How we test whether a game truly works offline

People ask how we decide a game is genuinely offline. The honest answer is that we're a bit obsessive about it. Every title gets the airplane-mode treatment, repeatedly, at different points in the experience.

First we install while online, then cut the connection before launching. If it refuses to open, that's an instant fail. Next we try to start a core activity — a race, a battle, a level — with no signal. Then we force-close and reopen offline to see if progress survives.

A surprising number of games pass the first test and fail the third. They load fine but quietly sync progress, so a bad reconnect can wipe your save. We flag that clearly in reviews.

None of this is glamorous, but it's the whole point of the site. A game can be gorgeous and still be useless on the subway, and you deserve to know before you download.