How we decide if a game is worth your time
Every verdict on The Backlog Brief answers one question: is this game worth the evenings it will take from your week? This page explains exactly how we get to that answer.
What our verdicts are based on. Our verdicts come from careful research and analysis of each game, not from a quick first impression. We combine playtime data, critic and player reviews, patch history, and pricing into a clear recommendation.
We are honest about how we reach each verdict. We never claim to have played a game ourselves unless the article clearly says so.
What “one evening” means
Most sites tell you a game is “12 hours long.” That number means very little if you only play after work. So we translate playtime into evenings: realistic play sessions you can fit into a normal weeknight.
On The Backlog Brief, one evening equals about 2 hours of play. We use the typical time to finish the main story, then show longer estimates for players who want to see everything.
- A 3-hour game1.5 evenings
- A 6-hour game3 evenings
- A 10-hour game5 evenings
- A 25-hour game12.5 evenings
Examples only. Your own pace, difficulty setting, and session length will change your total. See our disclaimer.
What we judge
Length alone doesn’t make a game worth it. We look at six things that decide whether your evenings are well spent.
Time to fun
How quickly the game gets good. A slow first few hours matters more when you only have a couple of evenings a week.
Respect for your time
Padding, repetitive grinding, long unskippable sections, and save systems that make it hard to stop when you need to.
Value for money
What you get for the price, including how often the game goes on sale or appears in subscription services.
Payoff
Whether the ending, story, or final challenge makes the time you invested feel worth it.
Current state
How the game plays today after patches and updates, including known performance issues on each platform.
Who it’s for
The type of player who will love it and the type who should skip it, so you can decide for yourself.
Our verdicts
Instead of a score out of 10, every game gets one of four clear verdicts, so you know exactly what to do next.
- Play it now
Worth your evenings at full price
A strong game that respects your time and delivers a satisfying payoff.
- Wait for a sale
Worth your evenings, not at full price
A good game that’s worth playing, but better value when it’s discounted or in a subscription.
- Only if it’s your genre
Worth it for the right player
Great for fans of its style, but not the best use of limited time for everyone else.
- Skip it
Not worth your evenings right now
Too much padding, too many problems, or too little payoff. We explain why, and what to play instead.
Our sources
We never rely on a single source. Each verdict is built by comparing several types of information, and our articles link to the important ones.
Playtime data
Completion times reported by large numbers of players on sites such as HowLongToBeat, compared with developer statements.
Critic reviews
Reviews from established gaming outlets, including aggregated scores from OpenCritic, to see where critics agree and disagree.
Player feedback
Recent player reviews on official stores, which often show problems that appear after launch.
Official information
Store pages, patch notes, and announcements from developers and platform holders for prices, platforms, and updates.
From research to verdict
Research
Our team gathers playtime data, reviews, pricing, platform versions, and patch history for the game.
Analysis
We compare sources, calculate evenings, and judge the game against our six criteria.
Verdict
We assign one of our four verdicts and explain the reasons clearly, including who should skip the game.
Editorial check
Before publishing, the article is checked for accuracy and fairness under our editorial policy.
Updates
When a major patch, price change, or new edition changes the picture, we revisit the article and show the date it was last updated.
What never affects a verdict
Our verdicts belong to our readers. How the site makes money is explained in our disclaimer, and it has no influence on what we recommend.
- Payments or gifts from publishers, developers, or advertisers
- Free review copies
- Affiliate commissions from store links
- Hype, pre-release marketing, or social media trends
Disagree with a verdict?
Tell us. If you think we got a playtime, price, or fact wrong, email contact@thebacklogbrief.com and we’ll check it under our corrections policy. If you simply see a game differently, we’d still like to hear why.