How we actually test a game before we score it

People sometimes ask how long we play before scoring a game, and the honest answer is: until we stop learning new things about it. For a short arcade title that might be two evenings. For an RPG it can be a full week.

We test on more than one device on purpose. A game that runs beautifully on a flagship can stutter or crowd the UI on a budget phone, and plenty of readers are on the latter. If controls fall apart on a smaller screen, that goes in the review.

We also try to reach the parts most players won't — the mid-game slump, the difficulty spike, the point where a free game usually starts nagging. That's where a lot of titles reveal their real character.

Only after all that do we settle on a number, and we argue about it. A score is a summary of hours of play, not a first impression, and we'd rather publish late than publish shallow.