Metacritic may have finally addressed its "review bombing" problem following what transpired after The Last of Us Part II released for the PlayStation 4 last month. This has been an issue on the site for a long time but the practice had never gotten quite as bad as it did in the wake of the Naughty Dog launch.
TLOU2 dropped as possibly the most highly-anticipated game of 2020, given the precedent set by the first installment from 2013. And, hardly a few hours removed from the launch, people stormed Metacritic to post weirdly low scores, most of which came from folks who hadn't even played the game. Even gamers who did purchase the game couldn't have possibly beaten it in the space of a few hours.
The site has seemingly taken steps to address the problem by not permitting anyone to post reviews of games on their launch day.
According to a post from ResetEra, reviews for Superliminal - a game ported for the PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on Tuesday - were not immediately available. Furthermore, the site urged users to "Please spend some time playing the game." Another note instructed that persons looking to throw in their two cents should “come back to review it starting at 12:00PM PST on July 9.”
While this isn't expected to stop review bombing, it is a step in the right direction. Of course, trolls likely don't mind waiting a few days to post negative reviews and low scores. As the post reads, "Thought it was thread worthy. You can't just toss you score at a game right after the release date. Not anymore. Does it mean we won't see another moronic review bombing? Probably not, but it's something I guess."
Fortunately, low Metacritic scores hardly slowed sales for The Last of Us 2 and it continues to do well in that regard. The title already broke the record for PS4 sales in the UK.
Review bombing hasn't been the only controversial point relating to TLOU2's release. Character Abby's voice actor Laura Bailey was the victim of death threats recently, which makes absolutely no sense.
Naughty Dog has since condemned the actions of players who somehow found it necessary to send threats Bailey's way.
Source: ResetEra