Frequently asked questions

How badges, scores and links work on CriticBuddies.

Publication badges

New here

Fewer than 3 reviews on CriticBuddies. The publication is new on the platform.

Active

At least 3, but fewer than 10 reviews on CriticBuddies.

Established

10 or more reviews on CriticBuddies – the publication contributes regularly.

Top contributor

In the top 25% of all publications by review count – with at least 3 reviews and once at least 5 publications exist on the platform. The threshold (75th percentile) is calculated dynamically from all review counts.

DACH

Publication with a website on .de, .at or .ch – focus on the German-speaking market.

Scores & ratings

Press score

Average of all full reviews on CriticBuddies. Previews are not included.

Community score

Average of user ratings on the 0–100 scale.

Buddy Gap

Difference between press score and community score. Shows whether critics and players disagree.

Controversy meter

Measures disagreement among critics (spread of full-review scores) – not game quality.

Links to publications

Internal links to publication profiles on CriticBuddies are dofollow. External links to a publication's website or the original article open in a new tab (noopener) – without nofollow, so dofollow.