How we actually test the games we review

People ask how long we play a game before writing about it, and the honest answer is: it depends, but never five minutes. A short arcade game might get a few hours; an RPG can eat a week before we feel qualified to say anything useful.

We test on three phones on purpose. One is a current flagship, one is a solid mid-ranger, and one is an old device I refuse to retire. If a game only runs well on the flagship, that goes in the review, because most readers aren't holding a flagship.

We track the boring stuff too: battery drain over thirty minutes, download size, whether it works offline, and how pushy the game is about interruptions. These details rarely make trailers but shape whether you keep a game installed.

Scores come after all of that, and they're a team discussion, not one person's mood. We argue, sometimes for a while, and the number reflects where we land.