13 votes

Is there an equivalent of IMDB for video games? Would you recommend one?

Preferably a website where I can make my own lists, comments, ratings, etc. And what about an equivalent to the wonderful Advanced Title Search?

23 comments

  1. [12]
    Bauke
    (edited )
    Link
    Don't know if you can make your own lists and stuff, but IGDB exists. Edit: I also just remembered Backloggd, which is like Letterboxd but for games. And also HowLongToBeat.

    Don't know if you can make your own lists and stuff, but IGDB exists.

    Edit: I also just remembered Backloggd, which is like Letterboxd but for games. And also HowLongToBeat.

    7 votes
    1. [5]
      lou
      Link Parent
      Looks great. I don't like that it requires a Twitch account, but c'est la vie. I've used HowLongToBeat many times! I didn't know it served as a general-purpose game catalog. I'll check it out, thanks!

      Don't know if you can make your own lists and stuff, but IGDB exists.

      Looks great. I don't like that it requires a Twitch account, but c'est la vie.

      I've used HowLongToBeat many times! I didn't know it served as a general-purpose game catalog. I'll check it out, thanks!

      2 votes
      1. [4]
        cfabbro
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        If it's a cataloging you're looking for, have you considered downloading Playnite? It's a library manager that can consolidate everything you own on all the various digital platforms, and also has...

        If it's a cataloging you're looking for, have you considered downloading Playnite? It's a library manager that can consolidate everything you own on all the various digital platforms, and also has incredibly powerful search/filter/tagging/ranking/metadata options since it's meant to help manage very large libraries (including any locally installed emulators+ROMs).

        Edit: Oh, NM... I think I remember you mentioning running Linux, and unfortunately it is only available on Windows right now. :(

        4 votes
        1. [3]
          lou
          (edited )
          Link Parent
          No, not exactly. I wish to look up and create lists of games of certain kinds regardless of my ownership of them. Thanks. EDIT: it also seems to be a Windows exclusive?

          No, not exactly. I wish to look up and create lists of games of certain kinds regardless of my ownership of them. Thanks.

          EDIT: it also seems to be a Windows exclusive?

          2 votes
          1. hook
            (edited )
            Link Parent
            I have not used it in aaageees, but on Linux there is Tellico and it pull from several online sources – also for games.

            I have not used it in aaageees, but on Linux there is Tellico and it pull from several online sources – also for games.

            2 votes
          2. cfabbro
            (edited )
            Link Parent
            You can add games you don't actually own to Playnite, but it's not so great at making lists since you have to create them using tags or categories, which isn't ideal. So, yeah, Backloggd is...

            You can add games you don't actually own to Playnite, but it's not so great at making lists since you have to create them using tags or categories, which isn't ideal. So, yeah, Backloggd is probably most like what you're looking for.

            1 vote
    2. cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      There is also PCGamingWiki and LaunchBox's Database as well, though they're mostly for metadata.

      There is also PCGamingWiki and LaunchBox's Database as well, though they're mostly for metadata.

      1 vote
    3. [5]
      lou
      Link Parent
      Between backlogged and IGDB, any preference? Why one instead of the other?

      Between backlogged and IGDB, any preference? Why one instead of the other?

      1 vote
      1. Whom
        Link Parent
        Backloggd is a rating and review site which uses IGDB's database and tries to stick to Letterboxd's design philosophy. IGDB is a database which happens to have support for a few social features...

        Backloggd is a rating and review site which uses IGDB's database and tries to stick to Letterboxd's design philosophy. IGDB is a database which happens to have support for a few social features but is mostly just the database itself. I wouldn't be surprised if most of their userbase is Backloggd users who join to add things to the DB so they show up on Backloggd...I know that's what I do.

        Glitchwave has a few excellent things about it (particularly its genre tags and chart sorting which it carries over from RYM), but honestly its development has been at a standstill for a very long time and I wouldn't recommend it as anything more than a supplement for finding things.

        4 votes
      2. [3]
        Bauke
        Link Parent
        I wouldn't know, I haven't used either of them for this kind of purpose. But from a glance I'd probably say Backloggd, if what you're looking for is cataloguing and stuff.

        I wouldn't know, I haven't used either of them for this kind of purpose. But from a glance I'd probably say Backloggd, if what you're looking for is cataloguing and stuff.

        2 votes
        1. [2]
          lou
          (edited )
          Link Parent
          Well, from a very quick glance at both websites it seems that Backloggd has a lot more member participation in regard to ratings. On Backloggd, Cyberpunk 2077 was reviewed 970 times, which is a...

          Well, from a very quick glance at both websites it seems that Backloggd has a lot more member participation in regard to ratings. On Backloggd, Cyberpunk 2077 was reviewed 970 times, which is a lot more than on IGDB, with 443 member ratings. IGDB has a critic score but I have no idea where they got it from.

          On the other hand, IGDB has an Advanced Search with many parameters. It seems useful, even though the "keywords" functionality looks broken (maybe I'm not using it right).

          Backloggd reports 106,305 games in its database. IGDB reports 213,491. That's 107'186 more. Backkloggd gets its games from IGDB, so I'm not sure why it lists fewer games. Maybe those 107'186 are bogus?

          Finally, Backloggd allows me to add a private note for a game, which is nice. IGDB only allows me to insert public reviews, it seems.

          2 votes
          1. lou
            (edited )
            Link Parent
            I wish to inform any potential reader that I just discovered that IGDB is owned by Twitch, which is, in turn, owned by Amazon. Which sucks. Developers reading this: make a forever FOSS IGDB please...

            IGDB

            I wish to inform any potential reader that I just discovered that IGDB is owned by Twitch, which is, in turn, owned by Amazon. Which sucks.

