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Following backlash over The Last of Us Part II—a game that received a significantly lower user score of 5.5 compared to its critic score of 94—Metacritic implemented new measures to regulate user reviews. This included starting review countdowns and requiring players to spend time with a game before submitting feedback, aiming to curb review bombing and skewed ratings.
This change, noticed around mid-July, was initially perceived as a tweak aimed mainly at Ghosts of Tsushima. However, deeper investigation reveals that the system adjustment was part of a broader response to review bombing across multiple titles, dating back to incidents like the review manipulation of Superluminal earlier in July.