Metacritic
Metacritic
I wrote an article over the weekend that confirmed that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the RPG from first-time developer Sandfall, was in fact that highest user-scored game in Metacritic history.
Now, players have caught wind of that. Some pushed back on this, saying it was early and this was just based on a few hundred reviews playing super early. Well, people have been playing over the course of the weekend, and there are now 600% more reviews in, up to 3,300, and the score has actually increased to a 9.7/10 from a 9.6 previously.
I’ve said that it’s possible scores fall in time, but what’s just happened here has cemented Expedition 33’s title of the highest scored game on this platform. Nothing else is close, or will get close, anytime soon.
These thousands of reviews mean that of the top 100+ best-scored games on the Metacritic list, it’s already passed many of those in total scores. And again, this is not a close competition. I’ve only been able to find one 9.3 at all, The Witcher 3’s Blood and Wine DLC. Every other historic game you’ve ever heard of is somewhere between an 8.9-9.2. Yes, that one. Yes, that one too. Check any one you like.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Sandfall
So, is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 actually 0.5 out of 10 better than every game in history? I haven’t played it yet (I start today), but I have heard the praise and I mean…still no. I don’t buy that. I am not saying the game doesn’t deserve high scores, but we are seeing some level of a “love bomb” here, the opposite of a review bomb. Early impressions are so good that people are racing out to give it 10s. Then articles are written about the scores (more than just mine) and people fly back to give it even more 10s, hence the 600% increase and 24 hours moving the score up. I have seen this happen with other games, Stellar Blade comes to mind most recently, but even that ultimately ended up with a 9.2. Still, I’ve never seen anything like this.
I mean, whatever. Give it that honor. It sounds like a game that is universally beloved and if we want to hand this achievement to this tiny studio for an amazing game, I’m all for it. But what’s just happened is that this is going to be emblazoned as the top scoring game for the foreseeable future, which is certainly something you do not see every day. Or every year. Or every generation.
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