I'm a sucker for a great game review. I'm that guy who still gets Game Informer mailed to his house so I can read it on the toilet. I was the kid that pored over every page of every Nintendo Power magazine. Yeah, that's me.
Over the past few years, with the proliferation of Steam, the user-generated game review has become, at best, a comical footnote. Expert review outlets still exist in the digital age, but getting into legit game journalism is like getting into professional sports: you may have the chops, but unless you're in the top 1% of 1%, it's a career that won't pay the bills.
Of course, on the other end of the spectrum, things are worse. Politicized review bombing, one-liners, and ascii-art of people defecating on the developer's name is the meat and potatoes of the Steam review ecosystem. Sure you can find an in-depth review somewhere within the drek, but even then, the options available to the reviewer are limited and unwieldy, and causes them to stop short of a truly worthwhile read. In other words, I don't expect a quality review from the same place where I buy the game these days.
Why Even Write a Review?
Part of the problem is incentive. There is none, really, other than the soft chuckles or fleeting admiration of your peers on Steam. I find this to be unfortunate because, to me, a great game review should be rewarded. Even more so, a great game review should take its rightful place among other great game reviews.
Hence, the creation of this site. What better way to reward great game reviews, than with new games to review? This way, everybody wins. Whereas before a good review would only benefit the reader and developer, now it becomes currency for the writer as well.
What's in it for YOU?
Obviously for you, the author, the takeaway is a free game for an honest opinion. Other than that, there is no catch. For myself and our crew, admittedly this is a losing proposition for a while, and then we hope to build the brand enough to start amassing a following through other media (Twitch, YouTube, etc) where we can monetize it to the point of at least recouping our costs. From there, we'll branch out, although we don't have all the details in place yet. But it's a start.
If you know me from our Minecraft group, then you already know I can be committed to a long term investment. This will be the same deal. We've got eyes on the future, our fingers on the keyboard, and the will to make this happen. We're looking forward to having you along for the ride.
Sincerely,
~Serverus