How We Actually Score a Game at Nimbus Lab

People ask what the difference between a 4.1 and a 4.5 is. Honestly, it's a judgment call, and we'd be lying to pretend it's a formula. But there is a rough shape to how we think.

We start with the core loop: is the main thing you do actually fun after an hour? Then we weigh controls, pacing, how it respects your time, and whether it runs well on mid-range phones. A brilliant game that stutters on anything but a flagship loses points.

A high score doesn't mean a game is for everyone. Hollow Lantern scored well and it's three hours long with no replay value. That's fine, because we score what a game sets out to do, not what we wish it did.

Treat our numbers as a starting point, then read the paragraphs. The words carry the real opinion; the number is just the shorthand.