Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 84 | 30 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 99% | 95 | 68 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | – | – | 0 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 0 reviews sampled · 0 total reviews in window · weighted 0 up / 0 down · computed 5h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (23)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 85
“Despite a few bugs and oversights, The Making of Karateka has become one of my favorite releases in 2023 and should be considered unmissable. Playing this interactive documentary, packed with history and fun remastered works, can't help but make one wonder what Digital Eclipse plans next. How about a deep dive into Mechner's later work, The Last Express?”
read full review ↗ - 80
“The Making of Karateka is not for everyone, and most of its appeal will lie with older gaming generations. If you're a student of historical gaming flash points, however, it's a package that delivers the goods, and in fine form. It doesn't have anywhere near as much unique gaming content as Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration, a fact that will limit its appeal. Despite this, the two remasters are solid, the prototypes intriguing, and the content comprehensive. If you were a fan of Atari 50, The Making of Karateka will find you well.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“Anyone can make a re-release or game collection, but Digital Eclipse has shown lately that they just have it in them to make celebrations of these games.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“And then there's the games. Watching a video describing Jordan's first attempt at making a video game and then actually being able to play that build, framerate dips and all, is a remarkable experience. On their own most of the games here would be little more than curios, but presented here as they are they're a fascinating time capsule, and an enthralling window into the creative process. For anyone interested in the history of video games we can't recommend this enough.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“The Making of Karateka is essentially an interactive documentary, worth adding to your collection for a number of reasons.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“This should become the gold standard of modern processing of classic games. Many publishers will continue to bring mere ports and such, but here Digital Eclipse has shown how it should be done. It's not enough to just stretch the game to a higher resolution. Bonus materials, videos, audios, documents, photos, and various other things add tremendous value. Similarly, different versions of games, from prototypes through final releases to modern remaster, contribute as well. This is simply how it should look.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“The true shining gems from Making of Karateka however, are the remastered titles. Karateka getting a definitive remastered edition is awesome enough, but a super addicting, finalized version of Jordan Mechner’s Deathbounce? Hell yes, and the latter is definitely the game that’ll keep me coming back to this set again and again for a casual scorechase, while the Karateka titles are presented in the best sort of way that they can.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“The Making of Karateka gives you a better than good idea why Karateka was one of the most influental games of its time.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“With The Making of Karateka, Digital Eclipse shifts our perception of what videogame ‘making of’ content can entail, raising the bar for future products in this new genre of “docu-games”.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“An extraordinary interactive documentary on an industry-revolutionizing classic”
read full review ↗ - 90
“The Making of Karateka is part game collection and part documentary; a playable history of an 80s game Karateka that tells a remarkable true story in the coolest way possible.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“The Making of Karateka is a fantastic trip down memory lane, teaching you everything you never though you’d want to learn from such an iconic game and its creator. Even though the game itself isn’t exactly THAT entertaining for today’s standards, I still had a good time learning more about it, as well as its predecessor, Deathbounce. That being said, I think the collection is missing some essential versions of Karateka, such as the 16-bit, Game Boy, NES, ZX Spectrum and 2012 versions.”
read full review ↗
Pure Nintendo
Nintendo Life
The Switch Effect
Push Square
Enternity.gr
SECTOR.sk
Seafoam Gaming
SomHráč.sk
Entertainium
PS3Blog.net
IGN
WayTooManyGames…and 11 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
No patch announcements found on Steam yet.