Ori, No Rest for the Wicked Director Damns Press Reviews With ‘Player-First’ Scoring Site
Moon Studios CEO Thomas Mahler has launched VideoGamesCritic.com, a new review aggregation platform designed to challenge the traditional gaming press ecosystem. As creative director of the Ori series and the recently delayed No Rest for the Wicked, Mahler believes player sentiment should outweigh critic opinions in determining a game’s reception.
Mahler’s platform prioritizes user reviews over professional critic scores, operating on the principle that “press scores can’t outvote the people who bought the game.” He identified what he describes as “glaring holes” in current review practices and created VideoGamesCritic.com to address these gaps and better reflect authentic player perspectives.
The initiative reflects ongoing industry tensions regarding the relevance and influence of traditional game review aggregation sites. Mahler’s criticism of the press-backed review ecosystem signals frustration from developers about how critical assessment impacts player perception and commercial success. However, the announcement has raised questions about potential bias in a platform created by an active game developer.
The timing of the reveal—coinciding with No Rest for the Wicked’s delayed 1.0 launch—has added scrutiny to Mahler’s motivations, though he frames the platform as a broader industry solution rather than a direct response to press coverage of his studio’s work.