How we actually score a game

People sometimes ask why a fun little game gets a 4.3 while a more ambitious one lands a 4.6. The honest answer is that our scores are relative to what a game is trying to be, not to some universal ideal.

We judge a casual tap game on whether it's a good casual tap game — fast, clean, pleasant. We judge an RPG on depth, story and progression. Comparing the two directly wouldn't be fair, so the number sits next to a review that explains the context.

Before anyone writes a score, we agree on a few questions: Did we want to keep playing? Did the controls get in the way? Did it waste our time? The rating falls out of those answers, not the other way around.

So read the words, not just the number. The number is a shorthand; the review is where the real verdict lives.