In theory, gamers adding their own reviews toMetacriticis a good idea. Unfortunately, it often leads to games being review bombed.
This is the practice of gamers angrily leaving negative reviews on a new release that they haven’t played for a variety of, ultimately, trivial reasons.
While the industry has pushed back against review bombs, some still occur today. Are they the most brutal gaming review bombs in history? Let’s find out.
10Mass Effect 3
Red, Blue, Or Green?
Mass Effect 3
You can’t talk about review bombs without talking aboutMass Effect 3. The ending of the beloved sci-fi trilogy was always going to be controversial, as players saw their choices and actions have ripple effects throughout the trilogy.
There was no wayBioWarecould make everyone happy. Instead, they pissed everybody off.
Mass Effect 3’s ending feels hollow, as all of your prior choices ultimately do not matter in the end.To fans, it felt like no matter what option they chose to deal with the Reaper threat, the ending was the same, just with a different color–literally!
Nowhere Near As Impactful As SimCity
Believe it or not, review bombing is nothing new. A fact proven by 2008’sSpore, where people were really pissed off about the game’s DRM system.
Intended to be a way to combat piracy,Spore’s DRM system prevented players from installing the game more than three times.
Gamers felt attacked, leading them to believe that we were about to go down a slippery slope where we don’t own the games we buy; we’re instead just renting them.
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It turns out that they were right; digital ownership rights are a big hot-button topic in gaming today.
8Titan Souls
YouTuber Stans Took It Too Far
Titan Souls
In 2015,Titan Souls wasreleased to decent reviews, averaging in the mid-70s on Metacritic. Seems harmless, right?
Popular YouTuber TotalBiscuit said the game was not for him, a comment mocked by Andrew Gleeson, the artist forTitan Souls. TotalBiscuit even said that the developer had it out for him.
As a result, fans of TotalBiscut began review-bombing the game in retaliation, something the YouTuber would later say he was not a fan of.
This is a case of fans taking things way too far; there was nothing wrong with the game; people were just upset that someone they liked seemed upset.
7Star Wars: Battlefront II
Microtransactions In A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars Battlefront 2
The return ofStar Wars: Battlefrontwas a letdown. The 2015 release felt less like a full game and more like a tech demo.
2017’sStar Wars: Battlefront IIfelt more like the game we were all hoping for, and in all honestly, it played that way, too. There was just one, small, tiny problem: microtransactions and lootboxes.
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The game wasfilledwith them, resulting in an experience that felt like it belonged in a free-to-play game with a pay-to-win model rather than a full-priced AAA game. Gamers were swift with their review bombing.
Developer DICE would overhaul the system in response to the backlash, ensuring microtransactions would not affect gameplay.
6Pokemon Sword and Shield
Phoning It In
Pokemon Sword and Shield
Many people were excited about the first Pokemon title released onNintendo Switch. While the mainline entries in the series were on handheld devices in the past, we were now getting a fully-fledged Pokemon game on a Nintendo console.
Sadly, the game’s release was controversial, though most of it wasn’t warranted.
The biggest sticking point with fans was the game’s “National Dex,” the Pokedex that features Pokemon not native toSword and Shield.
It was much smaller than past entries in the series, leading gamers to believe that Nintendo and The Pokemon Company were cutting corners and delivering a half-baked product.
Their response? Review bomb the game into oblivion.
5The Last of Us: Part II
Review Bombed Before Release
The Last of Us Part 2
I’ll keep things spoiler-free for those who still haven’t played the game, but here it goes:
Plot details forThe Last of Us: Part IIleaked online before the game’s release, and people wereveryupset. No, not because it leaked; they were upset at the story’s direction.
Chronically, online gamers were upset that the narrative felt like Naughty Dog was forcing diversity down everyone’s throats. Developers were subjected to online harassment and even death threats.
One thing to note about the review bombing here is that it occurred before release, which meant users couldn’t have completed the game.
It’s a shame becauseThe Last of Us: Part II’s story is one of the most engaging, gripping stories in a video game.
4Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition
A Rare Rockstar Blunder
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition
Is it ever okay to review bomb a game? That’s a discussion for another day.
Unlike most of these other examples, though,Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Editionwas an absolute disaster and one of the worst game launches in history. So, if your answer to the question above was yes, this one is probably the most deserving of the bunch here.
It was even one of Metacritic’s lowest-scoring games of 2021, and it replaced all pre-existing, non-broken versions of the games on digital storefronts.
The collection had more in common with mobile shovelware than the original titles, regarded as some of the best games of the PlayStation 2 era.
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Whether the fan backlash is warranted or not, I want to note that harassing developers is never the right call.
Rockstar admitted thatThe Definitive Editiondid not meet their standards. As a result, any potential plans to remaster other games from Rockstar’s past were shelved. Instead, it’s full steam ahead forGrand Theft Auto VI.
3Warcraft III: Reforged
Blizzard Caught in a Storm
Warcraft 3: Reforged
Speaking of games that were a critical failure…
On paper, it’s a slam dunk:Blizzard Entertainmentremasters one of the best games ever. Blizzard said they would improve the game’s cutscenes and overhaul the user interface, resulting in a more modern, accessible experience.
Upon release, none of that was the case. The game felt like an unfinished money grab. Worst of all, the game was a mandatory upgrade over the originalWarcraft IIIexperience. you may no longer play the original game; it wasReforgedor nothing.
Warcraftfans went from being able to play one of their favorite games to a half-baked, suboptimal experience that made nobody happy. Blizzard has since updatedWarcraft III: Reforged, but many consider it inferior.
2Helldivers 2
For Democracy!
Helldivers 2
One of the best multiplayer games of the year wasn’t immune to review bombing. Like in many cases, it had nothing to do with the game itself but the fact that Steam players had to link to a PlayStation Network account.
Sony, which published the game, said the move was to help monitor the game’s community and ensure a safe environment for players.
That didn’t matter to gamers, especially since the PlayStation Network wasn’t always available in certain regions. Sony would even delist the game from those regions.
After the review bombing, developers Arrowhead Game Studios and Sony worked to find alternative solutions for these players and ensure their continued play of the game.
Fans were pleased with these actions, resulting in a reverse review bombing.
1Team Fortress 2
Hello? Is This Thing Still On?
Team Fortress 2
Why isTeam Fortress 2in the news in 2024? Well, mainly because Valve seems to have forgotten about this old relic, too.
It’s as if Valve is surprised that it still has a dedicated player base. While it’s nowhere near the peak of its heyday, there are still plenty of people who enjoy TF2.
Fans have had enough of Valve’s negligence regarding the game and, as a result, have taken to review bombing it.
Players are frustrated with the emergence of bots dominating the games, ruining everyone else’s experience.
We’re not sure if Valve will address these issues or if they’re solely focused on the future of their upcoming multiplayer shooter,Deadlock.
