Reviews at Jay Respawns use a 10-point scale with one decimal point. Scores reflect the complete product at launch, including performance on consumer hardware, monetization structure, and value for the asking price. A 7 is a good game. A 5 is average, not bad. The full scale is used.
The Scale
10 — Exceptional. Defines or advances its genre. A rare score.
9 — Excellent. Highly recommended. Minor issues that do not affect the overall experience.
8 — Great. A strong game worth buying at full price.
7 — Good. Enjoyable with some notable problems. Worth buying, often on sale.
6 — Above average. More good than bad, but issues significant enough to affect the experience.
5 — Average. Has genuine problems alongside its strengths. Neither a recommendation nor a warning.
4 — Below average. More problems than strengths. Difficult to recommend.
3 — Poor. Fundamental issues throughout. Only for players with a specific interest in the subject matter.
2 — Bad. Broken systems or severe content problems. Hard to justify at any price.
1 — Terrible. Unplayable or fundamentally dishonest about what the product is. A rare score.
What Scores Cover
Gameplay — Core mechanics, controls, systems depth, and how progression is structured. Whether the game does what it sets out to do at a mechanical level.
Content — Story, mission design, replayability, and length relative to the asking price. A 6-hour game at $70 is judged differently than a 6-hour game at $20.
Performance — Frame rate stability, bugs, and optimization across the hardware tier being reviewed. Reviews are conducted on consumer hardware, not high-end review rigs. PC reviews run on a Ryzen 7 / RTX 3060 unless otherwise stated.
Value — Price versus content delivered, DLC practices, and live-service monetization model. Games that require additional purchases to access content present at launch, or that use predatory loot mechanics, have that reflected in the score.
On Review Copies
Games are reviewed on retail copies unless a review copy is provided by the publisher. When a review copy is provided, it is disclosed at the top of the review. It does not affect the score.
On Monetization
Aggressive monetization that affects the core experience is scored accordingly. A game is reviewed as a complete product at its launch price. If that complete product requires additional spending to function as intended, the final score reflects it.
On Score Inflation
Scores are not adjusted upward for development team size, budget, ambition, or how much the reviewer wanted to like the game. A 5 means average. A 7 means good. The scale means what it says.