Metacritic implements a waiting period on user reviews for games

Popular review aggregator Metacritic now has a 36 hour waiting period before users can post reviews of video games. Metacritic has stated the decision was not due to negative reviews or reactions to any particular game, though there have been several high-profile instances of review bombing on the platform in the last few months: Most notably for the Playstation exclusive The Last of Us Part 2.

"We recently implemented the 36 hour waiting period for all user reviews in our games section to ensure our gamers have time to play these games before writing their reviews," a Metacritic spokesperson told Gamespot. "This new waiting period for user reviews has been rolled out across Metacritic's Games section and was based on data-driven research and with the input of critics and industry experts." Both Gamespot and Metacritic are owned by ViacomCBS.

The waiting period is already in place, with users seeking to post reviews within 36 hours asked to "please spend some time playing the game" in a short message. Despite the new waiting period, Metacritic is still quite vulnerable to review bombing tactics—as displayed with indie game Kunai earlier this year. You just have to wait longer to drop your bomb.

Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.