On a Scale from One to Ten, this trope gets a rating of Subversion.

Basically, Off the Scale applied to reviews: the movie/video game/whatever has made such an impact on the reviewer that they are willing to break the usual rules of classification of their medium to rate it. The reviewer may consider the work a Dethroning Moment of Suck, Crowning Moment of Awesome, or even Headscratching Moment of "Huh?".

There are six categories:

• Still Within Bounds (but pushing it): This is discussed — which is to say, the reviewer openly admits to being tempted to go outside the established bounds of the rating system, but ultimately they adhere to the rating scale;
  • First To Hit The Limit: A subtype of this category refers to a limit (either upper or lower) that may have been alluded to, but never before reached.
• Out of Bounds: The score is simply outside the established bounds of the reviewer's usual ratings scale (compare Rank Inflation and F--; note that this may even cause the rating scale to be expanded);
• Meaningless Comparison: The score is paired with a nonsensical or unusual unit of measure, though often it's thematically relevant to whatever they're reviewing (note that a rater can use an idiosyncratic unit of measure but not qualify for this category if they make clear the scale they're using);
• Meaningless Value: The score is itself a nonsensical value (and quite often a Take That!);
• Impossible to Rate: The reviewer admits to having no idea what score to give it (this is essentially a shrug);
• Refusal to Rate: And the Logical Extreme, the reviewer simply — and usually explicitly — refuses to assign a rating at all. This can be because the reviewer found the work downright repulsive, decided that rating it would be unfair, thought the work was so personal to the artist that a rating was inappropriate, or decided that a rating was otherwise inapplicable. This could be because the work put in so little effort that it would be downright insulting to dignify it with a proper review. Sometimes overlaps with Dancing Bear, when the refusal isn't because the work is so bad, but because rating its quality would be beside the point.

May appear as part of a Critic Breakdown. Compare Readings Are Off the Scale, for when this is done with things other than reviews, or F--. Some forms of rating-breaking can involve Grade System Snark.

Examples:

Still Within Bounds ("I'd give it a zero, but I can't.")

First to Hit The Limit ("Yes, there is a Zero.")

Out of Bounds ("On a Scale from One to Ten, this one goes up to eleven.")

Meaningless Comparison ("Final Score: 7 Bananas.")

Meaningless Value ("Up Yours out of 10.")

Impossible to Rate ("What.")

Refusal to Rate ("Scores don't apply here.")