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Metacritic has pledged to introduce stricter moderation after “abusive and disrespectful" Horizon: Forbidden West DLC review bombing this weekend.

Kazdane

Member
What is the point of user scores if someone can just decide they dont like the scores and delete them?
I guess they'll check manually to determine if a score makes sense.

For instance, I have an actual criticism about Final Fantasy XII, I dislike the battle system because I feel it doesn't really involve the player that much (in fact, the game can play itself quite literally).
So I could either write:
"I don't like FFXII's battle system because I feel the player doesn't have much to do and it's not as interactive as the battle systems of previous games in the saga"

Or:
"FFXII's battle system IS SHIT!!!111!!!"

Doesn't take too much to figure out which one comes from a player that simply didn't enjoy the game (or an aspect of it). At least, I'd like to believe that's what they have in mind.
 

Gambit2483

Member
Why can't they just use moderation and ban users who are clearly bombing? Either that or yea they have to get rid of user reviews altogether. This is why we can't have nice things.
 

The Cockatrice

I'm retarded?
Review bombs are all the place since ages. Game journalisms, Game media and even neoGAF fanboys keep saying they don't care about user score review and you shouldn't care too, but somehow they started to care now?
Talking about snowflakes.

I hope this is not some selective bullshit. If you gonna remove trolls/useless reviews, make so in every other user score from every game inside Metacritic, not just HFW.

If you remove the 0's might as well remove the 10's then because just as there are no games that deserve a 0, there are no games that deserve a 10 either and then what? Make a scoring from 1 to 9? Close your eyes if you are offended by some numbers lmfao. (not directed at you, just pointing out the stupidity of removal).
 
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Of course the mindless gaf corporate consumer will say they should be removed, because they would eat any trash the corporations feed them. Bombing does not impact sales, if people want to do it then let them do it. Freedom and all that. Your choice if you want to actually take at face value the user scores, you'd be an idiot if you do, just as the "critics" scores.
Agree 100%. I am so bored of this relentless drive to make everything as round, safe, controlled, timid, and welcoming as possible. Give me all the rabid fanboys and over- emotional dramatics and the arguing and irrational hatred. That’s the internet I grew up on and it was amazing.

The world is turning into a giant vagina and it stinks.
 
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Fake

Member
If you remove the 0's might as well remove the 10's then because just as there are no games that deserve a 0, there are no games that deserve a 10 either and then what? Make a scoring from 1 to 9? Close your eyes if you are offended by some numbers lmfao.

I don't think devs have problem with 10/10 and this pretty much the hypocrisy in their minds.

I read a review 10/10 saying 'take that haters'.

I wonder if this is consider review bombing.

For me both 10/10 and 0/0 that don't have any construictive review at all should be removed.
 
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AGRacing

Member
They had no issues when people review bombed Bayonetta because she did not fit their homoerotic head canon and complained that she was straight. Wasn't disrespectful then, eh?

Reviews of any kind have become absolutely useless. For those of us who are old and wise enough to no longer buy certain titles "day one!!!!1!1!1"... the only thing to do is rely on our friends and the names on a forum such as this that you begin to remember for aligning with your tastes.

Back in the days of EGM magazine they would review a game with a team of 4 with diverse gaming tastes (you know - the actually useful way to leverage diversity). The 4th guy was named Sushi X or something and he loved fighting games.

Often one of the 4 would just vibe with a game and explain why. It was a vastly more useful system to read reviews. Today if you read a journalist review you need to check who they work for first. If you read a user review we have to filter ideology first (not entirely their fault - because ideology is being ham fisted into most games it can be now).

You'd be better served just guessing if you'll like a game.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
God forbid people criticize retconning of a previously straight character with not one but two male love interests into a lesbian. Imagine if Neil made Ellie straight in tlou3.

Had they made her gay in HZD instead of having her tag along two thirsty dudes all game it wouldnt have been review bombed the way it is now. I saw this coming when they made Elizabeth Soebeck gay in the last game. Of course Elizabeth's clone was also going to be gay. They think they are smart by fully revealing this in a DLC like Neil did with Left Behind. Of course, the only difference is that Neil never had ellie as straight and had hints about her being lesbian in the main game. In HFW, she begins the game treating Varl and Errand like shit, and I couldnt make sense of it. I was like why is she so cold now especially after they helped her when she was outcast in the first game. But by the end of the game, it was obvious that they had retconned her sexuality and she had to be cold to these dudes in order to tell a different story where Carrie Anne Moss was her love interest.

