By review score scales, I am referring to using a 10 star system, 5 star system, etc. to review games.
I assume most people are comfortable with either the 10 or the 5 star scale, because that is what I see people using 90% of the time. But from a consumer standpoint, using reviewers to partly help influencing a purchasing decision, I feel that both scales are lacking.
Starting with the 5 scale, which I think is definitely better than the 10 scale, my main issue is the difference between rating a game 1/5 vs. 2/5. Regardless if a game gets either of these scores, the reviewer's opinion already seems to be communicating that they had a negative experience with the game. If I see a game get a 2/5, it tells me the reviewer did not like the game.
I feel that the 10 scale is the worst, as the balance feels completely off with how practically all reviewers seem to handle it. Anything from a 1/10 to a 5/10 tells me the reviewer didn't like the game. Is there really much value in differentiating what makes a 1/10 vs. a 3/10? Is it important to have so many different levels of "bad"?
Wouldn't a 4 scale system make more sense? A 4 scale system would not necessarily manifest similarities between an educational grading scale, as 5 and 10 scales seem to. It is slightly more adaptive than a thumb up/thumb down system, as you can differentiate between good and really good. The 2/4 feels different enough from a 1/4 in communicating a mediocre experience vs. a negative experience.
To highlight some questions:
Do you think there is an important distinction between reviewers giving a game a 1/5 vs. a 2/5? Is it important to have the range of 1/10 through 5/10 in communicating a negative experience?
Do you think the aspect of giving a game a number score has any inherit benefit over reviews that do not use any numbers or stars? Do you prefer reviews that do not use a number scale?