HFW: Burning Shores review bombing campaign targets Aloy’s sexuality (spoilers)

For those who haven’t played the game or its DLC, Burning Shores finally confirmed what the series has previously hinted: Aloy is queer. Players can choose to romance her new companion Seyka, which has resulted in hateful and abusive one-star reviews on Metacritic. The onslaught has completely drowned out any legitimate criticisms of the DLC.

In a statement to Eurogamer, Metacritic/Fandom has confirmed that it’ll be introducing new tools and policies to combat the now all-too-familiar review bombing campaigns. The statement reads:

Fandom is a place of belonging for all fans and we take online trust and safety very seriously across all our sites including Metacritic. Metacritic is aware of the abusive and disrespectful reviews of Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores and we have a moderation system in place to track violations of our terms of use. Our team reviews each and every report of abuse (including but not limited to racist, sexist, homophobic, insults to other users, etc) and if violations occur, the reviews are removed. We are currently evolving our processes and tools to introduce stricter moderation in the coming months.

Better late than never.

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Burnings Shores average user score is now much higher than 4.8

As noted by a PushSquare article published at about 6 am today, the average user score for Burning Shores was “at 4.8 and dropping” on Metacritic. Some time after that, the site has removed enough user reviews so that the score is now back up in the green at 8.0 out of 10.

Earlier in the day, there were “significantly more negative reviews than positive ones,” but at the time of this writing, it has around 7,500 positive user reviews and about 1,600 negative ones.

Most of the remaining negative reviews complain that its gameplay is too boring, its graphics are not optimized for PS5’s performance mode, and its world feels too empty. Meanwhile, the Metascore for the game is at a solid 88 with 118 positive critic’s reviews, 8 mixed reviews, and no negative ones.

Horizon Forbidden West was also review-bombed on Metacritic during its release back in February 2022, while the Resident Evil 4 Remake was also review-bombed for being “woke.”

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Sony published 15 “good” games in 2022

Not a single one of the 15 scored games Sony published last year earned a bad Metascore. The average rating for all of its 2022 releases was 85.6/100. Two of the games were considered “great” (90/100 or higher).

Scores games include God of War Ragnarok, Gran Turismo 7, Horizon Forbidden West, The Last of Us Part 1, and PC ports of critically-acclaimed games like God of War (2018) and Marvel’s Spider-Man.

In contrast, Microsoft failed to qualify for Metacritic’s annual publisher rankings due to releasing only four distinct scored games. The aggregator’s cut-off point is five games.

Of all the Sony published games last year, the lowest Metascore is held by MLB: The Show 22 – now a multiplatform game. The popular baseball title scored 77/100.

Paradox Interactive was the second best publisher of 2022, per Metacritic, followed by Activision Blizzard, Focus Entertainment, and Take-Two Interactive. Considering its size compared to other top publishers, Focus Entertainment is an outlier – one that published well-received games like A Plague Tale: Requiem.

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Low Forspoken user reviews complain about Frey’s dialogue

Scouring through the multiple user reviews on Metacritic that are in the red, they all have similar complaints. Most believe that the writing is poor, particularly for the protagonist Frey who some find irritating, unlikeable, and crass. They also found the combat shallow, the open world empty, and the graphics disappointing, with some claiming that they were downgraded from the game’s prior trailers.

The wave of low user scores isn’t too much of a surprise given that many players were already mixed on the Forspoken demo and given that a recent trailer for the game received more dislikes than likes on various YouTube channels. The comments in the negative user reviews also echo some of the same issues from critics too, with the PS5 game currently standing at a 68 Metascore.

Metacritic has recently changed its user review policy by not allowing any user scores to be submitted until a game has been out for at least a day or so. That soft embargo was lifted yesterday, allowing for the flood of low scores.

That said, about one-third of the user reviews on Metacritic are actually positive, similar to our review that gave the game a 8/10. Several of them believe the complaints are overblown and that the game’s traversal system is fluid and fun.

