How we actually review games at Pocket Lane

People sometimes ask how we land on our numbers, so here's the honest version. Every game gets played by someone on the team for at least a few hours — longer for RPGs and strategy titles. We don't review from trailers.

We take notes as we go, focusing on how a game feels rather than a checklist of features. Controls, pacing, whether it respects your time, whether we actually wanted to keep playing. That last one matters more than anything.

Scores are relative to what a game is trying to be. A relaxed casual game like Big Bass Splash isn't judged against a sprawling RPG — it's judged on whether it nails its own goals. A 4.4 casual game and a 4.4 strategy game are both good at their jobs.

We disagree internally all the time, and that's healthy. The final score usually comes out of an argument. If you ever think we got one wrong, tell us — we read every message.