OpenCritic is a games-only Metacritic rival that aims to change the way we look at review scores

By Sherif Saed

OpenCritic is a new website that wants to make the process of aggregating game review scores more transparent.

Metacritic, the site most commonly used by many to get an idea of the critical reception for a piece of entertainment, is getting some competition on the gaming end. The reviews of any of the products available on the site, including games, are aggregated and then weighted based on a formula that is not known to the public.

This makes it so that some outlets will have more clout than others, despite offering the same score, which is one of the many criticisms the site faces.

Enter OpenCritic, a new site founded by Matthew Enthoven that aims to do away with that while introducing a better-looking, faster, and more focused portal that focuses only on video games.

OpenCritic’s formula is a simple score average, and is not weighted differently for different websites. It also brings more than raw numbers to the fore. For instance, the site surfaces information like the author’s name for all of its reviews. It also scans publications’ sites regularly for any score changes that may happen in their reviews.

Not only that, but users are able to white-list specific outlets to only see reviews from, leading to more personalised scores. OpenCritic also displays non-numerical scores, a recent trend in the media that saw giants like Eurogamer get de-listed from Metacritic.

There are over 75 outlets currently listed on it and it would be interesting to see if it does grow to eventually become the Metacritic for games. And also, if publishers will refer to its scores in the future – in place of those listed on Metacritic – when they decide the amount of bonuses a development studio is owed.