Metacritic Delays Ghost of Tsushima User Score After Last of Us Backlash

CBR

By Ben Wasserman

Published Jul 17, 2020

With the debut of Ghost of Tsushima, Metacritic's user scores will now only be accepted 36 hours after a video game's release.

Following the review-bombing campaign launched against The Last of Us Part II, Metacritic has made some drastic changes to its reviewing system, beginning with the release of Sony’s latest PlayStation 4 exclusive Ghost of Tsushima.

Despite boasting a solid 83 average critics score, gamers trying to immediately post their thoughts about Ghost of Tsushima will find that part of Metacritic blocked. Instead, they’ll see a message saying, "Please spend some time playing the game. Come back to review it starting at 12:00 pm PST on July 18." This, along with Paper Mario: The Origami King, mark the start of a new policy where gamers must wait 36 hours after a game's release before being able to post anything on the site.

"We recently implemented the 36 hour waiting period for all user reviews in our games section to ensure our gamers have time to play these games before writing their reviews," a Metacritic representative told Engadget. "This new waiting period for user reviews has been rolled out across Metacritic's Games section and was based on data-driven research and with the input of critics and industry experts."

This waiting period comes hot on the heels of the release of The Last of Us Part II, which received thousands of negative user scores within hours of its debut and currently sits over 127,000 reviews. This is a sharp contrast to the game’s 94 critics rating -- one of the highest of the year so far.

In the late 13^th century, the Mongol empire has laid waste to entire nations along their campaign to conquer the East. Tsushima Island is all that stands between mainland Japan and a massive Mongol invasion fleet led by the ruthless and cunning general, Khotun Khan. As the island burns in the wake of the first wave of the Mongol assault, samurai warrior Jin Sakai stands as one of the last surviving members of his clan. He is resolved to do whatever it takes, at any cost, to protect his people and reclaim his home. He must set aside the traditions that have shaped him as a warrior to forge a new path, the path of the Ghost, and wage an unconventional war for the freedom of Tsushima.

Developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Ghost of Tsushima is now available on PlayStation 4.

KEEP READING: What Ghost of Tsushima Seems to Get Right About Open-World Gameplay

(via Forbes)