How we actually decide on a rating

People sometimes ask what the difference between a 4.2 and a 4.5 really is, and the honest answer is that it's a conversation, not a formula. We don't add up category scores. Instead, two or three of us who've played the game talk it through and land on a number that matches how we feel after the fact.

That said, there are things that always weigh heavily. Does the game stay fun past the first hour? Do the controls get out of the way? Is it respectful of your time? A game can be rough around the edges and still score well if the core is a joy.

We also try to rate within genre. A relaxing puzzle isn't competing with a sprawling RPG — they're trying to do different things, and we judge each against its own ambitions.

None of this is science, and we say so. The number is a shorthand; the words above it are where the real review lives.