NookGaming strives to publish informative reviews and other articles on games ranging from big budget titles of publishers such as Sony or Nintendo to those developed by a single-person. Our speciality lays in niche titles, including but not limited to visual novels, JRPGs and other anime-inspired games. As well as this, we cover light novels, manga, anime, hardware/accessories, and other related topics.
Ethics and Disclaimers
The concept of bias has frequently been brought up in games media. We want to try to minimize issues as much as possible. In terms of reviews, we achieve this by offering a detailed overview of the game in question, while infusing our own opinions and analysis. By their nature, reviews will not be completely objective, but this helps readers understand why we are giving certain scores or whether they are interested in the same features we’ve written about.
If one of our writers has worked on a game or has a relationship with the company developing/publishing a game, it will not be reviewed by our website even by another writer.
When a review copy is provided to us by a publisher, developer or similar, we will clearly indicate this. We pledge not to let this affect our judgement of the subject, but to use the opportunity to provide a fair and informative piece. We do not accept sponsored reviews or articles and are an independent outlet without any investment in or from other sources.
In regard to public or press-only events, similarly to review copies, will we clearly indicate when press passes or other access is provided. If any other benefit is offered such as travel or accommodation, we will carefully decide whether to accept based on the interest to our readership, and always indicate as such in coverage generated from the event.
When posting news, we ensure that we have confirmed the accuracy to the best of our capability and that the news source is legitimate. If there is even minor doubt, for example when a source is official such as an advert in a magazine but no clear statement has been made, we will indicate this clearly. In regard to leaks, we do not publish news based on these.
Statement on A.I. Generated Content
We do not publish articles generated by A.I. This included articles generated by A.I. then edited by humans.
Editorial Oversight
Each article posted will be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief or another member of senior staff before publication. Consensus from the team is sought before bringing on any new reviewers with samples of their work required to ensure quality and a probation period with additional oversight from multiple team members. Reviews by editors will check articles for spelling/grammar, type of content, potential issues with sourcing/accuracy, and more. Editors are all qualified, either having university-level qualifications in English-related subjects, or being verified by those who do.
Review Process
Overall, in the way that we do reviews, we feel the most important thing is to tell the reader not only what we think of it, but also give them enough information about the game to come to their own decision about it too. Is this something they want to buy?
Scoring System
Our scoring system is a fusion of our written thoughts with a numerical value in addition for those who value a more straightforward scoring system. We will write a blurb to quickly summarize our thoughts and whether we recommend the game or not. Our numerical system values are as such;
10: Must Buy – One of the best of the genre. Anyone who enjoys these types of games is advised to buy it.
9: Highly Recommended – Not quite a Must Buy, but certainly one of the top games available.
7 – 8: Recommended – It’s worth buying and playing this game.
4 – 6: Wait for Sale – This is worth buying, but perhaps not at full price or at launch.
2 – 3: Not Recommended – Perhaps there is some value in this game, but we certainly don’t recommend it.
1: Do Not Buy – This game launches. That’s about the only positive we can find.
We do use the full scoring scale and have rated games as low as 1 and as high as 10 on rare occasions. Our writers choose which games to cover, so we do tend to post more scores in the upper-half of the range, as most games publications do.
Sometimes we take a look at the demos of promising games or very early builds. These are considered as exempt from our rating system, though we may still give a tentative rating depending on the situation. Early Access titles that are purchasable by the general public are judged as is, though the fact that it is Early Access will be acknowledged and if the price is lower then this can be taken into consideration. Occasionally games may remain unscored for a variety of reasons.
Any Questions?
If you have any questions about our editorial policy, please feel free to reach out to us via the contact us page.