Review Code

As we move forward with this project, we figured that we should give you a peek behind the scenes into how we operate. Let you know how we do things so that we can stay as transparent as possible. This code is of course prone to change over time, but we pledge to do our best to abide by this set of rules as much as we can. This is how we create our reviews, and this document is in the hands of all of our reviewers during the process of them writing a review. As always, if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns, please contact us at contact@deathofthecritic.com

What Do We Review?

Everything is fair game to us in terms of reviewing. Movies, books, comics, television, games, albums, mixtapes, etc.

However, we do not review products until they are officially released or are complete. That means no trailers, betas, early access, preview, etc. The also means that television shows are reviewed as a season as opposed to on an individual episode basis, and comics are reviewed as storylines, not as individual issues. This allows us to cover the entirety of a storyline in a review.

Generally we do not review singles, with few exceptions, like when a song is a true single that is not to be released in an album.

We do accept review copies of titles, and this information is disclosed in a review.

How Do We Review?

Our review process varies depending on the type of media that is being reviewed, and will change if we receive review copies of a piece. Generally we obtain our review copies on our own at launch, which means that are reviews will be published later than other outlets. From the time of release, we give ourselves a one-week timeline to play/listen before we post our reviews.

Movies can and will be reviewed much quicker, often the same day or the next day after we see them.

There is no requirement for our reviewer to finish a game before review, but if they do not, this information is disclosed in their review, and the reviewer must be able to demonstrate adequate familiarity with the piece and be able to defend their score.

All reviews are subject to being updated as new information comes to light. If a review is updated or a score is changed, this will be noted in the review.

Our Review Scale:

Our review scale can be seen below. In the case of exceptionally low or high scores (0/0.5 or 5) our reviewer is expected to be able to defend their position to at least one editor of the site before the review can be published.

0.0 - Does not work for our reviewer. Unfinished. The worst available at the time.
0.5 -
Terrible. A waste of time. Few, if any, redeemable qualities.
1.0 –
Bad. Should not experience
1.5 –
Poor. Has a good idea or two, but they are overshadowed.
2.0 –
Mediocre. There are better things to do. Forgettable.
2.5 - Completely Average
3.0 –
Good. Genre fans would enjoy. Good outweighs the bad.
3.5 –
Great. Stands out in its genre.
4.0 –
Excellent. One of the best current examples within its genre. You should experience it.
4.5 –
Amazing. One of the better titles of the year. Deserves to be experienced.
5.0 -
The best available at the time. You must experience this title.

Our Review Database:

A sheet of all of our reviews can be found below. This sheet contains information on when the review was published, who wrote the review, and the score they gave to the game.

Our Review Database
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