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An overview of PS5 vs Xbox 2021 game releases

Three of Microsoft-published titles scored above 90: Forza Horizon 5, Psychonauts 2, and Microsoft Flight Simulator. Halo Infinite settled for 87. Sony’s lineup was led by Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut, and Death Stranding: Director’s Cut. The company is off to a great start this year with Gran Turismo 7 and Horizon: Forbidden West, but both games missed the cut-off for 2021. With all the aforementioned factors accounted for, Microsoft earned 346.0 points and Sony earned 312.9 to claim second position. Humble Games, Activision Blizzard, Bethesda Softworks, Capcom, Bandai Namco, Sega, Electronic Arts, and 505 Games rounded up the top ten in this specific order. Square Enix was no. 12, Nintendo was no. 14, Ubisoft was no. 19, and Take-Two Interactive was no. 27. THQ Nordic and Merge Games were among the worst publishers.

Opinion: Microsoft’s lineup is getting better

Zarmena writes… This is going to be an unpopular opinion but Microsoft is firing on all cylinders to increase its lineup of video games, and if that means it has to acquire entire publishing houses then so be it. You gotta do what you gotta do. Last generation was particularly rough for the company so the rebound is impressive. Sony had a lighter 2021 but is on track to reclaim its position in 2022. All in all, it’s a great time to be a gamer.

In other news, Horizon Forbidden West patch 1.07 is out, and we’re not getting a new Dino Crisis.

[Source: Metacritic]

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Why Horizon Forbidden West review bombing matters

Metacritic isn’t the only platform plagued by review bombing campaigns but it is a website that matters. For starters, developers often use feedback on Metacritic and Steam as some kind of a metric for how well-received their game is, and positive scores often get quoted in stakeholder meetings. In fact, some developers even hand out bonuses if their games hit a certain milestone on Metacritic. More recently, it was reported that Cyberpunk 2077 developers would have their bonuses withheld if the game fell below 90/100 on the website. Interestingly, former Bend Studio staffer Jeff Ross once claimed that Days Gone 2’s pitch was turned down partly because the game didn’t do too well on Metacritic.

Opinion: Reviews shouldn’t be the only metric for success

Zarmena writes… Review bombing is only lucrative because developers rely on reviews far too much. Reviews are subjective opinions and should be treated as such. Constructive criticism is one thing, but planning company bonuses around Metacritic scores is pretty asinine, to say the least. I will always maintain that The Order 1886 and Murdered Soul Suspect are great games and… uhh… let’s not look at their Metacritic scores, okay?

In other news, Street Fighter 6 has officially been announced, and Call of Duty anti-cheat now lets you destroy cheaters.

[Source: Reddit]

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GTA Trilogy was quite an embarrassment for Rockstar Games. The Grove Street Games-developed title launched in a woeful state, prompting demands for refunds. The trilogy was unavailable on Steam for what seemed like forever and the original games, which were pulled from sale once the bundle released, were restored. Many pointed out that Take-Two Interactive’s CEO Strauss Zelnick had lamented the state in which Cyberpunk 2077 launched, only for a Take-two title to end up releasing in a similar state.

Other games gracing the list include eFootball – Konami’s new free-to-play game that was released in lieu of Pro Evolution Soccer, which has now been shelved for good.

Check out Metacritic’s list of 2021’s ten worst reviewed games (via Video Games Chronicle) below. Do note that scores of multiplatform games are averages that consider all platforms.

1. EFootball 2022 (Multi) – 25
2. Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood (PS4) – 42
3. Balan Wonderworld (Multi) – 44
4. Of Bird and Cage (PC) – 44
5. Demon Skin (PC) – 48
6. PixelJunk Raiders (Stadia) – 49
7. The Unexpected Quest (Multi) – 49
8. Taxi Chaos (Multi) – 51
9. Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed (Multi) – 52
10. Arkham Horror: Mother’s Embrace (Multi) – 53
11. GTA: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition (Multi) – 53
12. Necromunda: Hired Gun (Multi) – 55

[Source: Metacritic via VGC]

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We’re excited to announce that SEGA is @metacritic‘s 2021 Publisher of the Year!

We’re incredibly proud of all our studios and hard-working staff who made it happen despite the challenging year.

