Summary
By this point, it’s no secret that review bombingscan have some serious impact on a game and its studio. It wasn’t too long ago that evenTake-Two noted that review bombs have the potential to cut into potential profits, as well as harm the reputation of a company.
In the latest case,Moon Studios, the team behindthe Ori duology, has come out to take a stand against review bombing and its potential impact. Specifically, the fact that it could lead to the studio’s closure.
As first spotted by Windows Central, Moon Studios founder and lead Thomas Mahler has come out against those who are allegedly review bombing its latest title,No Rest for the Wicked.
Currently, the game’s most recent reviews are classified as “Mixed,” though the game as a whole is considered “Mostly Positive” based on over 30,000 reviews.
“I think people think I’m joking when I’m asking for positive reviews cause in peoples' minds there’s always some big publisher in the background who’ll cover costs…,” Mahler wrote on Discord. “Folks, if you’re writing here and are enjoying Wicked and are excited for future updates, but haven’t left a positive review, it’s entirely possible that we won’t be around in a couple of months to do anything anymore simply because we got review bombed which leads to people not buying the game.
“Which means we’re not making any money and will have to shut down.”
The lead went on to ask fans to “get that review score back up,” because if sales don’t start coming in “you might just cause our death by leaving that negative review that you posted because you want us to listen to feedback, which we do anyway.”
It’s worth noting that the game isn’t necessarily being review bombed in the traditional sense. Looking at Steam, some of the negative reviews do have legitimate criticism behind them.
“While I love the art style, the story, and, to a degree, the combat, the rest feels half-baked, obtuse, and unnecessarily punitive to the point I found myself going ‘Why??’ multiple times in my playthrough,” part of one review read.
It seems like while Mahler does have a point about the impact a review bomb can have on a game, there are some actual issues with Moon Studios' title that warrant negative reviews. Asking people to hold back a negative review that is legitimate isn’t the best way to go about things, either. Only time will tell what fate has in store for Moon Studios, but things are clearly coming to a head.
