Mobalytics Review Policy and Scoring System

Our goal at Mobalytics is to be the all-in-one companion for every gamer. For most of our journey, this has meant helping players hone their skills and level up with guidance from Builds, Tier Lists, Stats, and more.

As our platform has expanded from just League of Legends to over a dozen supported games, our team has played and fell in love with a ton of other games that we didn’t create tools for. Behind the scenes, we’ve spent countless hours immersed in MMOs, fighting games, roguelikes, citybuilders, TCGs - you name it. 

We’re constantly debating the best games being released, analyzing trends in the industry, and giving recommendations to each other, so we decided to share our thoughts in the form of our News section. Our aim here is to give our honest reviews and recommendations to help our community decide which games are worth their money and, most importantly, their time.

Ethics and Disclosures

We do not accept payment, sponsorships, advertising, or anything else of monetary value in exchange for a review, score, or recommendation. Any paid or sponsored content will be clearly disclosed.

Our team often receives review copies, early access, and press keys directly from developers and publishers. This will never earn a game a better score nor affect the content of what's written in our reviews. In the case that a game was purchased by our team rather than provided to us by a developer, that doesn't change how we cover it. Our team will honor embargo dates, but we won't accept terms that dictate our verdict, limit what we can discuss, or require approval before publishing.

We acknowledge that Mobalytics is different than most other review sites since we build companion tools for a number of games and that sometimes involves working directly with a developer or publisher. If we review a game that is supported by our own tools or one that we have a business relationship with, it will clearly say so in the intro of a review and that relationship will have no influence on our score.

Please email [email protected] with “Game Review Request” in the title. Include the platform, release date, and how many review keys are available.

We’ll consider every game we have time for, whether big or small!

Mobalytics uses a 1-10 for all of our game reviews. Here are our definitions for each score:

Since the state of the industry is always shifting and each release can influence those that come after it, our criteria will naturally shift over time. After all, what made a game a 10 in 2004 will have different nuances than what a 10 would be in 2024.

We also aim to score every title within its proper context.

A single-player game with a once-in-a-lifetime story like Bioshock won’t be penalized for lacking endless replayability.

Spiritual successors such as Stardew Valley will be judged by both the nostalgia they evoke and the new ideas they bring to the table.

Conversely, if a high-budget multiplayer game lacks crossplay when it feels like it should, or a survival game lacks well-established QOL features, we’re going to scratch our heads.

That being said, here are some of the many things we consider in 2026:

Vision

Every year, there are new titles that transform the way we think about games and inspire new possibilities.

Their method might be an unexplored blend of genres, a fresh take on a gameplay loop that everyone had “figured out”, or an innovative breakthrough in how a story can be told.

As abstract as these can be to describe, you know it when you play it - ultimately, how well does a game bring you into its creative intent and bring that vision to life?

Gameplay

The best games make you forget there’s a controller in your hands and immerse you with their fluid mechanics, satisfying feedback, and a gameplay loop that just feels right.

Whether you’re swinging the greatsword as a lone warrior or commanding an army from above as a god, the gameplay should fulfill and elevate that fantasy.

Games may lose points here for clunky control schemes, lack of impact at key moments (like hitting a headshot), or simply failing to make you feel in sync with your character.

Aesthetic

This category is the one that gives you goosebumps! Sometimes from awe, sometimes from fear.

It’s the distorted guitars that build while you approach a final boss. The ethereal stillness as you explore an ancient forest. Even the colors and shapes of a thoughtful menu’s UI.

It doesn’t matter if a game is 8-bit or pushing the limit of the latest graphics card - the best games have moods, sound, and style to deliver experiences no other medium can provide.

Technical

Unfortunately, even a GOTY candidate can lose its luster due to simply being unplayable.

War games designed for hundreds of units shouldn’t start lagging as armies collide. A fighting game should have a solid netcode to let its players execute combos consistently.

These frustrating moments take you out of an experience, especially if you’re playing with a developer’s recommended limits.