How we review

p.01Which games we consider

Any game that players in the UK can buy or download today on at least one mainstream platform. Big releases, small independent games and phone games are judged in the same way.

p.02How the shortlist forms

Reader suggestions, games we keep recommending to friends and quieter releases share one shortlist. Games with a clear idea and a distinct identity rise to the top. No one can pay to be on it.

p.03How we play

At least one of us plays each game to the credits where it has them, or long enough to understand its whole shape where it does not. Online and team games are played with friends and with strangers. If we cannot play a game properly, we do not review it.

p.04What a rating weighs

• The idea: what the game sets out to do and how firmly it holds on to it.
• The feel: controls, pacing, difficulty and how good it is to improve.
• The craft: art, sound, performance and stability.
• The welcome: difficulty options, subtitles, remapping, comfort settings and how easy it is for someone new to start.

p.05From rating to shelf

One editorial rating out of five, in tenths, decides the shelf band shown on each case:

• Glass case (from 4.7): Among the best games we have played. Make room for it.
• Eye level (from 4.4): Excellent, with a small caveat or two.
• Main shelf (from 4.0): Very good for the right player; the case file says who.
• Bottom shelf (below 4.0): For fans of the genre, rough edges and all.

p.06Stop points and costs

Every case file names a stop point, a natural place to end a session, and what a game can cost after the first purchase. We point out premium currencies, seasonal passes, expansions and paid random items whenever a game has them.

p.07Session and mood

The session line on a case comes from facts we record: the usual shape of a session (short, one long evening or best with friends) and the usual mood. Neither ever changes a rating.

p.08What we never do

No paid placements, no sponsored ratings, no invented player numbers and no reviews written from trailers or press releases.

p.09Keeping reviews current

Links and platforms are checked regularly. When a big update changes how a game plays, we play it again before touching its rating.