A huge thank you to all our fans who continue to support us! pic.twitter.com/nnOHZS1DjD

— SEGA (@SEGA) March 27, 2021

SEGA earned an average rating of 81.6 percent over 28 titles. Here’s how its games ranked during the year:

• Persona 5 Royal – 95
• Yakuza 0 (Xbox) – 90
• Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 – 80
• Yakuza Kiwami 2 (Xbox) – 88
• Persona 4 Golden (PC) – 87
• Football Manager 2021 – 85
• Yakuza Like A Dragon – 85
• 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim – 85
• Two Point Hospital – 84
• Sega Ages: Fantasy Zone – 84
• Bayonetta & Vanquish Collection – 84
• Sega Ages: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 – 83
• Yakuza 5 (PS4) – 82
• Yakuza Kiwami (Xbox) – 81
• Sega Ages: Thunder Force AC – 80
• Total War: Three Kingdoms – Furios Wild – 80
• Total War: Three Kingdoms – A World Betrayed – 80
• Total War: Three Kingdoms – Mandate of Heaven – 80
• Catherine Full Body (Switch) – 80
• Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Megamix – 79
• Sega Ages: Puyo Puyo 2 – 78
• Yakuza 4 (PS4) – 78
• Sega Ages: Shinobi – 78
• Yakuza 3 (PS4) – 77
• Total War: Troy – 75
• Sega Ages: G-LOC Air Battle – 74
• Sakura Wars – 73
• Panzer Dragoon (Switch) – 63

“Now in its seventh decade, the Japanese gaming company had quite a good 2020, shooting up 17 places in our annual rankings to take the crown as our #1 publisher of the year,” wrote Metacritic. “Sega’s average Metascore was actually a fraction of a point below that of our #2 publisher, Annapurna, but Sega was boosted into the top slot by virtue of having two stellar 2020 games – though both (including Metacritic’s 2020 Game of the Year, Persona 5 Royal) were ports of previously existing titles to new platforms.”

Alongside SEGA and Annapurna, Capcom, Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Activision Blizzard rounded up the top five, respectively.

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Despite the hoopla surrounding Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II for much of 2020, the game was voted as the best title of the year by a landslide. To put this into perspective, The Last of Us Part II earned 10,194 points, and runner up Ghost of Tsushima earned 2,079 points. Metacritic assigned a value of five points to each first-place vote, four points for second place, and gradually went down to one point for each fifth-place vote.

Full list is as follows:

1. The Last of Us Part II – 10,194
2. Ghost of Tsushima – 2,079
3. Cyberpunk 2077 – 1,691
4. Hades – 1,510
5. Doom Eternal – 1,062
6. Final Fantasy VII Remake – 1,044
7. Demon’s Souls – 818
8. Animal Crossing: New Horizons – 701
9. Ori and the Will of the Wisps – 694
10. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales – 615
11. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – 596
12. Half-Life Alyx – 584
13. Persona 5 Royal – 487
14. Resident Evil 3 – 463
15. Nioh 2 – 354

Cyberpunk 2077‘s position might surprise some because of the game’s near-unplayable state on last-gen consoles. However, it’s worth noting that the game runs well on PC and although its PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X performance isn’t exactly stellar, it’s decent enough for players to experience the campaign. As a result, it’s not shocking that Cyberpunk 2077 rounded up the top three, especially considering that it was one of the most anticipated video games of the year.

Any surprises (other than The Last of Us Part II) for our readers in this list? Leave a comment and let us know.

[Source: Metacritic]

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So without further ado, here are the ten lowest-scoring video games of 2020:

1. Tiny Racer (Nintendo Switch) – 29
2. XIII Remake (Xbox One) – 32
3. Dawn of Fear (PlayStation 4) – 33
4. Fast & Furious Crossroads (PC) – 34
5. Arc of Alchemist (Nintendo Switch) – 36
6. Remothered: Broken Porcelain (PC) – 39
7. Tamarin (PlayStation 4) – 40
8. Street Power Soccer (PlayStation 4) – 41
9. Gleamlight (Nintendo Switch) – 42
10. The Elder Scrolls: Blades (Nintendo Switch) – 42

One of the most noteworthy disasters from the aforementioned list is the remake of 2003’s XIII. Developer PlayMagic and publisher Microids had to issue an apology for their botched attempt at remaking the cel-shaded PlayStation 2 era shooter.

“The pandemic has impacted the game’s production on many levels,” the companies explained in a joint statement. “Pivoting to home working for the teams has added unexpected delays in the development schedule and the QA process. We hoped we would be able to provide a Day One patch fixing all the issues but the development of this update is taking more time than expected.”

Looks like a lot of developers will be scrubbing these titles from their résumés.

[Source: Metacritic]

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