Reviews vs. Impressions - Different Strokes for Different Folks!
- Aloof Gamer
- Mar 9, 2021
- 4 min read
What's the difference and why does it matter so much?
The gaming community can have a strong sense of gatekeeping when it comes to the difference between reviews and impressions. (among other things) Some like the lightness offered by impressions, but others appreciate the deep, details that reviews offer.
Don't get me wrong, they often work harmoniously in tandem, but if you act like your impression is the "end-all, be-all", or you give a seriously dauer review, you could have people coming for your head.
What's the difference?
We'll start with Impressions. Sometimes called "first impressions" is much what it sounds like. It's the initial takeaway of a game having only played a sample portion. Some games can take 8 hours to complete, and others upwards of 200 (like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim).
Taking this into account, you can see that impression length can vary depending on the game being written about, but it will always be only a taste of the game.
Let's look at the pros & cons of Impressions:
PROS CONS
*So as a caveat, there can be spoilers in impressions, but they usually don't divulge anything that's too critical to the climax of a game (since they haven't even gotten to it yet)!
The biggest pro of Impressions is that they're concise and sort of work like ads. They're usually written by people who are leaders in their specific audiences (indie-gamers, big-box gamers, Mario fans, etc.) Lots of people use Impressions as a way to gauge if they would consider purchasing the game or not.
The cons are really where the divide shows between reviews and impressions. Impressions tend to lack detail simply because the writer doesn't have the detail to offer up.
It's like licking the frosting off of cake instead of taking a bite, you're not going to get the full flavor profile!
Also, it should be considered that bias can play a role. This is always a struggle when it comes to leaving details and information out. Think about the first time you met someone who didn't look the same as you. What was your first impression? I'm sure it was riddled (whether you like it or not) with bias. The SAME thing happens in game impressions.
Obviously, there are LOTS of things to consider when reading an Impression. How long is the game? What kind of games does this writer favor? Is there a skew showing in what games get good first impressions and which get bad first impressions? Keeping these questions in mind will help you get the most out of a first impression of a game.
Impressions can be written and published to blogs & review sites, or recorded and uploaded to YouTube, TikTok, or other social media platforms including podcasts.
Here are some recent Impressions (to give you some examples) for Valheim, a recently released indie game, released by Iron Gate Studio, that has been gaining a lot of traction in the gaming world. One that when shown to me I called "HD Minecraft".
Now let's look at Reviews. Reviews are the bread and butter of videogame literature. TONS of people write and contribute reviews to various gaming publications hoping to encapsulate what the developers set out to accomplish.
Did it meet expectations? Was it buggy and needed a ton of patches? Were you left feeling bored after completing the same types of missions over and over and over again? These are all important boxes to check when reviewing a game in full.
That being said, again, we'll weigh the pros & cons:
PROs CONS
I know, I know... I put lengthy on the cons and lots of detail on the pros, but hear me out!
The pros of reviews are that they are chock-full of detail and the writer's view on those details (deemed worthy or not). They also include warnings such as trigger warnings, warnings for spoilers, and overall age-appropriateness. This can be extremely beneficial if you're someone who is concerned about what games your child is playing or like me, and worried an animal might get hurt in the game.
I definitely can't handle any distressed doggies!
They can also help in terms of accessibility. Being prepared with the understanding of gameplay going in can help people accommodate for their gaming experience and know if they will or won't be able to play the game. Lots of developers are praised for their inclusivity more recently, but strides still need to be made.
The cons show how game reviews can be detrimental. First of all, there are spoilers out the wazoo! So if you're planning on wanting to play a game, and still want that novel, unspoiled experience, maybe an impression is the way to go. Reviews can also be very lengthy. I think the shortest one I could find today was a 20-minute read!
I barely have time to play games, I can't find another 30 minutes to read a FULL review!
Reviews are a great resource if you're researching things about a game, need accommodation, or want all the details you can get, but ultimately are a hobby in themselves. That's why I prefer to do impressions. In a world of such short attention spans, you have to value people's time.
Here are some reviews of Risk of Rain 2 by indie developer HoPoo Games that was released in March of 2019.
In conclusion, impressions and reviews clearly serve separate purposes. On one hand, you can get a "taste" of a game before really diving in and making a commitment to however many hours there are to a game, and on the other hand you can almost fully understand exactly what to expect going in with no surprises.
In our house, we're impression-people. We tend to appreciate the novel experience of playing a game and exploring. But in other homes, it may be that completing an entire game (getting all the coins, stars, achievements, missions possible) is more satisfying, and thus, reading a thorough review could be beneficial.
Just remember, it doesn't matter how you play or why, as long as you're playing!
Til' next time, later!
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