Reviewing any service before you use it is a good idea, and while we appreciate not everyone might have the time or resources to scroll through hours and pages of reviews, seeking out the top online review sites can save you time and money in the long run.
If you find a trustworthy and efficient site, cutting right to the point of their review, you’ll be able to gather all your information quickly and draw your own conclusions. Depending on the type of gaming you enjoy, whether it’s video gaming or casino gaming, you want to ensure that you’re seeking out the top providers to maximize your overall experience.
Top casino gaming review sites
Ensuring the casino review site you use is impartial and features many reviews is a key component. Sometimes, casino review sites will use their review to mask an advert for one of their casino clients.
While this doesn’t mean the casino isn’t trustworthy or worth using, the review isn’t going to be subjective. Due to the global nature of the digital casino industry, online casinos reviews in Ireland mirror ones that operate from jurisdictions right across the rest of Europe and further afield. Top sites use the a variety of measuring tools, which include but are not limited to:
- Quality of customer service: Are there live chat, phone number, and e-mail options?
- Range of games available: This includes live games, virtual slots and table games.
- Reputation in the casino gaming community: What is their reputation like among casino gamers and the wider industry?
- Security: Has the site been subject to a leak or cyberattack? Do they use 128- or 256-bit encryption?
- Licensing: Is the platform fully licensed to provide services in your country?
- Online reviews: What do the social media comments say about their service? Do people perceive them as fair, or do the comments suggest otherwise?
Gaming sites: The importance of subjectivity
As we touched on when we discussed casino gaming, some gaming review sites may have ulterior motives, with embedded marketing paid for by a game developer to review their game more favorably. Destructoid and GameInformer are two solid examples of properly constructed gaming review sites.
For instance, Destructoid’s Red Dead Redemption 2 review was more rounded and factored in plenty of smaller negatives and cons of the game than mainstream media reviews that waxed lyrical about the landmark Rockstar release. As far as gaming design companies go, they don’t get much bigger or more revered than Rockstar, and some gaming review companies can get sucked into the magical orbit of every game they release being the greatest of all time.
Rockstar changed gaming forever, and they will undoubtedly continue to do so — but Destructoid accentuating the positives while not trying to bury the negatives is the reason they’re one of the premier gaming review sites.
We’re not saying that gaming reviewers must sit on the fence constantly and criticize. However, not pandering entirely to the biggest names in the industry shows that sites like Destructoid and GameInformer are in the business of providing unbiased and transparent reviews. This is likely why they’re often voted as two of the best gaming review sites and have been for the last several years — 2024 is unlikely to be any different.
Other elements of top gaming sites
Given that the video gaming industry is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, developers who can create top titles and ship them out are in a phenomenal position to become globally successful. Online console gaming connects people worldwide, and gaming review sites are just one of many facets that enable and sustain the growth of the gaming community.
Gaming review sites must allow gamers to connect as well and aim to harness a community. Whether they have forums on their sites, comment sections on their reviews, YouTube channels or a combination of all three. Allowing comments and constructive feedback shows they’re not in the business of only accommodating one gaming type or one designer.
There’s also a personal touch too. If you like the way a particular reviewer writes or the positives that they focus on, then you’ll be more inclined to seek out their thoughts on the latest gaming release, so that’s another thing to consider.
Conclusion
The value of entertainment is crucial in our lives, and video gaming has become such a colossal part of this globally over the last 30 years. Online gaming review sites aren’t in short supply, so by considering everything we’ve touched on today, you should have enough information to be able to seek out the ones that you feel best meet your needs.
While subjectivity is essential, so is personal opinion. You may personally enjoy one genre of game, how a specific reviewer approaches their review, or how a game developer constructs their games. As a result, you’re more likely to look for these types of reviews and games, but starting off with some of the most prominent and well-established will give you a feel for the sort of thing you most enjoy, and then you can tailor your approach accordingly.