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Overwatch 2's Review Bombing Controversy: How Much of it is Justified? | MMORPG.com
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Overwatch 2's Review Bombing Controversy: How Much of it is Justified? | MMORPG.com
Overwatch is one of the past decade's most successful video game releases, yet its sequel is mired in controversy. Recent review bombing on Steam begs the question: is the hate all justified?
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mmorpg junkie since 1999
These companies do what they do because it works and they make more money for it. One angry player yelling at the clouds has no effect. Until players stop playing en masse. Nothing will change.
Blaming companies in capitalism is pointless. Blame the players.
You know what's great? People giving money to streamers then the streamers use that money to buy everything in stores. Then the same people are angry at these companies. Lmao the jokes write themselves!
In OW2's steam release case, there are a mountain of reasons behind it spanning almost it's entire game history and even before OW1.
This isn't the first time the Steam community has used the review system (the only tool we have to curb bad industry standards) to lambast a game into the inner-crusts of the earth.
However there have been cases were it's been used for the wrong reasons'- such examples can be found here and there- one standout example i can think of was a Thai horror game some years back (a genuinely good thai horror game), -it was review-bombed by the chinese steam userbase for political reasons.
Another example of review-bombing that was meant to curb bad practices was when we changed mostly all of our positive reviews for NieR: Automata to negative when out of nowhere and after years of the Steam version basically being abandoned and broken (community had to fix the game themselves)- a remastered (fixed) version was being released on Xbox gamepass.
The reviews were promptly reverted back to positive when we got the Steam version of this update- which some speculate would have never happened if Steam users didn't protest.
The PC version of John Madden Football series has been lambasted for years by it's steam userbase because of... 'reasons' - look that up for some good reading.
FIFA games on steam were usually torn apart due to some really disgusting practices with it's loot card rooster series; though more recent FIFA releases have seem to been better about these practices.
I could keep going.
Fishing on Gilgamesh since 2013
Fishing on Bronzebeard since 2005
Fishing in RL since 1992
Born with a fishing rod in my hand in 1979
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
> Integrity: If you give it 0, how about not purchasing it or testing it otherwise? Because what do you hope to achieve with this? They got what they were after(your $$$), after all. Changing opinions is fine, but what it boils to is:
> Consequences: Be rational, huh? What do you hope to achieve by doing this? Is it going to achieve anything? If not, what's the rationale for doing it? You can always make an angry vent post, no reason for a completely unreasonable 0 / x(very, very few games are a true 0).
When did free market turn into a bunch of people whining that they didn't get everything they wanted for completely free?
Just stop complaining and review bombing and play games you like. Sheesh.
You mean... Burger King?
Excuse me but my 2016 purchases for this game when it wasn't free would like to have a word.
It also isn't as 'free' as people think it is. But technically yes, a person can install it, and play the free content that is available, for free.
But it's price tag or lack thereof has really nothing to do with the reviews, there are plenty of free games on steam that do well with the review system; this isn't some bandwagon people are jumping on merely for kicks.
Baldurs Gate 3 doesn't seem to suffer from this types of review problems? Want to explain why that is?
Fishing on Gilgamesh since 2013
Fishing on Bronzebeard since 2005
Fishing in RL since 1992
Born with a fishing rod in my hand in 1979
Its frequent use on Metacritic is why I pay 0 attention to user scores there.
There are other outlets for expressing anger and outrage over specific games or studios in general. But review bombing is just dishonest and dumb precisely because it undermines the credibility of a tool, user scores, which if done honestly, can be a help to us in deciding whether to play or not play a game.
It's a clear case of gamers cutting off their noses to spite their faces.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
It was a pure greed decision to release OverWatch 2 as new game, to reset the cash shop!
Pretty much par de course what Blizzard has become as company. Just ActiVision now.
Review bombing is what happens on sites like Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic where, as you say, anyone can make fake accounts to do bogus scores as PS fanboys are already organizing to do to Starfield.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
Review bombs for valid reasons like a bad port, scrapped content, or bad business model decisions are justified. However, I think one should review bomb based on the rating the decision in question actually brings the game to. Does the nerf patch of Diablo 4 season 1 make the game a 0-1/10. Fuck no. Does it make it a 5-7 out of 10? Maybe. Does a bad roster make a crossover/spinoff celebration a 1/10. No. Does it warrant a couple points off the score? Probably.
Is Overwatch 2 actually the worst game on Steam or even deserving of being in the bottom 100? Have you SEEN the other games in the bottom 100? Grow up.
free game? ppl payed for OW