How Flintcore actually rates a game

People ask us how a game lands on, say, 4.3 instead of 4.5. The honest answer is that the number comes last. We play first, argue second, and only then try to pin a figure on the experience.

We weigh a few things: does the game respect your time, do the controls feel right on a touchscreen, and does it keep inventing reasons to come back. A beautiful game with clumsy controls will lose points fast, because nothing kills a mobile game like fighting the screen.

We also try to judge games against their own ambitions. A tiny casual puzzle and a sprawling RPG aren't competing in the same race, so we score each against what it set out to do. A focused little game done well can beat a bloated epic.

So when you see a 4.1, it isn't a failing grade. It usually means we liked it a lot but found one thing holding it back. The written review always matters more than the digit next to it.