How we actually decide a rating

People ask how we land on a number, and the honest answer is that it's a lot of arguing. There's no spreadsheet with a magic formula. A rating is a judgement call we try to back up in the review itself.

We weigh how a game feels over time, not just at launch. Something that's fun for an hour but hollow afterwards gets marked down. Something with a rough start that blooms later gets credit for the payoff.

We also factor in what a game is trying to be. A tiny casual puzzle and a sprawling strategy game aren't judged on the same scale. We ask whether it did its own job well, not whether it did someone else's.

If two of us disagree strongly, we play more until one of us changes their mind or we settle somewhere in between. The number is just shorthand. The real review is the words around it.