OpenCritic Review Aggregator Site Launched

A brand-new video game review aggregator website has been launched. OpenCritic, founded by Matthew Enthoven, who is also Product Manager at Riot Games, is aiming to change the way game review aggregation is recorded online.

Metacritic is the heavyweight giant in this sector, but numerous criticisms from developers and consumers alike have pushed OpenCritic to come to fruition, with a number of key features looking to set itself apart from the more well-known aggregators.

There will be no hidden weightings to publications' scores. No matter how big or small the outlet, all scores from the publications on OpenCritic's list will be averaged out into an overall single score, with no secret adjustments in the background (it became known that bigger publications' verdicts were counted more than others' in the Metacritic algorithms).

Customisation plays a big part in what sets OpenCritic out from the crowd, with the option for users to hide publications that they want to avoid, allowing only those opinions from outlets they trust to be displayed in a personalised aggregated score alongside the official one. As well, critics will be able to submit updates to summaries and scores for reviewed games, which is handy for those titles that receive important updates, or online games that require expansions to get a fuller experience, à la Destiny. In an attempt to put more focus on the actual authors of reviews, and not just the publication, the names of reviewers are also displayed for every review.

"Gamers, critics, and developers alike have made clear their desires for a more industry-focused review aggregator. We hope to meet those desires by giving consumers personalized scores; humanizing the critics behind the reviews; and celebrating the games that the industry's passionate developers have worked so hard to create."

"We feel that OpenCritic.com is a major step towards more focus on the overall product. For consumers, it means that they can get a more complete picture of a game. And for the gaming press, we hope that we can make the option of dropping numerical scores more appealing and viable."

"As we developed OpenCritic, we realized that it is imperative for gamers to be able to decide for themselves which publications they trusted. And when it came to which publications we include on the site, we wanted to make sure that anyone could verify qualifications and make their own judgments."

OpenCritic currently only records current-generation home console games from November 2013 onwards, which includes PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Wii U and PC. Mobile and handheld platforms (e.g. 3DS, PS Vita, iOS and Android) are not on the cards at the moment, but the team has taken on board plenty of feedback from publications and users, and with the goal of including VR formats in the future, it is possible these will be added in at some point.

Follow the OpenCritic social media pages at: Facebook and Twitter.