The first ten minutes: settings I always change

Every time I install something new, I spend the first ten minutes in the settings menu before I touch the actual game. It sounds fussy, but it saves hours of low-grade annoyance later.

First stop is audio. Most games launch with music and effects at full blast, which is a problem in public. I balance them, and I turn on subtitles even in games with light dialogue, because you never know when you'll play with the sound off.

Then graphics. If there's a frame rate cap or a quality slider, I match it to my phone rather than trusting the auto setting, which tends to be too greedy. This is where most of your battery savings come from.

Finally, controls and notifications. I remap anything awkward if the game allows it, and I mute every non-essential ping. A game that respects your attention is more fun than one constantly begging for it, and the settings menu is where you enforce that.