About

Who We Are

Keiran Grant

Keiran is a proud Scotsman who has a solidified interest in gaming. As a lifelong Xbox player, some of his favourite games include Halo, Gears of War and Ori And The Will Of The Wisps, however his favorite game is Hollow Knight. His goal is to one day work in something to do with tech, either gaming or cloud computing.

Tyler Miller

Tyler is an avid gamer with a deep passion for the medium and industry, with the goal of becoming a part of games media. He’s been a lifelong PlayStation owner, but also plays Nintendo and Xbox games. And although Kingdom Hearts II is no longer his favorite game, the series is his favorite one and he could talk about it all day long.

What Is Play To Win?

Play To Win is a gaming site hoping to deepen your knowledge of the gaming industry, primarily through our weekly podcast discussing the week’s gaming news. We also upload a video on Fridays that can range from a review, to an opinion piece, or something else related to gaming. Here on our site, we’ll also be writing pieces every so often about topics in the games industry that we may want to share our thoughts on.

The Play To Win Podcast goes live on Mondays at 1pm ET / 6pm UK. Our additional weekly videos go live on Fridays at 6pm UK/1pm ET.

Review Policy

Here at Play To Win, we take reviewing games very seriously. No developer, publisher or third party has access to our reviews before they go live, nor do they have any creative input or influence on our review process. Reviews from other outlets also do not have any influence on our reviews, as our thoughts on the games are purely our own.

When reviewing a game, we look at all aspects of it and how they come together to create the final product. Each aspect isn’t scored on its own and then averaged out to create the final score. Rather, they all contribute to what we feel is the correct score that the game deserves. Games are played to completion before being reviewed and ample time is given to the different modes that a game may have.

Games are scored on a half-point scale, with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest. This makes our reviews and scores as focused and clear as possible, while allowing flexibility in terms of placement. Below are our score ranges and what they each equate to.

Scores

10 – Outstanding

The highest honor a game can receive at Play To Win, signifying that it stands above its counterparts as one of the best in class. Any game labeled Outstanding is a rare accomplishment in game design that’s as close to perfection as one can get, and should not be missed. These games push the industry forward and will inspire others for years to come. 

9 / 9.5 – Superb

A shining example of creativity that excels at what it sets out to do. Titles we call Superb are some of the most amazing experiences you can find in gaming, and any flaws don’t detract much from the overall experience.

8 / 8.5 – Great

Great games are ones that are a blast to play from start to finish, offering a memorable experience that’s wholly deserving of your time. They have their faults though, that, while not always major, cause them to fall just short of excellence.

7 / 7.5 – Good

A game that’s Good is one that’s fun to play, and could have even been great, though its flaws can’t be ignored. It’s an enjoyable experience that you won’t regret your time with, but its shortcomings keep it from being any better than it is.

6 / 6.5 – Alright

These are the games that are fine for a weekend playthrough, but not much more. Games that are Alright can provide some moments of fun, but they’re flawed in ways that keep them from being more than just a way to pass the time.

5 / 5.5 – Mediocre

When a game doesn’t do anything particularly interesting to make itself stand out, and is overshadowed by the potential of what could have been, it’s simply a Mediocre game. These games are perfectly serviceable ways to keep yourself busy, but they’re largely forgettable and not that enjoyable.

4 / 4.5 – Bad

If a game is Bad, it’s because it’s just not fun to play for a number of reasons (i.e. technical issues, bad gameplay, poor story). It’s not the worst game out there, and does have some glimmers of potential, but your time and money are better spent on other games.

3 / 3.5 – Terrible

Terrible games are few and far between, but they do appear every so often. They offer little to no benefit to playing them and are painful to experience. Unless you have a compelling reason to, you should look elsewhere.

2 / 2.5 – Awful

Any game labled as Awful is one of the worst games that you could possibly play. They barely work and and are a truly dismal experience that doesn’t provide any sort of enjoyment.

1 / 1.5 – Abysmal

Reserved for the fundamentally broken and unplayable, Abysmal games are the absolute worst of the worst. They aren’t worth your time or money and should be avoided at all costs.