Cory In The House Fans Are Close to Overtaking Clair Obscur for Metacritic’s Top User Rating
The 2008 Nintendo DS title *Cory in the House* is poised to take the crown from *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33* as the highest user-rated game on Metacritic, thanks to a grassroots effort on Reddit aimed at boosting its user score. You know it, you love it, and while you might not have played it, *Cory in the House* has become a legendary meme in gaming culture. Initially met with criticism upon its release, this stealth adventure game based on the Disney Channel series has carved out a unique legacy in user ratings online.
The first wave of reverse review bombing began back in 2013, driven by users from the 4chan board /v/, which propelled the game to the top of the most-requested FAQ list on GameFAQs. Soon after, the game’s quirky reputation and the ongoing joke of labeling it an “anime” game caught fire on Reddit, leading to it becoming the second-highest rated Nintendo DS game on the platform with an impressive user score of 9.5. Although its score dipped slightly to 9.3 by August 2025, it still held the title of the seventh highest user-rated game on the site.
Despite being nearly thirteen years old, *Cory in the House* has been climbing the ranks on Metacritic over the past year. While the exact cause of this resurgence is unclear, a significant spike occurred in late December 2025, propelling it to the second-highest user-rated game overall. The only notable event around this time was the release of *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33*, which quickly became the highest-rated game on Metacritic after its launch on April 24 of the previous year, boasting an average score of 9.7.
Even after winning ten out of twelve categories at the 2025 Game Awards, *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33* maintained a strong user score of 9.6—until recently. A thread titled “Why is this game currently on top 2?” referencing *Cory in the House* surfaced on the r/videogames subreddit, garnering 6.1 thousand upvotes. Shortly after, another thread titled “Metacritic’s top 3 games by user rankings” appeared on r/gaming, racking up 15,000 upvotes. This renewed interest appears organic, unlike the earlier campaign from 4chan.
In the last 24 hours, *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33* has seen its user rating drop to 9.5, while *Cory in the House* has surged to 9.4. There are some questionable 0 ratings for *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33* that have emerged, but the influx of around 30 perfect 10 reviews for *Cory in the House* seems to be the main factor behind this shift. While there’s still a way to go before *Cory in the House* officially claims the top spot, it’s definitely on the right track. We’ll keep an eye on this developing situation as it looks increasingly likely that the game will soon celebrate its victory.
