We do not assign numerical scores to reviews at Rock Paper Shotgun. Some may say this is because we believe numeric scores oversimplify the diverse, personal experiences that video games provide. However, the truth is that the refurbished keyboards we receive when hired are all sticky with Marmite on the number keys, and none of us want to deal with that.
In the past, I have scored games. I must confess a shameful act of corruption: I have, on occasion, deducted 0.2% from a game’s review score because it was difficult to alt+tab out of to take notes. I make no apologies. This is an essential accessibility feature. I must access my notes document at all times to capture important impressions like “more like ASSassin’s Creed: BOREigins lmao lol.”
I recently discovered that Steam added a feature a year ago that allows users to access a notepad from the overlay tab and jot down thoughts. This feature, which can now be accessed from the web, has received positive feedback. While my initial reaction was skepticism, I realized the potential benefits, especially for games that encourage note-taking like Lorelei And The Laser Eyes or Suikoden I & II HD Remastered.
There are various use cases for this feature. For example, Redditor bugfix00 wishes they could add notes to games on their wishlist to remember why they added them in the first place. Another Redditor, Madnesis, shared their experience of pasting a screenshot into their notes resulting in a strange symbol instead of the actual screenshot. They expressed gratitude for finding a workaround but wished they had known about it earlier.
In addition to the web notes feature, the latest Steam beta update includes improvements in displaying notifications for achievements in big picture mode, fixes for video recording in Monster Hunter Wilds, and support for the 8BitDo Micro gamepad. This tiny controller may be fun to own but challenging to use, especially if you have Marmite on your fingers from the sticky keyboards.
