opencritic-mcp

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that gives AI assistants access to OpenCritic game review scores via the official OpenCritic API on RapidAPI.

Search for games and retrieve aggregated critic scores, review tiers, and individual reviews — all without scraping. For full API endpoints and response specs, see the OpenCritic API Documentation.

Tools

Related MCP server: IGDB MCP Server

Prerequisites

• Node.js v18 or later

• A free RapidAPI key for the OpenCritic API

Getting a RapidAPI key

1. Go to rapidapi.com/opencritic/api/opencritic-api

2. Sign up or log in (free)

3. Subscribe to the Basic plan (free tier: 200 requests/day, 25 searches/day)

4. Copy your X-RapidAPI-Key from the dashboard

Your key is only ever used locally. It is read from an environment variable at runtime and never stored in the package.

Installation

Option A — npx (no install required)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "opencritic": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "opencritic-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "RAPIDAPI_KEY": "your_rapidapi_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Option B — Clone and build locally

git clone https://github.com/brandikun/opencritic-mcp.git
cd opencritic-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Then add to your MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "opencritic": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/opencritic-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "RAPIDAPI_KEY": "your_rapidapi_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

MCP Client Config Locations

Example usage

Once connected, you can ask your AI assistant things like:

• "Search for Hollow Knight on OpenCritic"

• "What's the critic score for Disco Elysium?"

• "Show me the top critic reviews for Elden Ring"

• "Cross-reference my Steam library with OpenCritic scores" (when paired with a Steam MCP)

Security notes

• Your RAPIDAPI_KEY is passed via environment variable — it never appears in source code or gets committed to git

• The server uses only Node's built-in fetch and the official MCP SDK — no third-party HTTP clients

• If RAPIDAPI_KEY is missing, the server exits immediately with a clear error message

Free tier limits & Caching

Built-in Caching: To protect your daily RapidAPI quota, responses are cached in memory for 1 hour. Repeated detail or review queries cost 0 API requests.

License

MIT