Overview

The 2026 Cory In the House DS Metacritic Review Raid refers to a viral campaign to get the Nintendo DS video game Cory In the House to the number one spot in the user reviews section of Metacritic. Cory In the House has a long history in meme culture as an ironic meme and fandom. Efforts to raid the reviews for the DS game first happened in 2013 on GameFAQs and Metacritic.

In January 2026, Cory In the House DS was again review raided in an attempt to get it as high as possible on the user reviews section of Metacritic. By January 12th, the game reached the number two spot, with Expedition 33 (E33) in first and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. The game fluctuated in position over the next few days, wavering between the second and fifth spots.

Some of the push to get Cory In the House to the top spot on Metacritic notably stemmed from backlash surrounding E33's controversies and dislike for the game among some following its numerous wins at the 2025 Game Awards and other "Game of the Year" wins.

Background

2013 Cory In the House GameFAQs & Metacritic Raids

In 2013, users on 4chan and Reddit reportedly attempted to raid the reviews for Cory In the House on the Nintendo DS to get it in the "most wanted FAQ" on the website GameFAQs. The raid temporarily earned Cory In the House the number one spot on the site.^[1]

The raids are inspired by Cory In the House's status as an ironic meme, where it is propped up to be much better than it actually is.

Purportedly, review raiding also took place among Metacritic^[2] users, who skyrocketed the game's Metacritic user score to "Universal Acclaim" status with a 9.4/10 average review. In contrast, only two critics have reviewed the game as of early 2026, both of whom gave it a negative score.

Developments

2026 Metacritic Review Raid

In January 2026, the Cory In the House DS game started getting review raided again on Metacritic. It is unclear exactly what inspired this wave of raids, but some outlets have speculated that it's a reaction to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 taking over first place less than a year ago.^[8]

On January 11th, 2026, Redditor Additional-Ad4567 posted a screenshot to the /r/videogames^[3] subreddit of Cory In the House sitting at the number two spot in the user reviews section of Metacritic, writing, "Why is this game currently on top 2?" garnering over 7,800 upvotes and 780 comments in four days. This is one of the earliest known posts from 2026 to call out the game's position.

By January 15th, the game had over 3,500 positive user reviews on Metacritic. The game's score fluctuated over the following days as users flocked to review it, wavering between second and fifth place.

Online Reactions

Attention to Cory In the House's user review scores increased in mid-January 2026 as it continued spreading online.

On January 12th, 2026, the @eStarland X^[4] page posted a screenshot of the game's standings, writing, "Metacritic’s Top 3 User-Rated Games of All Time! 🏆," garnering over 63,000 likes and 4,500 reposts in three days.

On January 13th, the @gamestop X^[5] account posted an image of a shrine to the Cory In the House game, writing, "Rare POV: The GameStop backroom holding our only copy of Cory in the House for Nintendo DS," garnering over 10,000 likes in two days.

On January 13th, Kotaku^[6] reported on the story. On January 14th, IGN^[7] and Dualshockers^[8] reported on Cory In the House's Metacritic standings.

Search Interest

External References