All articles tagged with #metacritic
Remedy Entertainment's Control: Resonant is generating strong early buzz, with Metacritic scores of 84 on PS5 (63 reviews) and 83 on PC (34 reviews), roughly on par with the original, keeping it in the Game of the Year conversation as a release approaches on September 24.
Big Walk, House House's co-op puzzle game and follow-up to Untitled Goose Game, launched on PS Plus Essential (also on PC, PS5, Switch 2, and Mac) and earned a 94 Metacritic score on day one, the highest ever for a PS Plus Essential debut, with GameSpot calling it a game-of-the-year contender.
Did You Know Gaming argues Metacritic’s near‑perfect 99 for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is flawed, noting omissions of certain pre‑Metacritic outlets and the inclusion of non-numeric praise. Their recalculation would drop the score to 98, potentially tying Ocarina with GTA IV, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and Soulcalibur, highlighting that Metacritic is influential but not a definitive measure of a game's value.
Civilization VII’s reception has improved with time, as patches and updates address early flaws and critics re-evaluate the game, leading to higher review scores and renewed enthusiasm for the strategy experience.
Mina The Hollower has surged to Metacritic’s top-rated game of 2026 with a PC score around 92/100 (93 earlier) and OpenCritic at 93, outranking titles like Forza Horizon 6. Early Steam data shows about 55,000 copies sold globally, with console figures still pending. Yacht Club founder Sean Velasco has raised his sales target from the earlier Bloomberg notes—potentially hitting a million copies—while the team plans marketing and patches, a pace some compare to Shovel Knight’s launch.
Forbes reports that Mina The Hollower, a retro-inspired platformer from Yacht Club Games, has earned the highest Metacritic score among 2026 releases, marking it as the year's best-reviewed game so far.
Metacritic’s midyear roundup shows Forza Horizon 6 as the best-rated game of 2026 so far across platforms, though the score can shift due to how MC aggregates by the platform with the most reviews. In the multiplatform list FH6 leads at 92, but on the Xbox-only chart Hades 2 is first at 95 with FH6 and Mixtape tied at 92, highlighting quirks in the scoring method even as Xbox enjoys a strong first‑party year ahead of GTA 6’s release.
Samson, the GTA-inspired open-world title from Liquid Swords, just released on Steam to generally unfavourable reviews (Metacritic 48) due to jank, buggy missions, and a repetitive melee system. While some hope patches will fix the issues and a PS5 port could arrive later, the current buzz is dampened and console potential remains uncertain.
Crimson Desert has surged in Metacritic's user reviews, becoming the second-highest-rated 2026 game with an 8.8 user score and nearly matching top competitor Resident Evil Requiem, while Pokémon Pokopia sits at 8.5; but Pokopia still leads the Metascore at 89, with Crimson Desert's PC metascore at 77, signaling a competitive year ahead in gaming.
Critics are split on Super Mario Bros. Wonder — Nintendo’s Switch 2 Edition adds Bellabel Park and new multiplayer content, which some outlets praise for expanding the package, while others argue the additions feel incremental. Metacritic sits around 86 from about 41 reviews, with outlets ranging from Metro’s 10/10 to Nintendo Life’s more modest take. The piece notes the upgrade is likely most appealing to Wonder fans or households with multiplayer play, and invites readers to weigh whether the upgrade is worth the price.
Metacritic’s 16th Game Publisher Rankings for 2025 place Nintendo at 12th, up from 22nd in 2024, aided by releasing 18 games in 2025 and several high-scoring titles; however, two Switch 2 exclusives—Welcome Tour and Drag x Drive—dragged the average down to 77. Square Enix tops the list, Sega slips to seventh, and Capcom remains in the top three, with Nintendo benefiting from its Switch 2 lineup (e.g., Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Tears of the Kingdom on Switch 2) while not counting mobile games.
Pearl Abyss’s stock fell about 30% after Crimson Desert reviews went live, with Metacritic at 78 and OpenCritic around 80. The company had previously seen a surge when the game went gold in January, but middling reception prompted a selloff as investors weigh potential sales against hype. With the Steam release looming, traders are awaiting exact sales numbers to gauge the game’s financial impact.
Pearl Abyss’s stock plunged about 29.8% in a day, from ₩65,600 to ₩46,000, after Crimson Desert’s first reviews landed. Metacritic sits at 78 (generally favorable), suggesting investors expected a stronger reception despite the hype. The game remains a top seller on Steam and is performing well in early US PlayStation sales, while Sony confirmed Crimson Desert will support the new PS5 Pro PSSR (FSR4) this month.
Pearl Abyss’s stock fell roughly 29% in a single session after Crimson Desert’s reviews surfaced, with Metacritic scoring the game at 78—well below the internally expected 90—sparking investor selling; Insider Gaming’s own review gave the title a 7/10, praising its world and battles but warning of unfocused systems and narrative issues as launch approaches.
Pearl Abyss’s stock tumbled nearly 30% after Crimson Desert’s reviews arrived and fell short of market expectations (Metacritic 78, OpenCritic 80 vs forecasts in the mid-to-high 80s). While the game drew praise for visuals and combat, critics cited a weak story, unresponsive controls, and a clunky interface, triggering investor disappointment despite early hype and strong Steam wishlist momentum.