How we actually test a game before we write about it

People ask how long we play before reviewing. The honest answer: as long as it takes to hit the wall where a game either opens up or reveals it has nothing left.

We install everything on real phones, including one older device, because performance matters and a lot of studios only optimize for flagships. If a game stutters on a three-year-old phone, that goes in the review.

We take notes constantly — what felt good, where we got confused, when we wanted to quit. Those raw notes become the review later. The frustrated ones are often the most useful.

At least two of us play anything that ends up in the catalogue. If we disagree, we argue it out, and that disagreement usually makes the final piece more honest.

No score gets assigned until someone has played through the mid-game, because that's where most mobile games show their true colours.