01
Fun
Is the moment-to-moment play worth showing up for? We score the core loop, the combat feel, the writing, and the surprise density. Fun ignores price.
- Core loop tightness
- Combat / interaction feel
- Writing and surprise density
Lead Review · Action RPG · Verified Verdict
Eclipse of the Hollow King earns a 94 — the highest score of the year.
Sixty-two hours, four difficulty tiers, and a frame-rate sweep on five rigs before we filed this one. Hollow King's combat loop is the tightest the genre has shipped since 2019, and its 38-hour main run is only half the story.
The 100-Point Quarters Score
Four pillars, not one number. That's the whole point.
Every review on Game Quarters ships with a single headline score out of 100 — but behind it sits a four-pillar breakdown our reviewers fill in independently. We don't average a fun score into a value score and call it a verdict. A 92 in Fun and a 64 in Value stay visible, because that's the information a reader actually needs before spending $70.
02
Value
Dollar-for-hour, content density, and whether the asking price matches what's actually on the disc. A 90-hour RPG with 30 hours of filler scores lower here than a 12-hour indie that earns every minute.
- Hours of meaningful content
- Price-to-content ratio
- Post-launch support outlook
03
Performance
We capture real frame-rate telemetry on at least five hardware configurations — RTX 4090, RTX 4060, Steam Deck, plus the relevant consoles — before a single number lands in print. No "plays well," no vibes.
- 1% / 0.1% lows measured
- Crash and stutter audit
- Console vs. PC parity check
04
Longevity
How long does this game stay on the hard drive after launch month? New Game+ depth, endgame systems, mod support, and replayability all count. A perfect weekend game can still score a 90 in Longevity — or a 40.
- Endgame and NG+ depth
- Replayability and mod support
- Long-tail content plans
2,400
Average words per review — 3.7× the gaming-outlet median.
5
Hardware configurations tested on every PC review.
14,200+
Archived reviews in our index since the 2009 relaunch.
0
AI-generated reviews — ever. Our 38 staff write every verdict.
Reviews Index
Latest Reviews
Every verdict below uses the same 100-point Quarters Score — applied retroactively across our archive of 14,200+ reviews since the 2009 relaunch. Click a score to read the full breakdown.
-
94
Action RPG · PC / PS5 / Xbox
Eclipse of the Hollow King
"A melee system that finally makes stamina management feel like a craft, not a chore."
-
91
Indie · PC / Switch · Editor's Pick
Sable & Salt
"A 14-hour journey that earns every single one of them. The most affecting indie of the year."
-
83
Tactics · PC / Xbox / PS5
Ironclad V
"Brilliant mech customization dragged down by a 22-hour campaign that forgets to introduce a villain."
-
76
Soulslike · PC / PS5
Mossrunner: Tides
"A gorgeous sequel that mistakes length for depth. Wait for the first difficulty patch."
Read the latest reviews
Updated daily. Average review length: 2,400 words.
How We Test
Real frame-rate telemetry. Not "plays well."
Before a single Quarters Score goes live, our six hardware analysts capture 1% and 0.1% lows across five configurations. The clips below are representative captures from the Eclipse of the Hollow King test matrix — read the full method in the hardware hub.
RTX 4090 · 4K / Ultra
142fps avg
Native 4K, DLSS off, ray-traced shadows on. 1% low: 128 fps. Frame-pacing: clean.
RTX 4060 · 1440p / High
88fps avg
The configuration most of our readers actually run. 1% low: 74 fps. No stutter events across a 90-minute capture.
Steam Deck · 800p
52fps avg
Verified Playable after the v1.04 patch. Locked 40 fps target with FSR Quality hits a stable 52.
PS5 · Performance RT
60fps target
Locked 60 with ray-traced reflections. One 4-second asset-streaming hitch in chapter 6, documented in the review.
We don't ship a Quarters Score until at least two of us have put the credits on the screen. If the credits don't roll, the score doesn't ship — that's been the rule since the relaunch, and it's the reason our average review is 2,400 words instead of 600.
The Daily Drop
Every verdict lands in your inbox at 9:00 AM ET. The Daily Drop, free.
One email each weekday. The reviews we just filed, the scores that moved, and the three things our hardware desk is arguing about before lunch. Trusted by 218,000 subscribers — average open rate: 42%.
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