How we actually score games at Iris Lab

People ask what our ratings mean, so here's the honest version. A number can't capture a game, but it's a quick signal, and we try to keep it consistent.

We weigh how a game feels over time, not just the first impression. Something that dazzles for an hour and then turns into a grind loses points. Something modest that we keep reinstalling gains them.

Two of us play everything, and we compare notes before settling on a score. If we disagree, we argue it out, and sometimes the disagreement itself ends up in the review because it says something useful.

No score here is influenced by a studio. We don't take payment for coverage, and nobody sees a number before it's published. It's just what we think after putting in the hours.