How we score

01The four parts

World: how rich, readable and memorable the world is to explore.

Play: how good the combat, building and moment-to-moment play feel over many hours.

Story: writing, characters and how much your choices matter.

Fair to you: whether it respects your time and money: clear stopping points, honest length, no pressure to keep paying.

02How the parts become one score

Each part is marked from 0 to 5 in tenths. The overall score is the plain average of the four, rounded to one decimal place. No part counts more than another, and there is no hidden bonus for hype, sales or brand.

The label next to a score (for example the top band) only describes the range the score falls in. It is not an award and nothing is won.

03What we never score

We do not score how much money a game makes, how many people stream it, or whether a publisher works with us. We also never mark a game up for encouraging you to play longer than you planned; we mark it down for that.

04When scores change

If a patch, a new edition or a price change makes a real difference, we replay the relevant part, update the score if needed and note the date at the bottom of the review.