Final Fantasy 16 in a review-bomb tug-of-war as players fight to raise Metacritic score

Final Fantasy 16 players are trying to counter-review-bomb the game’s Metacritic user score after it had fallen. 

Final Fantasy 16 is proving to be a pretty controversial title, despite its wide critical acclaim. While many are enjoying what Creative Business Unit III has cooked up, others are less than happy. 

Much of this comes down to the game abandoning many of the RPG elements the franchise is known for in favor of a fast-paced, linear action game. You don’t have to go far to find people at loggerheads across Twitter and Reddit arguing if this new direction is good or bad. Since the game released last week that tension has been felt between the two camps.

This manifested itself over the weekend when fans of ‘old’ Final Fantasy tried to come together to review-bomb the game on Metacritic, pushing the score to below 7.0. It also didn’t help that some review bombers were there because of the game’s PS5 platform exclusivity. 

However, that’s not the end of the story though. Like the many epic fights in the game itself, the Metacritic user score for the game appears to have devolved into a battleground.

Final Fantasy 16 has seen a rise in it’s Metacritic user score

It seems after going through a period of review bombing, players are now pushing back to counter-review bomb the game. After dropping harshly, the game has shot up and is now enjoying a user score of over 8.1. 

One user review stated: “Another game title plagued by Metacritic user review bombing.” Another added: “Another PlayStation masterpiece! Ignore the review bombing and get the game.”

Some even mentioned they were inflating their scores to counteract those giving it bad scores. “Tbh it’s more like 8.5/10, not perfect but ultimately very good, but I’m giving it a 10 to spite review bombers.”

Obviously, whether the game has a good user score on Metacritic isn’t exactly the most important thing happening in the world right now. Regardless, it appears for some players, this is a subject they are passionate about. Hopefully, in time, both sides of the argument can find some civility.