How we make money

Last updated: 3 October 2026

The short version

Right now this site earns nothing from the links in it. If that changes, you will see it where it matters, at the top of the article, and it will never change what we recommend.

Affiliate links

Later on we may join affiliate programmes. That means when you click a link to a shop and buy something, we might receive a small share of the sale. It costs you nothing extra.

Any article that contains affiliate links carries a clear note at the top, before the article itself. We don't rely on you finding this page.

Commissions are paid on the sale, not on which product you pick, so we gain nothing by steering you towards one thing over another.

What we buy and what we are sent

When a publisher or developer sends us a review copy, or a company sends hardware, we say so at the top of the article. We never accept payment for a review, and we never let a company see an article before it is published.

How we work

Guides are written to answer the question first, and show when they were last updated and which patch they were checked on
Codes that stop working stay on the page, struck through, so you know they are dead
Tier lists say what they are based on, such as mode, difficulty and solo or party play
We re-check guides after big patches and update the article and the date
We say what we haven't tested. Nobody tests everything.

Scores

Review scores run from 0 to 10. A score is a summary of the review, not a replacement for reading it. If a patch fixes or breaks something that matters, we update the score and note the change and the date in the article.

Corrections

We fix mistakes and note what changed. Spotted something wrong? Email kernelandshell@gmail.com.

Questions

If anything here is unclear, or you want to know how a particular article was funded, ask us at kernelandshell@gmail.com. We'll tell you.