This page is our methodology: how every verdict on Neon Verdict is put together, what the numbers mean and where our information comes from.
Two signs, one verdict
Every game gets two scores out of ten. The Play sign is about the game. The Pay sign is about the purchase. The headline Neon Verdict is 70% Play and 30% Pay, rounded to one decimal place.
The Play sign: four marks
- Craft: how well the core of the game works, moment to moment: controls, feel, pacing, performance on the platforms that sell it.
- World: art direction, sound, writing and the sense of place.
- Staying power: how much worthwhile play there is, and how well it holds up on a second visit.
- Access: difficulty options, accessibility settings, platform spread, hardware demands and how welcoming the first hours are.
The Pay sign: four marks
- Sticker: the standard UK price against the amount and quality of what you get.
- Clarity: whether the editions, upgrades and extras are easy to understand before you pay.
- Pressure: how hard the game pushes its own store. A game with nothing to buy inside scores ten.
- Exit: how easy it is to get your money back or try before you commit: refund rules at the stores that sell it, demos, trials and subscriptions.
Each mark is out of ten, the sign is the plain average of its four marks, and every mark is shown on the verdict page.
How a verdict is researched
Neon Verdict is a desk review. We do not claim hours we have not logged. Each verdict is built from:
- the publisher's and developer's own material: store descriptions, patch notes, official blogs and support pages;
- the UK storefronts, for prices, editions, extras and payment rules, checked on the date shown on the page;
- platform documentation for refunds, parental controls and subscriptions;
- the published critical record (Metacritic and OpenCritic aggregates) and widely reported issues, such as launch performance;
- UK legislation and regulator guidance for anything about your rights.
Where our verdict departs from the critical consensus, the review says so and says why.
Which games we choose
Famous, well-reviewed games that a lot of UK players are weighing up, across different ways of paying: one-off purchases, games with paid extras, a subscription game and co-op games with a free pass for a friend. We leave out any game whose shop sells randomised paid items, because a verdict is meant to tell you what you will spend before you spend it.
Independence
This is independent review work. Nobody pays for a verdict, a ranking position or a mention, and our store links carry no commission. Games' names, logos and screenshots belong to their publishers and appear for the purposes of review and criticism, credited under each set of images.
Prices and dates
Prices are in pounds sterling including VAT, as shown to a UK account. Every verdict page carries the date of its last check, currently 25 September 2026. The price watch holds the full table and a log of changes.