money to play, and there's no obligation to play.
Players download and continue playing the game of their own free will.
Therefore, since I generally find the works I write about interesting at the time, I tend to write fewer negative points as a result.

Conversely, when it comes to works that I've paid for, I might feel more confident because I've paid for them, and I might write negative reviews.
However, either way,Unless the creator explicitly states that they want to hear negative feedback, I generally refrain from writing negative comments.
I often choose not to write articles about works that tend to receive a lot of negative feedback.

Things I keep in mind when writing a walkthrough

first,Whether or not I write a walkthrough is partly based on whether there are other walkthrough websites available online.
If there are other detailed strategy guides available, I usually just stick to writing my own play logs.
However, if there aren't any other sites like this, I intend to put in a fair amount of effort to write one.

That is,I think there are people who can't play the game with peace of mind without a walkthrough site.
How long will it take to complete the game? How far along are you in the game at this point? Are there any points I might miss while playing?Those are the kinds of people who are interested in that kind of thing.
I was that kind of player myself, so I think I understand how you feel.
When you don't have enough time to play, restarting a game can be a real hassle, so I completely understand the desire to do your best on your first playthrough.

I would be very happy if even one walkthrough website makes a player think, "Okay, I'll give it a try. Even if I get stuck along the way, there's a walkthrough website, so I think I can manage somehow."

The policy for the content of the strategy guide is:"I'll go into detail about the difficult parts, and just briefly mention the rest."is.
Therefore, players whose difficulties differ from mine might think, "I wanted a walkthrough for this part, but it's not there."
In that case, I would appreciate it if you could somehow manage to complete it on your own and supplement the article with a comment.

In conclusion

I've been writing articles for several years now, and I think the reason I've been able to continue this long is because I've (reasonably) been able to stick to the principle of "writing what I want to write."
Also, the comments from those who have read the article are a great source of encouragement.
Comparing the number of views to those from the past, I'm very happy to see that so many more people are reading my work now.

I play games and finish writing articles, but then interesting new games are released, and I can hardly keep up with playing them all.
I think there's nothing more gratifying for a gamer than this, so I hope to continue enjoying writing articles in the future.