They let you choose whether or not to bone Seyka at the end of the game, so some of this outrage is definitely homophobic, but I just dont care for how they went about doing this. I find it funny that 10 years ago, no one cared about lesbian leads in games like Left Behind, but now in an age where almost everyone is super accepting in real life, we are back to hating gay representation in games. It gives gamers a bad rep, but I suspect there is more to this than simply homophobia. People are probably just sick of what they perceive to be woke agenda.
 
But you would still have those idiots spamming 10s for anything red/green/blue.

What's the alternative? It would still be much better than what it currently is. If you check metacritic, there's many honest reviews that give 7s 8s and 9s. You can't stop the small group of idiotic fanboys from worshipping their brand. They'll always exist on all sides.
 
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Doom85

Member
Tens of games get review bombed for whatever reasons but now it's suddenly a problem?

Sure.

More like enough is enough already. I mean, we were already fresh off the heels of Resident Evil 4 Remake getting review bombed.

It will be nice to see Final Fantasy XVI not having to deal with this shit, as you know a few of the turn-based purists would be entering their 0 score as soon as they’re able to.
 

diffusionx

Gold Member
Tens of games get review bombed for whatever reasons but now it's suddenly a problem?

Sure.

Yes, that is pretty much how it works. Remember when Netflix got rid of stars because Amy Schumer's shitty special got low ratings? Note that Amy Schumer is the cousin of thought police senator Chuck.
 

Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
More like enough is enough already. I mean, we were already fresh off the heels of Resident Evil 4 Remake getting review bombed.

It will be nice to see Final Fantasy XVI not having to deal with this shit, as you know a few of the turn-based purists would be entering their 0 score as soon as they’re able to.
Enough has been enough for years. Why didn't they crack down on the tens of occasions we had before? Sure, we have to start somewhere but the subject matter is oddly convenient, isn't it?
God forbid people criticize retconning of a previously straight character with not one but two male love interests into a lesbian. Imagine if Neil made Ellie straight in tlou3.
Aloy wasn't retconned into anything. Her sexuality was never made explicit in Zero Dawn. She turned down pretty much everyone. Haven't played Forbidden West but from what I've heard, it's the same there. I always assumed that her sexuality was determinant on the player's choices. Now she might be a lesbian or she might be bisexual. Neither contradicts what was established about her character.
 

mrmustard

Banned
What's the alternative? It would still be much better than what it currently is. If you check metacritic, there's many honest reviews that give 7s 8s and 9s. You can't stop the small group of idiotic fanboys from worshipping their brand. They'll always exist on all sides.
Close the whole user score shit

or

Only allow 10s if the meta score is 90+, only allow score up to 2 below meta score. 150 words minimum and no copy paste from other users.
 

Nydius

Gold Member
As someone who enjoys leaving (frequently long) reviews, I’d welcome some sort of change to MC to keep reviews from being drowned by a deluge of one line, zero star ”reviews”. However, the only moderation I would get behind is if they forced reviewers to verify that they’ve actually played the game they’re reviewing. Similar to Steam or Amazon’s “verified purchase” reviews.

Problem is, I just don’t see MC doing a complete overhaul to implement such a verification system.
 
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64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
Of course the mindless gaf corporate consumer will say they should be removed, because they would eat any trash the corporations feed them. Bombing does not impact sales, if people want to do it then let them do it. Freedom and all that. Your choice if you want to actually take at face value the user scores, you'd be an idiot if you do, just as the "critics" scores.
i agree with the first part but there are user reviews where we can actually take them at face value most of the time. IDK about you but i'd rather not have a bunch of retards giving games a 0 because they're not on a particular box, or because of some politics that ultimately don't affect the game that much.
there's a time and place for trolling but user reviews are not that place, when you're looking for authentic reviews not blinded by fanboyism or bribing, clogging the user reviews up with terrible reviews written by screeching, pants shitting morons is annoying as fuck
 
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Madflavor

Member
I dropped out of the Horizon series after TFW bored me. I enjoyed Zero Dawn, but TFW failed to grab me like the first one did. I'm not surprised that Aloy's a Lesbian. I felt if romance was ever gonna be introduced it would be LGBT since that's the trend. I expect the same will happen with Lara Croft, it's only a matter of time.

