How we actually decide a game's score

People ask what our numbers mean, so here's the honest version. A score is just shorthand for a feeling after we've played enough to judge the game fairly. The review text matters far more than the digit next to it.

We weigh a few things: how the game feels to control on a phone, whether the progression respects your time, and whether we kept wanting to come back. A gorgeous game with awful touch controls will still lose points, because it's a phone first.

We don't hand out a perfect score, because every game has something we'd change. A high rating means we had a great time and recommend it widely, not that it's flawless.

And no, a higher score never comes from a developer asking nicely. We've reviewed games we were excited about and still docked them for real problems.