Over the last year we've gotten a number of REALLY good reviews for our game The Magical Land of Yeld. But when I ask people who buy our game, they seldom say they found it because of a review. Or even that they watch reviews at all.
Instead, more often I hear that people try games out based on release (or pre-release) promotion on Youtube channels and various news sites. If they check out a review, its often after they've actually bought or played the game. They want to see what other people think of it now that they've already invested in it.
An interesting side effect of this is I often have people tell me they tried a game and didn't like it because it wasn't what they expected. Which is fine. That's happened to all of us, and not every game is made with every player in mind. But I feel like reviews (whether from a news site, youtube, a the review section on a store or a friend) are actually a really good tool for figuring out if you're going to like a game before you buy it. Getting hyped by a video for an upcoming game that you think you're going to love only to have it be a 5th edition clone or a flavorless PBTA hack is pretty common. I mean, its happened to me!
Similarly, so often in comments for reviews of our game I see people (who I think didn't watch the review) say "This isn't the kind of game I like. I only like games that do this or this!" and I think to myself "That's what Yeld does. The review literally says that's what Yeld does! if you watch the review that you're commenting on you'd see this is actually the game you want!"
OTOH, good reviews are certainly working well for some games. Including a lot of great games that really deserve the attention. Which is great! But to be honest, I get a little jealous. I hate that, but I do. We'll have an amazing review that says:
"Its one of the most cleverly designed games I've ever encountered. Fine tuning its accessibility without ever compromising. Its accessible, but why should that mean it isn't deep? Its easy to pick up and GM, but why should that mean there isn't a complex magic system? Its a simple world with evil villains to defeat, but why should that mean it isn't oozing with character, humor and lore? Its made to be enjoyable for young people, but why should that mean it isn't enjoyable for me?"
...and it just doesn't move the needle at all. No one cares. The review comments have people recommending Pathfinder to each other.
I think this all might be very frustrating for reviewers too. At Gencon this year I spoke to a reviewer who bought Yeld and liked it a lot, but decided not to review it because they were afraid no one would watch the video, and they couldn't really invest time like that even for a game they liked. They had to focus on games they knew would bring reviews. I understand that, even though its like a stab in the gut. I've also seen reviewers who do go out of their way to invest the time to make videos about our game, only to have that video be one of the least viewed on their channel. Frustrating for all of us. I want our game to be worth a reviewers time and effort.
To be honest, I'm never exactly sure what to do with a good review. I mean, i share them everywhere I can think of. I include them in our press releases and newsletters. They are almost always my least interacted with and shared posts. That's no ones fault, but clearly they're not catching attention when I post them.
I brought this up with a designer friend a few weeks ago and they told me that the problem isn't reviews, but that we have to do a better job telling people what our games are about, and promoting them.
Yes?
Isn't that what reviews are for?
Anyway, here's some really nice reviews. You should support these channels, if you can! They're doing cool stuff and taking chances on smaller games.
You can get The Magical Land of Yeld as a book or pdf from my site, DrivethruRPG, itch.io, Tabletop Bookshelf or IPR!