As for stricter guidelines for MC User scores, this is way overdue. Review bombing as been a problem for years.
 

Three

Gold Member
Just delete user reviews altogether. Utterly and completely useless. Have a thumbs up/down and leave it at that if you must.
I wouldn't mind user reviews from verified purchases. I trust those more than review sites. People going and giving games like crackdown 3 and CrossfireX a 10/10 and then going and giving TLOU2 and HFW a 0/10. Yeah, i don't think those people even played the game let alone trusting them to be impartial.
 

The Cockatrice

I'm retarded?
i agree with the first part but there are user reviews where we can actually take them at face value most of the time. IDK about you but i'd rather not have a bunch of retards giving games a 0 because they're not on a particular box, or because of some politics that ultimately don't affect the game that much.
there's a time and place for trolling but user reviews are not that place, when you're looking for authentic reviews not blinded by fanboyism or bribing, clogging the user reviews up with terrible reviews written by screeching, pants shitting morons is annoying as fuck

trolls are in high scores as well. Corporations will naturally be ok with those. Consumers should not be.
 

Mr.Phoenix

Member
I feel user reviews can be just as good a too as journalist reviews. For all it is worth.

However, I believe they have to put a system in place that doesn't just ensure you have the game, but that you have played the game. Maybe something tied to your PS/XB/Steam account that tracks trophies and achievements or even playtime. So before you can make a review you should have met certain requirements.

If they cant be bothered to do that, then they should just get rid of them.
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
trolls are in high scores as well. Corporations will naturally be ok with those. Consumers should not be.
what i said also applies for fanboys uplifting their own console's games.
I agree with the previous post- scrap them altogether.

👍 👎.

That's all it should be.
likes and dislikes can easily be review bombed too....


Just moderate the user reviews better and have more strict guidelines for getting in, and you will naturally see less review bombing and toxic reviews
 

Nydius

Gold Member
👍 👎.

That's all it should be.

Without verifying whether the person has played the game they’re leaving a thumbs up or down to, this doesn’t change the issue. It just gets rid of text. Trolls and console warriorz will still be able to spam votes and “bomb” reviews. Except without text, it will be even harder to determine which of those up/down votes should be taken seriously.

At least with text, if I see a one line 0 score that says “gayloy!!! Crap game!”, I know to disregard the score.
 

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
who cares she's a lesbian? These people are such hyporcites, if she was into dudes it'll be totes fine, but godforbid they do something different. and they prob did it for the press.

I can't wait for Nathan Drake to come out.
You're right, Sony clearly looked at their other IP with a female lead and thought...hey, let's do something different to separate Aloy from our other female character.
Hypocritical indeed....👍
 

LostDonkey

Member
Without verifying whether the person has played the game they’re leaving a thumbs up or down to, this doesn’t change the issue. It just gets rid of text. Trolls and console warriorz will still be able to spam votes and “bomb” reviews. Except without text, it will be even harder to determine which of those up/down votes should be taken seriously.

At least with text, if I see a one line 0 score that says “gayloy!!! Crap game!”, I know to disregard the score.
Maybe produce a unique code in the game to confirm it has been played. You could then enter this code before it allows you to review?
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
Maybe produce a unique code in the game to confirm it has been played. You could then enter this code before it allows you to review?
or you could just sign in with your console or steam account and have metacritic read from your account...

Why make the users play the game before reviewing when the “professionals” don’t either?
You go to the professional review to see if the dev bribed the reviewers

you go to the user reviews to see what people actually think of the game. it just hasn't worked out that way because of console warring and politics recently
 
It seems we have reached an impasse. Games Journos are useless imbeciles with a universal political bias, and gamers can be like a horde of retarded locusts who usually dont even have to buy the game to review it.

For me, its steam reviews. Literally nothing else is a deciding factor for me. At the most, other reviews just convince me to check steam reviews.
 
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