How we run the airplane-mode test

Every game we cover goes through the same first step: install, launch once, then cut all connection. It sounds basic, but it exposes a lot.

Plenty of games boot fine online and then freeze at the main menu offline, waiting for an ad or a login that never arrives. That's an instant disqualification for us.

We also test mid-session. Start a level online, flip airplane mode on, and see if the game panics. A truly offline title shouldn't even notice.

Finally we check saves. We force-close after playing offline and reopen to confirm progress stuck. Only after all that do we start judging whether the game is actually fun.