Skip to main content

We should review video games like scent reviewers rate fragrances

Like Brian Blessed's gaping maw ejected 1000 bumblebees onto your dinner table

Luocha closes his eyes and smells a flower in Honkai: Star Rail.
Image credit: HoYoverse

I've been nose-ing up a fragrance for a while now. I've owned some cheaper smellies in the past (they can be brilliant, no hate to the budget options), but I find those I've owned don't really linger for longer than, like, a couple of hours. I'm after a more expensive whiffo, something that I can pop on for special occasions (when a new Yakuza launches) and feel more confident while simultaneously perking up people's nasal cavities.

Having recently fallen down the YouTube and general research rabbithole, I've come to realise that video game review formats are all wrong. We should treat them just like scent reviewers treat bottles of Y'ur Momme De Intense. The new Assassin's Creed Shadows? Like a walk through a mossy forest, except there's a bit of pine cone stuck in your shoe and it's jabbing you in the heel.

Read the rest of this article with a premium subscription

Get a Rock Paper Shotgun Premium subscription to access this article and also enjoy ad-free browsing, our monthly letter from the editor, and discounts on RPS merch.

Ed Thorn avatar
Ed Thorn: When Ed's not cracking thugs with bicycles in Yakuza, he's likely swinging a badminton racket in real life. Any genre goes, but he's very into shooters and likes a weighty gun, particularly if they have a chainsaw attached to them. Adores orange and mango squash, unsure about olives.
Related topics