How we actually decide a rating

People ask why one game gets a 4.5 and another a 4.2 when they seem similar. The honest answer is that our ratings are a conversation, not a formula, and I want to be upfront about that.

We each play a game separately and jot down a rough score. Then we sit together and defend our numbers. Someone always disagrees, and that argument usually surfaces the thing that actually matters about the game.

We weigh a few constant things: how it feels to control, whether it respects your time, and whether it does its own genre well. A cozy sim isn't punished for lacking action, and a racer isn't punished for a thin story.

The final number is the team's shared gut feeling, rounded and honest. It's subjective, and it should be. A score is our opinion, not a measurement — treat it as a starting point for your own taste.