The three settings that save your battery in most mobile games

Every review inbox has the same message eventually: this game destroys my battery. Sometimes it's the game's fault. More often, it's a couple of default settings nobody thinks to change.

First, frame rate. A lot of games ship set to 60fps or higher, and on a phone that difference is far smaller than the battery cost. Dropping to 30fps in a slower game like an RPG is often invisible and buys you real playtime.

Second, resolution and shadow quality. Shadows are the sneakiest drain in 3D games — turning them from high to low usually changes the look far less than it changes the temperature of your phone. Resolution scaling is the same story on high-density screens.

Third, background activity. Some games keep syncing or animating when you tab away. Check the settings for a pause-on-background toggle, and in your phone's system settings restrict background data for the worst offenders.

None of this is glamorous, but two minutes in the options menu regularly turned a phone-cooker into something we could play for an hour. Try it before you uninstall.