How we actually decide on a score

People ask what a 4.3 means versus a 4.6, so here's the honest answer: our scores are one person's summary of a lot of hours, and they're subjective on purpose.

We weigh a few things. How does it feel to control? Does it respect your time? Is it doing something worth doing? A polished game that's boring can score lower than a rough one with a spark of real personality.

We don't grade genres against each other. A cosy sim and a tactical strategy game are judged on how well they do their own job, not against some universal scale. That's why a casual tapper and a deep RPG can both sit in the fours.

The number is a shortcut. The review text is where the real opinion lives, so if you only read the score you're getting half the picture.

And scores can change. If a game gets a major update that fixes what dragged it down, we'll go back and revisit it.