How we actually test the games we review

People ask how we land on a rating, so here's the honest version. Every game gets real play time before anyone writes a word. For a short arcade like Coin Games that might be a week of commutes. For an RPG it's a lot longer.

We test on more than one device on purpose. There's a drawer of older and mid-range phones in the office, because a game that only runs well on a flagship isn't much use to most readers. If a game stutters on a three-year-old phone, we'll say so.

We note controls first, because that's where most mobile games live or die. Then pacing, then how the game behaves when you step away and come back. Does it respect your time or does it nag you?

Scores are subjective and we won't pretend otherwise. A 4.5 from me is still one person's opinion after a lot of hours. We try to explain the why behind every number so you can judge whether our taste matches yours.

And no, nobody pays us to raise a score. If a game is average we'll call it average, even if the developer is lovely in emails.