Sony Expects 90% on Metacritic; Company's Studios Face Big Challenge

For many gamers, the average ratings aggregated by Metacritic.com are - unfortunately or not - one of the main determinants of a game's quality. We've known for a while that they can be just as important for publishers.

Now, Sony's Rafael Grassetti, art director of the fourth major installment of God of War - the one from 2018 - revealed in the latest episode of the Flow Games podcast (available below; only in Portuguese) that Sony Interactive Entertainment considers the average ratings of industry reviewers on Metacritic.com as a kind of measure of success.

1. SIE is said to "demand" from its major studios - such as Naughty Dog or Santa Monica - to have their games exceed an average of 90 out of 100.

It is worth noting here that this criterion is not supposed to affect the bonuses received by developers. These - as Grassetti assures - depend on the sales results of a given title.

1. Moreover, the developer stressed that Sony does not rush its studios in development. It is always possible to ask for additional time, although devs often stay after hours out of their own volition and ambition to make sure that the resulting work is in line with their vision.

Interestingly, over the years there have been quite a few productions released by SIE, which have achieved an average rating of more than 90 points on Metacritic.com. The list includes:

1. Gran Turismo (96);
2. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (96);
3. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (95);
4. LittleBigPlanet (95);
5. The Last of Us / The Last of Us: Remastered (95);
6. God of War I (94);
7. God of War (94);
8. God of War: Ragnarok (94);
9. God of War II (93);
10. Gran Turismo 2 (93);
11. The Last of Us: Part II (93);
12. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (93);
13. Bloodborne (92);
14. God of War III (92);
15. Journey (92);
16. PaRappa the Rapper (92).
17. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (92);
18. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped (91);
19. God of War: Chains of Olympus (91);
20. Killzone 2 (91);
21. LittleBigPlanet 2 (91);
22. MLB 10: The Show (91);
23. Ratchet & Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal (91);
24. Shadow of the Colossus (91);
25. Spyro: Year of the Dragon (91);
26. Twisted Metal: Black (91);
27. Ape Escape (90);
28. Astro Bot: Rescue Mission (90);
29. Ico (90);
30. Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (90);
31. MLB '09: The Show (90);
32. MLB 11: The Show (90);
33. Ratchet & Clank 2: Going Commando (90);

Another attempt to reach such a score will be made by studio Insomniac Games. On October 20, the studio is scheduled to release Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

1. PlayStation - official website