How we actually test whether a game works offline

People ask how we confirm a game really runs without internet. The short answer: we turn on airplane mode and try to break it. If a game loads the menu but stalls at a 'connecting' screen, it fails our basic test.

We also check what happens mid-session. Some games run fine until they try to sync, then freeze. We play through a full session offline before we write a single word about connectivity.

Hardware matters too. We keep a couple of older phones around because a game that runs smoothly on a flagship might crawl on a three-year-old device. If performance falls apart, we mention it.

None of this is glamorous, but it's the whole point of the site. A game that needs a signal isn't an offline game, no matter what the store page says.