How we actually decide on a score

Readers sometimes ask why a game they love got a 4.1 instead of a 4.8, so it's worth explaining how we land on a number. Short version: the score reflects how the game holds up over real playtime, not how flashy the first ten minutes are.

We weigh the core loop most heavily. Is the thing you do over and over actually fun by hour three? A game can have gorgeous art and still score low if the core gets dull, and a plain-looking game can score high if the loop is tight.

Then we factor in how respectful the game is of your time and attention. Constant interruptions, aggressive pacing gates, and cluttered screens all pull a score down. Smooth performance and clean menus pull it up.

We deliberately don't give perfect scores. There's always something to improve, and a wall of 5.0s would make the ratings meaningless. If you see a 4.6 here, it means we genuinely liked the game and still found things to nitpick.