review-bombing Archives

AppWizard

July 20, 2025

Ready or Not hits 1m console sales in 4 days despite “censorship” claims from its PC players

Void Interactive's shooter, Ready or Not, achieved over one million sales on consoles within four days, compared to 36 days for its initial PC launch. CEO Julio Rodriguez expressed pride in this milestone and acknowledged the team's hard work. The game faced backlash due to necessary content changes mandated by first-party partners, leading to a drop in its Steam rating from "mostly positive" to "mostly negative," while still maintaining a score of 4 out of 5 on Xbox and 4.69 on PlayStation. Void Interactive also parted ways with its publisher, Team17, after announcing a controversial school shooting mission.

AppWizard

July 16, 2025

Here’s why you can’t rate that system app in the Google Play Store

Google has introduced minimalistic app listings for certain system services in the Play Store, focusing on essential details and removing reviews and ratings to reduce user frustration and prevent review-bombing. This new format is being rolled out and is noticeable when users explore their installed apps, although it may not appear in standard searches.

AppWizard

June 20, 2025

‘Monster Hunter Wilds’ Now Has Overwhelmingly Negative Reviews on Steam – How One of 2025’s Best Games Is Crashing on PC

Monster Hunter Wilds has received an "Overwhelmingly Negative" rating on Steam, despite being Capcom's fastest-selling title earlier this year. Players have expressed dissatisfaction primarily due to performance issues with the PC version, including frequent crashes, sluggish server response times, and high system requirements for smooth gameplay. Many negative reviews come from players with significant hours logged in the game, indicating that the discontent is not impulsive. While some players appreciate the gameplay, others criticize the narrative-driven approach and simplified mechanics, which have disappointed long-time fans.

AppWizard

June 20, 2025

Monster Hunter Wilds reviews hit “Overwhelmingly Negative” on Steam — players cite the game’s weak endgame and PC performance

Monster Hunter Wilds sold over 10 million copies and had more than a million concurrent players on Steam at launch. Despite receiving a 4/5 star review from Windows Central, it is now facing backlash, with players review-bombing it and causing its rating to fall to "Overwhelmingly Negative" on Steam. Critics and fans have noted that the game's challenge has decreased due to simplified mechanics and a forgettable story campaign. Technical issues such as frame rate drops and graphical glitches have also been reported. The player base has declined, with Monster Hunter: World, an older title, currently having twice the number of concurrent players. The endgame content in Monster Hunter Wilds is considered disappointingly brief. Future Title Updates, including one for Lagiacrus in June 2025, are expected to address these issues. Monster Hunter Wilds is available on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam.

AppWizard

June 14, 2025

Sony quietly removes PC sale restrictions in dozens of countries for four huge PlayStation games

Sony has eased regional restrictions on several popular PC games, including God of War Ragnarök, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and Helldivers 2, as of June 13. The changes were noted on SteamDB, showing a reduction in the number of countries where these games are unavailable, with only the Russian Federation added to the list of restricted sales. This decision follows a backlash from a previous incident involving Helldivers 2, which was removed from sale in 177 countries due to a PSN requirement. Additionally, Sony's president, Hideaki Nishino, mentioned that the company is considering adjustments to the pricing of its PlayStation Plus service to maximize profitability through a dynamic pricing strategy.

AppWizard

May 19, 2025

‘We are doing our best to resolve most of it’: Stellar Blade’s PC release will be restricted in 130 countries as the devs fight to have it lifted

The PC release of Stellar Blade in June is facing region-lock issues affecting players in 130 countries, with six countries—Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, and Vietnam—having no price point listed. PlayStation Network (PSN) requirements have been controversial, with developers stating that PSN connection is optional, despite past titles facing restrictions leading to negative reviews. The disparity in game pricing across regions has led to exploitation by key resellers. Shift Up, the developer of Stellar Blade, is actively discussing the region lock issue with the publisher to resolve it.

AppWizard

February 10, 2025

The PlayStation Network outage proves PC gamers were right to resist its mandatory sign-in requirement

Review-bombing campaigns have arisen from cultural debates about trans characters, queer developers, and liberal writing consultants. A recent incident with Helldivers 2 has shown that these campaigns can also highlight legitimate consumer concerns, specifically regarding the PlayStation Network's (PSN) sign-in requirement. Sony and Arrowhead initially stated that a PSN sign-in would be implemented, which seemed minimal at first. However, players expressed frustration over the exclusion of gamers in regions with Steam access but not PSN. Sony has since abandoned its PSN ambitions on PC while continuing to exclude certain countries from Helldivers 2. The justification for "player protection" appeared disingenuous, as it seemed aimed at funneling users into the PSN ecosystem, which requires sharing personal information. Recently, the PSN experienced a 24-hour outage, raising concerns about the implications of a mandatory sign-in for games like Helldivers 2 and single-player titles. Sony seems to struggle with understanding the PC gaming audience, entering the PC market reluctantly due to its growth and console stagnation. The company must earn the loyalty of PC gamers, who may resist being tied to a service that charges for online access to games they already own. The PSN has a history of significant cybersecurity breaches, and the details surrounding the recent outage remain unclear, with Sony not providing clarity on any potential compromise. Mandatory sign-ins to services like PSN represent a significant imposition that consumers should avoid due to genuine risks.