The question being, how do you tell which one is which?
And how should the review-hosting platforms (like Steam) curtail this practice, if at all?
Ive been living under a rock whats going on?
Its a practice used frequently in the gaming industry, though its by no means exclusively there.
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
It should be noted the Epic Store doesnt allow game reviews.
All existing Steam pre-orders WILL be honoured.
So why do gamers vent spleen in this way?
Id say because it sometimes works.
Steam reviews first appeared on the scene in 2013, and the review bombing followed fairly soon thereafter.
Finally, players took issue withFirewatchafter its developers vocally opposed the controversial remarks of Felix Pewdiepie Kjellberg.
Several groups claim to havegamed this systemto lower the Audience Score on various movies, includingThe Last JediandBlack Panther.
Yanover puts it more succinctly: Expressing that you dont want to see a movie is not a review.
You could use a variant on that same phrase to describe many of the aforementioned review bombs.
And how much do such feelings factor into your (or anyone elses) actual enjoyment of the game?
Why do we even have that feature?
And if so, should it?
This allows you to judge for yourself how seriously you want to take the issue.
Its much the same as jumping straight to the one-star reviews on Amazon, only with more context.
And other game stores, most notably the Epic Store, have cut game reviews entirely.
But it does beg the question: Where else are gamers going to be complain and see a response?
That would be all too easy to ignore.
Its very tempting to just label them as trolls and call it a day.
But as the saying goes, where theres smoke, theres a gaggle of pissed off gamers.
Story byRachel Kaser
Rachel is a writer and former game critic from Central Texas.
She enjoys gaming, writing mystery stories, streaming on Twitch, and horseback riding.
Check her Twitter for curmudgeonly criticisms.
