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Metacritic vs OpenCritic: How Their Game Rankings Differ

Metacritic uses a weighted Metascore; OpenCritic shows several distinct critic measures. Here’s how to compare their numbers, review counts and game versions.
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Metacritic’s Metascore and OpenCritic’s game-page ratings both summarize critic reviews, but they are not interchangeable scores. Metacritic describes its Metascore as a weighted critic average; OpenCritic presents several separate measures, including an OpenCritic Rating, Top Critic Average and Critics Recommend percentage. To understand a difference between them, check the measure, review count, platform and edition—not just the headline number.

What each site’s headline score represents

Metacritic: a weighted Metascore

Metacritic says its Metascore represents critical consensus. It selects reviews from critics it considers highly respected, assigns scores to those reviews and weights them into a single number and color. Its public About Metacritic overview describes that process at a high level, but does not disclose enough detail to reproduce a particular score or determine each publication’s weight. Don’t infer exact outlet weights from the displayed score.

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OpenCritic: several distinct fields

OpenCritic game pages display an OpenCritic Rating alongside a Top Critic Average and Critics Recommend percentage; they also show the critic-review count and a percentile rank. These fields describe different aspects of the page’s critic coverage and should not be treated as alternate labels for one calculation. OpenCritic’s game pages show the values, but the material cited here does not document the full calculation behind them. In particular, do not assume the OpenCritic Rating is a simple unweighted arithmetic mean.

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Why Metacritic and OpenCritic scores can differ

A difference does not, by itself, show that either service is wrong. The sites present different measures, and Metacritic explicitly describes weighting while the cited OpenCritic page material does not explain its complete calculation. Their review sets may also differ in size or coverage. The displayed number alone cannot tell you which reviews or criteria account for a gap.

Before comparing, make sure you are looking at the same game version, edition and platform. Metacritic listings can be platform-specific, so a score for one platform should not automatically be compared with an entry for another. If the versions do not match, state that rather than treating the numbers as directly comparable. Metacritic’s game listings make platform-specific entries visible.

How to compare a game’s pages fairly

  1. Match the release. Check the edition and platform on each service. Note any mismatch before interpreting the scores.
  2. Name the measure. On Metacritic, say “Metascore.” On OpenCritic, identify whether you mean OpenCritic Rating, Top Critic Average or Critics Recommend.
  3. Record review coverage. Include the critic-review count shown on each page. A result drawing on fewer reviews is less broadly sourced than one drawing on more; the count does not establish which set is more representative.
  4. Read the linked reviews. Use them to see what reviewers praised or criticized and why their judgments may differ. Aggregates summarize reception; they do not explain the reasoning behind it.
  5. Keep audience feedback separate. Metacritic also hosts community ratings and reviews. Those are audience responses, not part of the critic Metascore.

What an OpenCritic page snapshot can—and cannot—show

An OpenCritic page snapshot for Inside, accessed in 2026, displayed an OpenCritic Rating of 91, a Top Critic Average of 95%, 169 critic reviews and a 100th-percentile rank. Those figures illustrate that the page presents multiple fields; they are a dated snapshot, not permanent values or a general statistic about OpenCritic. Scores, review totals and ranks can change.

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Which game review score should you trust?

Neither service is inherently more accurate on the information shown here. Use the aggregates as quick summaries, not as substitutes for the reviews or as proof that one title is objectively better. For a useful comparison, identify the precise score field, check the review count, match platform and edition, and read a selection of the linked criticism.

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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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