How we actually decide on a score

We get asked what our numbers mean, so here's the honest version. A score isn't a vibe — it's the sum of a few things we weigh every time: how the game plays, how it treats your time, how it runs, and whether it delivers on what it promises.

Playing well is the biggest chunk. Do the controls feel right on a touchscreen? Is the pacing satisfying? Then we look at friction: intrusive ads, forced waits, confusing menus. A brilliant game buried under nagging popups loses points.

Performance matters more on phones than people admit. If a game stutters or drains the battery in twenty minutes, we note it. And finally, we judge each game against its own goals — a cozy fishing sim isn't held to the same bar as a deep tactics title.

A score in the low fours means we genuinely enjoyed it with some caveats. The high fours are the ones we keep on our phones after the review is done.