Cyberpunk 2077 shows why the bombing is so bad

CD Projekt Red’s sci-fi RPG Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t the first game to experience a rocky launch, and it certainly won’t be the last. The past few years have provided many examples of where overhyped and highly anticipated titles have failed to make the right kind of impact, either due to unfair fan expectations, developer missteps, or of them. Cyberpunk 2077 may not have been able to deliver its own hype, with bugs, missing features that were promised during development, and lackluster NPC animations, but CD Projekt Red has dedicated the years since launch to deploy patch after patch to try to get Cyberpunk 2077 in much better shape. Some fans may remain skeptical, but others agree that Cyberpunk 2077 has more than redeemed himself.

As such, it is particularly infuriating for a large number of gamers to see Cyberpunk 2077 once again become the victim of a bomb attack. The phenomenon – where a group of individuals deliberately targets a product with negative reviews to damage its reputation and sales – has been a weapon used more than once in the video game community to remove games for various reasons. . Cyberpunk 2077 has already had its fair share of problems since its launch in 2020, and the most recent bombing has helped highlight just how unnecessarily vicious the practice is.

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The struggles of Cyberpunk 2077

Sometimes marketing a game before launch can cause more problems than expected. If promotional materials are particularly well-crafted, players are undoubtedly incredibly excited, and if those materials are unrealistically representative of the finished product, problems inevitably arise. It’s fair to say that Cyberpunk 2077 promised a lot, and unfortunately he was not able to keep all those promises. While fan disappointment is understandable, and criticism of the developers is sometimes fair, some members of the community may take it too far. Amid problematic graphics, groundbreaking glitches, and sometimes unreliable gameplay, Cyberpunk 2077 lost the goodwill of many fans.

The launch was considered so disastrous by some that Sony even pulled the PlayStation version from its stores and offered full refunds to disgruntled customers soon after. Cyberpunk 2077‘s launch – although it has since returned. CD Projekt Red certainly had a lot of work to do to make sure the game was up to snuff, but in fairness to the studio, they were willing to put in the time and effort to deliver the kind of game that fans were waiting in the first place. Toss misfortunes and criticisms aside, Cyberpunk 2077 also had to deal with the ignominy of being bombarded not once but twice by angry players.

Thanks to the hard work of the developer, Cyberpunk 2077 climbed to a Metacritic score of 86, with many gamers agreeing that it has improved significantly since launch. The game has been heavily bombed after gamers were annoyed with its performance issues, especially on consoles compared to the much smoother experience on PC, but the second round of bombings is a ways off. more personal and undoubtedly more political respects. Due to CD Projekt Red’s open support for Ukraine following the unprovoked invasion of Russia earlier this year, some players decided to take a stand against this display of camaraderie and attack. Cyberpunk 2077review ratings.

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The problem of attack on criticism

It’s always a hot topic – whether or not games and game developers should get political. Some believe that politics should have no place in video games, while others believe that it is inevitable and that any art form is inherently political anyway. Regardless of a player’s opinion, the reliance on bombing review is an unfair reflection of a game’s value and is usually the result of vitriolic and unnecessary backlash.

This often goes hand in hand with a kind of toxic fan culture that makes some players feel like they have their own point of view in games, but not someone else’s, and can stem from homophobic views. , racist and/or sexist. games like The last of us inevitably face backlash for featuring queer characters and centering queer relationships, with calls from some corners of the gaming community for boycotts and bombshell reviews.

Overhaul bombing might seem like a particularly childish tactic to employ, but there’s no doubt that it can do some damage. Players who may not be aware of a recent bombing episode may be deterred from playing a game due to its low score, even if that score doesn’t reflect the title at all. There’s no doubt that a better moderation process needs to be in place to prevent reviewers from being able to review a bombshell game so easily, but it’s unclear what that process should or could look like without discouraging reviewers. legitimate and well-intentioned and the real criticisms. . Cyberpunk 2077The most recent attack on criticism is even more unfair, given that it has nothing to do with fan disappointment and everything to do with personal political beliefs.

Cyberpunk 2077 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

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