How we actually review a game at DuskBox

People ask how long we play before writing, and the honest answer is: until we have something real to say. That's usually several hours, spread across a few sessions on different days.

We always test on phones we own, not loaner devices, so the performance and battery notes reflect what a normal person would see. We check heat after a long session, note the charge drop, and pay attention to how the controls feel when we're tired or distracted.

We also try to play the way you would. Standing on transport, one-handed, with notifications interrupting us. A game that only works when you're sat perfectly still in a quiet room gets marked down for it.

Then someone who didn't play it reads the draft, because it's easy to over-praise a game you've sunk hours into. Katarzyna is usually the one telling us to be tougher.