A product review is an evaluation or critique of a product by a private individual or an organization.

Its goal is to help other users decide for or against a product or support them in using the respective product. Reviews can be found in online stores like Amazon, on rating platforms or in communities such as Steam.

A review can include anything that contributes to evaluating the product. Both positive and negative.

This also applies to personal impressions and aspects that caused joy or frustration, even if they are subjective. Such experiences are explicitly allowed, provided they are clearly articulated and product-related.

Typical content includes:

• Product name and version (e.g. game title, developer, release year)
  
• Noticeable defects or issues (e.g. bugs, crashes, poor build quality)
  
• Personal experience with the product (e.g. usability, functionality, technical stability)
  
• (Factual) evaluation of features, content and quality
  
• Information on value for money
  
• Pros and cons from the user's perspective
  
• Subjective and objective opinions from users
  
• Comparison with similar products
  
• Specific notes, e.g. on DRM, System,- Hardware Requirements, Compatibility, third-party tools or terms of use
  
• Information on updates and support (e.g. how quickly issues are fixed or whether the developer responds to feedback)

Even though personal opinions are allowed, reviews should follow certain basic rules to remain factual and helpful:

• Unfounded, purely emotional statements without reference to the product (e.g. "This game is trash" with no explanation)
  
• Insults, defamation or personal attacks
  
• Off-topic content (e.g. political opinions unrelated to the product)
  
• Calls for boycott without factual or verifiable reasons
  
• Spam and advertising, promotional content, links to sales pages
  
• Misleading information, false or inaccurate claims

In short: Opinions are welcome. They should simply be expressed respectfully, be product-related and based on clear reasoning.

Games and software products may collect personal data and share it with third parties. This practice is usually addressed in privacy policies, but users rarely read or understand them.

On the part of developers and publishers there are repeated cases where this issue receives little to no attention. In addition, customers are often not actively informed about the type, scope, and purpose of data processing. Whether this is intentional or due to ignorance remains unclear for now.

The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) grants users the right to:

• Transparency (Art. 13 GDPR)
  
• Information on data processing (Art. 14 GDPR)
  
• Right of access, deletion, and objection (Art. 15–17, Art. 21 GDPR)

A factual review can inform users about data practices, integrated third parties, tracking mechanisms, or lack of opt-out options. This information can help current users and potential buyers make informed decisions.

In addition to data protection topics, other aspects that are still rarely considered can also be included in a game review. These include, among others:

• Accessibility: Information on whether a game offers features such as color correction options, customizable controls, support for alternative input devices or high-quality subtitles.
  
• Ethical aspects: Evaluation of critical issues such as questionable monetization models, including loot boxes, pay-to-win systems or Skinner-box mechanics.
  
• Educational potential: Assessment of whether a game can promote skills such as strategic thinking, problem-solving abilities, knowledge of historical, societal or cultural topics.

Especially in the areas of accessibility and educational potential, there is still a lack of well-founded information.

It may happen that developers or other users reject or criticize a fact-based and objectively written review.

As long as a review is truthful, understandable and formulated respectfully, it remains permissible.

Platforms like Steam explicitly allow both positive and critical reviews, as long as they comply with the community guidelines. Critical opinions are protected under the right to freedom of expression, provided they do not include false claims or insults.

If readers respond with abusive language, insults or harassment, it is recommended to stay calm and either ignore these incidents or if necessary, document them (e.g., as a screenshot or text file) and report them to the platform’s support team.

A product review is not limited to just "fun and entertainment." Technical aspects, data privacy, user rights, hardware requirements, as well as personal experiences and subjective impressions can also be relevant parts of a review.

As long as a review is factual, honest, and informative, it complies with the guidelines of major platforms like Steam. User reviews are a means of transparency and contribute to strengthening consumer rights.