Seldom are the instances that game critics and game players are in total agreement about the quality of a particular game. There are plenty of games that critics hated and players loved (and visa-versa). At any rate, a gap of ten or more between the critics’ rating and the User Score typically indicates a divide among critics and gamers over whether the game in question was worth playing.
The gap seems to be a little wider on average for games critics loved, but players hated. Nevertheless, there are many games on Metacritic that were loved by players, but for some reason were hated by the critics.
10 Deadpool – PS3 Rating 61, User Score 7.2
Deadpool, the character, is apparently more loved by the gamers than by game critics. There was actually a fair amount of criticism from both sides about this game. The players and critics both agree the game was way too short; it can be completed in only 6 – 7 hours.
The graphics were another aspect that both sides agree could have been better. It seems the biggest reason between the wide margin in critics’ ratings and the User Score was Deadpool’s in-your-face and far from politically correct style of comedy. The Xbox360 version received a slightly better rating from the critics (61).
9 Earth Defense Force – Xbox360 Rating 68, User Score 8.2
The Call of Duty games are mostly loved by critics, but hated by gamers – it is an unmistakable theme when checking them on Metacritic. The Earth Defense Force games are the exact opposite. The above rating is for Xbox Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon.
Critics do not like these games (or at least think of them as average at best), yet the franchise seems to have a very loyal fan-base. The critics’ reviews for any given game in the Earth Defense Force series always focuses on the, admittedly, repetitious gameplay. Sometimes players just want some mindless arcade-style gaming though.
8 Deadly Premonition – Xbox360 Rating 66, User Score 8.3
Deadly Premonition is an odd horror game. It is really close to being a simulator of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks series, but with a little more of the supernatural. The game is full of interesting characters that have a weird way of becoming endearing over time.
This is one of those games that players need to invest some time in before it begins getting better. The original version was released for the Xbox360, but there was a Director’s Cut edition that also got a release for the PS3 and PC. The Director’s Cut was actually liked more by critics, but had a much lower User Score.
7 Nier – PS3 Rating 68, User Score 8.7
Nier, from Square, is an action RPG that has since developed a cult following since its 2010 release. It was immediately slammed by critics; the most common complaints were that the game was a mixture of RPG and hack-and-slash genres.
The critics also didn’t like the graphics and plot nearly as much as the players – many players who left a review noted they thought the story-line was deep and engaging. The Xbox360 version’s rating was slightly worse at a 67 and 8.4. The more recently (2017) released NieR: Automata has been reviewed favorably by critics and fans alike.
6 Speed Racer – Wii Rating 69, User Score 8.0
Movie-licensed games have traditionally been bad; this goes all the way back to the Atari 2600. The Speed Racer game for the Nintendo Wii was actually based on the live-action movie – which was based on the manga. It didn’t help that the movie was generally considered one of the worst movies of 2008; coincidentally the movie is also hated by critics (37), but loved by fans (7.9).
Speed Racer for the Wii is a fast-paced racing game with crazy track designs, and is about as close to F-Zero as a game can get without being called Wipeout. A lot of critics describe the game as fun, solid, or worth the time, but then oddly gave the game a below average rating.
5 Dynasty Warriors 8 – PS3 Rating 68, User Score 8.3
Dynast Warriors 9 has been plagued by an extremely low User Score (currently at 3.9) for a while and its critic rating (65) has never been spectacular. Dynasty Warriors 8, on the other hand, was reviewed favorably by players. The critics described the game as repetitive and tedious. Players praised Dynasty Warriors 8 for adding a lot of new features and improving existing elements of the game.
The Xbox360 version’s rating (65) and User Score (7.5) were both lower than the PS3 version, but had a smaller gap between them. According to players this was one of the best Dynasty Warriors games of the last console generation; while critics saw it as just another in the series.
4 Kirby Air Ride – GameCube Rating 66, User Score 8.1
Kirby Air Ride was a simple, yet fast-paced and fun racing game for the Nintendo GameCube. Critics did not like the fact that the game really only used one button, and many hated the fact the racers are constantly moving. Players loved the fast-paced action and the bright, colorful graphics.
Whereas the critics hated the simple controls, the players looked at the control method a little more positively; many user reviews describe the controls as actually quite nuanced and intuitive. Of course, the User Score was probably boosted a bit just for being a Kirby game.
3 Spider-Man: Web Of Shadows – Xbox360 Rating 68, User Score 8.7
For many fans of Spider-Man this was the ultimate Spider-Man game – until Marvel’s Spider-Man was released for the PS4 in 2018 anyway. Critics gave low scores because of the game’s control problems, camera angles, and other numerous bugs and glitches. In their reviews players mention the control problems, but many stated they controls weren’t bad enough to give it a low score.
Most of the praise for the game’s story-line was from the players; in fact many critics found the story to be mediocre. The gap between the critic rating and the User Score is probably due to players buying the game looking to have a “Spider-Man” experience – and the critics weren’t.
2 Monster Hunter – PS2 Rating 68, User Score 8.8
Although critics praise the Monster Hunter games now, the original release was received quite differently – as the above numbers show. Many critics now confess that they didn’t quite understand the game at the time. Almost a year ago Monster Hunter: World was released for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
It continues the formula established in the first Monster Hunter of hunting dangerous beasts. The funny thing is this recent release has a much higher critic rating (90) than User Score (7.1). Now that the series has become more mainstream the critics have finally accepted it, while the players hate the controls and graphics in World.
1 The Saboteur – PS3 Rating 72, User Score 8.1
The Saboteur was also released for the Xbox360, and that version’s critic rating and User Score are about the same as the PS3 version. One critic of this game stated that no matter how much they “wanted to love the game” they just couldn’t. More than one critic praised the game in the review, yet gave the game a low-to-average rating.
Players absolutely loved the ability to free-roam 1940’s Paris, and liked the game’s story-line and graphics; which were both described as a negative by the critics. Also, the game's controls were not criticized nearly as much by the players as they were by the critics.