Notice:

As of our “Celeste” review published on February 6th, 2018, we have officially changed the review scale of the website.

Irrational Passions uses a 20-point scale, meaning it is a scale a score of 1 to a score of 10, with every .5 decimal place along the way. From 1, to 1.5, to 2, to 2.5, etc.

This change in format is effective immediately from February 6th, 2018 going forward. We spent a long time deciding this and it was the favor to the majority of our editors the make the change. While it’s not a huge change, not that all reviews between 2012 and January 2018 are reflective of a 10 point scale, and everything after then our new, 20 point scale.

(Yes, this is still current as of 2023)

NOTICE: As of our Sine Mora review in 2012, our review format has drastically changed. We now have a simple 1-10 score format with a “Likes” and “Dislikes” section. Our review format has changed and evolved over the year, but not it is just a general review with closing thoughts at the end.

Our older review format (as you’ll find in some of our oldest reviews) is listed below. Note that the general idea of each level or “score” of our review format carries over into our current format. Also note that “10” was not our maximum score previous to our Sine Mora review, it was more of our “9.5” score, as our scale was on a 1 – 11 format. As such, we have adjusted those scores to reflect the original opinion of the text, and of the reviewer to 9.5, so as not to cause confusion.

Also note that all reviews after Sine Mora are on a 10pt, 1 – 10 format, up until February 6th 2018.

REVIEW FORMAT PREVIOUS TO SINE MORA:

Our Review Format is pretty simple. There are two kinds of reviews, Retail/Downloadable and Indie/DLC. One format is our personalized 11-point scale format, and other is a five-star recommendation review.

Some of our older reviews have our older formats, which are pretty self explanatory, so I am just going to stick to the current review format.

Currently, our reviews are just a written opinion review which flows however the writer chooses, followed by a bulleted breakdown of the pros and cons of the game. Then is the score, and the closing statement from the writer.

Our scores are personalized and are as follows:

  • one – The lowest of the low. This game is so bad it doesn’t even deserve capital letters.
  • Crap – These are pieces of crap that maybe someone out of his right mind may enjoy.
  • Three – No word can describe this. It is merely a three. Oh and it probably sucks from technical and graphical issues.
  • Meh – This is just below average. Where an average game may be worth a shot, a meh is just sort of…meh.
  • Average – These games are simply average, weighing relatively equally in the good and the bad. They may be worth a shot for the fans of such.
  • Passable –These games impressed somehow, and put itself above average. It had something that an average game was lacking, and threw itself beyond the title of “just another game”.
  • Good – These are some good games here and are definite picks for anyone who may love its genre.
  • Schweet – These are some of the high tier games that clearly had good developers behind them and deserve your interest. These games may stay in our systems for weeks, and will make nerd mouths water.
  • Badass – The best of the best. The great of the greats. We think these games are fun and probably incredible. The care behind these games is visible and the game play is addictive. Put these games on your radar.
  • Awesome! – On a scale from one to Awesome! we put think these games are frickin’ awesome! There are some small flaws that will clearly be overlooked by the sheer awesomeness of the overall package. Put these at the top of your “I want” list because these are almost as good as it comes.
  • AWESOME+2 – The top of our list. This transcends our score list, and becomes a highest personal recommendation of the reviewer. It is a more personal score which states the reviewer believes it a is a game available for almost all audiences, and is something that any gamer in their right mind should check out. These games are usually different than anything on the market, and have mechanics that the reviewer considers groundbreaking or just so well off they are in need of praise. These are the best of the best and the highest recommendation we at Irrational Passions can give.

This is our scale, and I will emphasize that all reviews are the sole opinion of the reviewer in question, and are edited and critiqued by one or more members of the team. We are not perfect, we will have typos, and there may be mistakes. We are together getting better at writing and working our skill up.