Review Bombing Works! But, Should It Actually Work?

Take Two Interactive, best known for GTA, recently announced that it sees review bombing as a serious risk. Well, they kind of should since I am not aware of another gaming company out there that was reviewed bombed more.

And Take Two took it one step forward by practically saying they need to have a higher marketing budget as it should include funds to counter defamation campaigns. Most likely, big gaming companies see any group of gamers that do not like what they launch as a threat and see all review bombing situations as defamation. It is not actually that.

What Is Review Bombing?

Review bombing is a phenomenon we mostly see on the internet. It is when many people or rarely a few people using several accounts go to a website and post user reviews, usually negative. In most cases, the attempt is to harm the business, a service, a product, sales, or reputation. And it is not a phenomenon we only see in gaming.

One of my favorite examples a review bombing event was a Samsung TV set sold on Amazon. It was incredibly pricey and very large, like over 100 inches.

As you can see from the reviews, people had a lot of fun with this and the fact that all possible ratings are at 20% makes this event even funnier.

Some extra screenshots for you to enjoy! They might be for another TV though.

But, we are now talking about review bombing in gaming.

Why Does Review Bombing Happen?

Here’s where things get tricky. Review bombing can happen because of countless different reasons, like:

• Something changed in a game and the new feature is hated
• Some political statements in the game were not well-received
• A price change happened
• Racism
• Boredom
• The publisher did something the gaming community did not like

And so on…

Review Bombing Is Not Always Negative But Usually it Is

Before moving forward, we need to highlight that review bombing is not always negative, as most people think. It is not done just to hurt a game or stuff like that. Sometimes, it does have a positive drive behind it.

For instance, let’s say a small indie developer launches a game. It does not have many sales an does not get much traction since the marketing budget does not exist. But, someone sees the game, likes it, and recommends it to their community. In this case, a large number of people might start writing positive reviews about the game, which will lead sales up in the long run.

However, usually the reviews written are negative and caused by something more serious.

Review Bombing Works

We simply cannot deny this. Review bombing is highly effective for the wishes of the group of people performing it. In most cases, the wish is to make the game reach a very low rating, to make a point. And this happens.

When reviews are bad, there is a much lower possibility that someone is going to buy the game. And it works. It IS as simple as that.

This is particularly the case when we do not see messages that hint at the fact that a review bombing is happening. Like just leaving bad reviews and not much text. Would you play a Steam game with an Overwhelmingly Negative Rating? Chances are you will think twice! So, review bombing does work.

Should Review Bombing Actually Work?

Yes! 100%

It should work!

The problem is when gaming manufacturers end up thinking that this is just something done by the competition, or a group of people who just do not like the game and have no reason to, basically that it does not matter.

When reviews are bad, there is always a reason! And the gaming companies need to understand that reason. Is the game bad? Is there a feature that is not good for the players? What is the problem?

When all you do is think that these are attempts to discredit the company, you fail at understanding what is wrong with the game. When you do understand what is wrong and you actually do something to change it, people will remember.

Reviews matter. They always did. And the practice of review bombing is far older than the explosion of social media networks. As soon as systems were developed to review services online, review bombing also started. Maybe the local neighborhood Karens did not like that an interracial couple moved into the neighborhood and gave bad reviews on Yelp, Google Maps, and so on. A new Lara Croft game appeared and people were complaining about the fact that the protagonist does not have large enough breasts.

It does not really matter. There will always be instances when people will review bomb games because of reasons. What counts is how the game developer reacts. Any instance of review bombing should be analyzed and a decision about how to react should be made. And the sooner the company makes that decision, the better.

But Review Bombing Can Also Be Very Bad!

The truth is that the practice of review bombing does contribute to a hostile and toxic environment in the entire gaming industry. That is because it mostly discourages discussions, fosters negativity, and often leads to the harassment of other gamers or developers. If we really want growth in gaming, we need constructive criticism and an overall healthy discourse.

If the first thing that you do when you do not like a feature in a game, or any aspect of a game, is to go and leave a 1 star review somewhere, you are a part of this huge toxicity we see in gaming right now!

I should also highlight one very important thing. People are much more likely to leave a negative review than a positive review. When you really like a game, you stay focused on playing it. When you do not, you naturally want to complain. So, it is much easier for the negative effects of review bombing to be much stronger than they should be simply because people who do not have a problem with your problem or who like the game do not give the positive review.

Final Thoughts

We cannot do anything to stop review bombing. Game developers know that. And it is also very hard not to be tempted to be a part of a review bombing process happening at times. Let’s say Donald Trump would endorse a video game. The natural reaction of countless people from around the world would be to review that game 1 star without even playing it, buying it, and so on.

However, at the end of the day, the most important part of this entire thing is what the game developers do. From my point of view, such moments need to be carefully analyzed. The latest Assassin’s Creed will be or already was for sure review bombed simply because of the inclusion of a black Samurai in the game. This is where Ubisoft can step up and make a statement, thus gaining more popularity among other gaming groups.

That is all I wanted to say for now about review bombing. Is it good or is it bad? The answer is definitely subjective. What do you think though?

Originally published at https://adriancruce.com on July 22, 2024.