Analyze Steam games as references: reviews, % positive and estimated players

A Steam page tells you more than a title

When you paste a Steam link onto the Impstash board, the card shows the public information from the page: title, description, genres, price, screenshots and trailer. For a released game it adds the review count, the percentage of positive reviews and an estimate of the number of players, clearly presented as an estimate. These figures are a starting point for comparison, not a verdict.

1. Pick five to eight close games, not only hits

Look for games that share your main mechanic or your production scope. For Dicebound, the fictional dice roguelike: Dicey Dungeons, Slice & Dice, but also more modest games. A sample made only of hits gives you a distorted view. Add quieter games to see what happens when a close idea reaches fewer players.

2. Read reviews as a signal of perception

The percentage of positive reviews shows how the players who left a review perceived the game; the review count gives an idea of how large the audience that spoke up is. A well-liked game with few reviews and a mixed game with many reviews tell different stories. Impstash shows the figures, not the text of the reviews: read recent and negative reviews on Steam to understand what frustrates players.

3. Use the player estimate with caution

The estimate on the card is a Boxleiter-style rule of thumb: between 20 and 60 players per review. With 1,000 reviews, that gives a range of 20,000 to 60,000 players. The ratio varies with genre, price, sales and period: it gives an order of magnitude, not a sales figure or revenue. Avoid multiplying it by the price to derive a revenue number you would present as reliable.

4. Compare price, genres and release date

The card shows the price as the French Steam store presents it and the main genres; the release date is on the Steam page (the card shows it for an upcoming game). Note the price range of close games, their age and their apparent scope (length, content, team). A game released eight years ago and one released this year do not receive the same reviews. An upcoming game shows its planned date and no reviews.

5. Write down your conclusions, with your level of certainty

Write three conclusions, each marked "observed" or "assumed": a design decision to keep, a scope limit to respect, a risk to check. For example: "Observed: the best-rated dice games clearly show the dice result. Assumed: a two-minute fight is enough to test the fun." These notes then feed your brainstorming and the project direction.

A prompt to adapt to your game

Here is the information from four Steam pages of dice games close to my project Dicebound: title, genres, price, review count, percentage of positive reviews, estimated players. Compare them, separating what is observable in this data from what is a hypothesis. Say what these figures do not allow us to conclude (for example, revenue or the quality of the gameplay). Finish with three questions to check in the reviews of these games on Steam before I choose my mechanic.

Replace the references and constraints with your own. The AI’s answers are leads to review; the choice remains yours.

References and communities to keep going

• Dicey Dungeons — Dice values turned into decisions: study equipment constraints.
• Slice & Dice — Visible enemy intents: compare risk, rerolls and dice teamwork.
• Dicey Dungeons — Creator notes and videos
• r/gamedesign — To discuss mechanics, rules, and design trade-offs.
• r/gameideas — To share a structured idea and explore its possibilities. Check the rules before publishing.