You’ve read the reviews, you’ve seen the scores, and maybe you’re wondering how we come to our occasionally deranged conclusions. It’s a fair question.

Transparency is everything to us. If you can't trust the person behind the keyboard, the score at the bottom of the page is meaningless. Here is a look behind the curtain at how NLM tackles the games you love, hate, and love to hate.

Who Actually Plays This Stuff?

Our team isn't made up of randoms pulled off the street. We are in the trenches of the game industry: developers, game design students, and QA veterans. This gives us a unique perspective. We have an understanding of the struggles of development, but also a "Trash detector" finely tuned by years of studying game mechanics. We know the difference between a budget limitation and a lazy cash grab.

Free Keys & Ethics Statement

Do developers send us free games? Yes. Sometimes developers and publishers provide NLM with "review keys" (complimentary copies) of games before they launch so we can have a review ready for you on release day.

Does this buy them a good score? Absolutely not. A free key is not a bribe; it is a press pass. It gets us in the door to do our job, which is to tell you whether a product is worth your time and money.

• Transparency: We clearly state at the bottom of every review if a copy was provided by the publisher.

• Independence: Publishers do not see our reviews before they go live, and they have no say in the score.

• The Reality: If a game is a masterpiece, we’ll shout it from the rooftops. If it’s a broken mess held together by duct tape and marketing hype, we are going to tell you exactly that. Our loyalty is to you, the reader, not a marketing department’s quarterly targets.

The NLM Scoring Scale

We don't use a random number generator. Our 1–10 scale is designed to answer one question: "Should I play this?"

Here is exactly what those numbers mean:

1 – 2: Irredeemable Garbage The "How did this get released?" tier. These games are fundamentally broken or offensively bad. They barely function as software, let alone entertainment. Avoid at all costs, even if it’s free.

3 – 4: The Hard Pass Absolute nonsense. It might function technically, but it is devoid of fun, soul, or effort. Boring, frustrating, and a waste of drive space. Life is too short for these games.

4.5 – 5.4: Only for the Patient Deeply flawed. There is something here, but you have to dig through a mountain of bugs, bad design, or lack of content to find it. Only recommended if you are desperate for this specific genre and have the patience of a saint.

5.5 – 6.5: The Threshold (Barely Passing) Read the text carefully. This is the "mixed bag" tier. These games work and have some fun moments, but they come with significant caveats. If you love the genre, you might have fun on a sale. If you’re casual, look elsewhere.

6.6 – 7.9: Good, But Rough The "Diamond in the Rough." These are good games with glaring issues that cannot be ignored. Maybe the story is weak, or the optimization is poor, but the core gameplay loop is satisfying. Not perfect by any stretch, but worth playing.

8 – 8.9: Great The NLM Recommendation. Really good games. They have small issues or minor annoyances, but nothing that ruins the experience. These are high-quality titles that deliver exactly what they promised.

9 – 9.5: Incredible Near perfection. These games are firing on all cylinders. The gameplay, art, and sound design come together beautifully. Any complaints we have are nitpicks. If you have the money, buy this game.

9.6 – 10: Masterpiece The Industry Shifters. We don't hand these out often. A 10 doesn't mean a game has literally zero flaws (nothing is perfect), but it means the game is a landmark achievement. These are the trendsetters, the labor-of-love indie darlings, and the games that define a generation.