How we actually test whether a game is offline

People ask how we decide a game is truly offline. It's less glamorous than it sounds. The first thing we do is install the game, open it once with a connection so it finishes any setup, then switch the phone to airplane mode completely.

Then we play. We start a new game, play a full session, close the app, reopen it, and check the save. If anything stalls — a loading spinner, a locked menu, a 'please reconnect' message — it fails and we note exactly where.

We also restart the phone mid-progress, because that's the real-world test. Phones die, apps get killed by the system, and a well-made offline game shrugs that off.

Only after all that do we write the actual review. It's the least exciting part of the job and the part readers tell us they value most.