            Developers reading this: make a forever FOSS IGDB please :)

            Many will be grateful.

  2. [6]
    Whom
    Link
    Thought I'd throw in my favorites of these kinds of logging / review / database sites for different kinds of art, since I really love them: Games - Backloggd for logging, referencing Glitchwave...

    Thought I'd throw in my favorites of these kinds of logging / review / database sites for different kinds of art, since I really love them:

    Games - Backloggd for logging, referencing Glitchwave for advanced sorting

    Music - rateyourmusic

    Movies - Letterboxd

    Anime/Manga - AniList, aniDB is also excellent. I'd probably use kitsu due to its open source nature if it wasn't for its community being awful and exceptionally tolerant of pedophiles.

    Visual Novels - vndb

    Interactive Fiction - ifdb

    Books - bookwyrm (librarything is okay too)


    I'd REALLY love one for non-Japanese cartoons or even just one for TV in general which is good. imdb is probably the best there is and I'm not really a fan of its lack of focus and the fact that it's owned by Amazon. I really can't stand trakt or tvtime.

    6 votes
    1. [5]
      riQQ
      Link Parent
      There are https://next-episode.net/ and https://trakt.tv/, mainly for TV but they also have movies iirc.

      There are https://next-episode.net/ and https://trakt.tv/, mainly for TV but they also have movies iirc.

      1 vote
      1. [3]
        zonk
        Link Parent
        I've been using trakt for years now, so here's a +1 from me. @Whom could probably easily use it for non-Japanese cartoons and also replace anilist/anidb and letterboxd as well (if they wanted to)...

        I've been using trakt for years now, so here's a +1 from me. @Whom could probably easily use it for non-Japanese cartoons and also replace anilist/anidb and letterboxd as well (if they wanted to) in one go (though I still use anidb because I prefer knowing which exact release of a show I've got, but just for progress tracking and staying up to date on upcoming episodes, trakt is great).

        1 vote
        1. cfabbro
          (edited )
          Link Parent
          Ditto. I even pay for Trakt VIP too, since I wanted to support the site, it's only $2/mo, and the added features are well worth it... especially Plex scrobbling, calendar notifications, and the...

          Ditto. I even pay for Trakt VIP too, since I wanted to support the site, it's only $2/mo, and the added features are well worth it... especially Plex scrobbling, calendar notifications, and the advanced filters for new show/movie discovery. Even if you don't want to pay for VIP, it's still incredibly useful though, especially their "watch now" section for each show/movie listing, which lets you know which services has them available for streaming or purchase in your country.

          1 vote
        2. Whom
          Link Parent
          I could, I just find its interface to be the worst of modern design and its particular points of focus making it more like last.fm than any of these sites. If your goal is primarily just tracking...

          I could, I just find its interface to be the worst of modern design and its particular points of focus making it more like last.fm than any of these sites. If your goal is primarily just tracking though, it's probably fine.

      2. Whom
        Link Parent
        Next Episode looks decent but also seems to lack reviews, which are really important for this kind of site imo.

        Next Episode looks decent but also seems to lack reviews, which are really important for this kind of site imo.

  3. nothis
    Link
    https://www.mobygames.com/ Breaks my heart not to see Mobygames mentioned in this thread so far (sorry if it was and I missed it). It’s really good. I know it mostly for having an obsessively...

    https://www.mobygames.com/

    Breaks my heart not to see Mobygames mentioned in this thread so far (sorry if it was and I missed it). It’s really good. I know it mostly for having an obsessively detailed archive of older games with cross-referenced developer credits. But it should have newer games, too. Not sure about lists. Definitely worth checking out, it’s my personal IMBB equivalent, I spent a lot of time on there adding stuff and hanging out in the forums when I was younger.

    5 votes
  4. Tygrak
    Link
    The rate your music people are also making rym for video games, don't know how much it is used but the site looks pretty nice https://glitchwave.com/

    The rate your music people are also making rym for video games, don't know how much it is used but the site looks pretty nice https://glitchwave.com/

    2 votes
  5. Pistos
    Link
    It's not quite what you asked for, but I thought I'd give some exposure to https://www.protondb.com/ , which serves a niche target audience, but serves it well. I use it before every Steam purchase.

    It's not quite what you asked for, but I thought I'd give some exposure to https://www.protondb.com/ , which serves a niche target audience, but serves it well. I use it before every Steam purchase.

    2 votes
  6. [2]
    Comment deleted by author
    Link
    1. zonk
      Link Parent
      Yeah, I love goodreads. I always thought there should be a "proper" site that fulfills my needs and considered starting one (and learning new web technologies along the way). But between backloggd...

      Yeah, I love goodreads. I always thought there should be a "proper" site that fulfills my needs and considered starting one (and learning new web technologies along the way). But between backloggd and igdb existing and it being a niche on top, there's just not enough people out there to start a useful alternative. I also felt the same about different kinds of teas, haha. There's just no good overview of teas and tags for their taste and ratings and ideal brewing temperature and time. Or related teas in taste. And some meta information to see where it's being grown and (mainly) exported from, etc.. Would even be trivial to monetize, since you have a product right there (e.g. add links to buy the tea the person is looking at right now). One day!

      To add to the list here in this thread and to add another one:

      Boardgames - BoardGameGeek is great :)

      2 votes
  7. hook
    Link
    There is also https://thegamesdb.net, the code of which is also released under GPL on GitHub. From what I can tell it’s community-ran, but not as populated as some other resources with corporate...

    There is also https://thegamesdb.net, the code of which is also released under GPL on GitHub.

    From what I can tell it’s community-ran, but not as populated as some other resources with corporate backing.

    2 votes