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Review aggregator Metacritic has officially removed a review for the game Resident Evil Requiem after an investigation revealed the content was likely created using generative AI. The controversy centers on a review published by the UK-based gaming outlet VideoGamer, which awarded the title a score of 9/10. The review was attributed to an author named Brian Merrygold, whose online footprint and profile details raised immediate suspicions among the gaming community regarding the integrity of the publication's editorial standards.
The discovery was propelled by eagle-eyed users who noticed that the prose lacked specific gameplay details and relied heavily on contrived metaphors, describing the game vaguely as "the gory, glorious finale the fans deserved." However, the most damning evidence was found in the author's profile image on the VideoGamer website. When users attempted to save the image of Brian Merrygold, the default filename was revealed to be ChatGPT-Image-Oct-20-2025-11_57_34-AM-148x148.png (with a 300x300 variant also cited), a clear indicator that the persona was fabricated using OpenAI's tools. The bio described the non-existent writer as an "experienced iGaming and sports betting analyst," further alienating the content from traditional game journalism.
Metacritic's Policy and Response
Following the exposure of the fake review, Metacritic took decisive action. Marc Doyle, the co-founder of Metacritic, confirmed that the platform has a rigorous vetting process but acknowledged that issues can arise during staff turnovers or ownership changes. Doyle stated that the platform's policy is to "never include an AI-generated critic review," and upon discovery, they will remove the content and sever ties with the publication pending a thorough investigation. Consequently, the Resident Evil Requiem review and several other VideoGamer reviews from 2026 have been scrubbed from the aggregator.
How Users Identified the AI Fraud
- The Filename Evidence: The author's profile picture carried the filename ChatGPT-Image-Oct-20-2025..., explicitly naming the tool used to generate it.
- Generic Praise: The text offered no specific insights beyond what could be gleaned from a trailer, using phrases like "gory, glorious finale" without mechanical depth.
- Inconsistent Bio: The author was listed as a gambling analyst, a niche unrelated to the survival horror genre of Resident Evil.
My Take
This incident marks a critical inflection point for digital media trust. As Generative AI becomes more capable of mimicking human syntax, the "tells" will become subtler than a clumsy filename left in a CMS. Metacritic's swift removal is commendable, but the fact that a major outlet like VideoGamer publishedand syndicatedsuch content suggests a breakdown in editorial oversight that could plague the industry in 2026. We are moving from an era of "fake news" to "synthetic critics," where the primary challenge for readers will be verifying that a human actually played the game they are reading about.