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Steam Responds to Review Bombing by Changing User Reviews

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It seems like the previous incident with Firewatch and Pewdiepie has caught the attention of Valve. Through a blog post the company underlines a few changes that are going to be done to user reviews. These changes are meant to stop the effectivity of what’s known as “Review bombing”, regardless of circumstance.

Why is this a big problem according to Steam? According to the blog post, “one thing we’ve noticed is that the issue players are concerned about can often be outside the game itself.” The problem comes by the fact that the reviews are meant to the product in general. And according to Steam developers, things such as something the developer has said online. Choices the developer has made in the Steam version of their game relative to other platforms. Or simple distaste towards their political conviction/stance aren’t relevant.

Remember when I completely skipped the DRM issue with Sonic Mania and proceeded to review the game as is? It wasn’t until the DRM was cracked that I talked about the issue because I believed that a DRM issue shouldn’t hold back what’s an otherwise good game. That’s the approach Steam is taking towards the issue of Review bombing.

“When it comes to the Review Score itself, however, it’s even less clear that these out-of-game reasons are relevant. When we look at what happens with the Review Score after a review bomb, we see that it generally recovers, in some cases fully back to where it was beforehand.” Then, the blog adds the following. “This implies that, while the review bombers were unhappy with a decision the developer made, the purchasers of the product afterwards were often as happy with the game as the players before them.”

This was something I wanted to talk about in a scrapped Op-ed regarding Pewdiepie and his fanbase. Because it seems like they thought that review bombing Firewatch’s Steam page would lower sales or something. While it did nothing but change the review score average from “Mostly positive” to “Mixed”.

Valve looked at many ways to solve the issue. One of them being locking off people from reviewing for a period of time. But this isn’t a solution they’d want to take. “We didn’t like the way this ultimately meant restricting the ability for players to voice their opinions. We don’t want to stop the community having a discussion about the issue they’re unhappy about, even though there are probably better places to have that conversation than in Steam User Reviews.”

So, the solution now is to implement graphs that are going to reflect how much the Steam reviews have changed over time. Each game page now contains a histogram of the positive to negative ratio of reviews over the entire lifetime of the game. This solution aims to make customers decide whether or not the reasoning for a review bombing of a game is their concern or not.

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This doesn’t really fix much except giving the potential buyer a choice of whether or not they find reviews relevant. Which really is something a lot of people do by default (I know I do). Since User Reviews are really depending on the “Mood of the audience”, it’s not that hard to find that the review system isn’t really accurate to determine if a game is really good or not.

I’m sure there are better ways to address these issues. Ones that keep the discussion afloat without relying on a score given by the community. But the best we can do is wait and see what happens.

I always wanted to be a journalist who listens. The Voice of the Unspoken and someone heavily involved in the gaming community. From playing as a leader of a competitive multi-branch team to organizing tournaments for the competitive scene to being involved in a lot of gaming communities. I want to keep moving forward as a journalist.

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Helldivers 2 Players Face Overwhelming Hordes of Factory Striders

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In the ongoing conflict against the Automaton invasion fleet, the Helldivers 2 players have successfully halted their advance. However, the situation has now reached a tiresome stalemate. Yet again, the machines refuse to take a break from their relentless pursuit of progress, with reports emerging of the Factory Striders being deployed in record-breaking quantities.

There have been reports of alleged machines that were supposedly encountered during Operation Swift Disassembly, which was just the beginning of a larger campaign. However, these accounts should be taken with a grain of salt, as they are unverified and seem to be more on the imaginative side. Factory Striders have gained a reputation as formidable weapons platforms that can produce more Automatons while enduring significant damage. If the machines are able to withstand such a relentless assault, it will be necessary to develop innovative strategies.

Have you come across groups of Factory Striders in Helldivers 2? Which strategies are proving to be the most effective in taking down these armored brutes? The Orbital Railcannon Strike will prove to be a valuable asset in the comments section below.

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Todd Howard affirms that the timeline of the Fallout series is coherent and well-constructed

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The recent release of Amazon’s adaptation of Fallout has ignited a renewed interest in the series and brought attention to the captivating alternate history that forms its foundation. Fans have expressed concern that the TV show’s events might be at odds with the plot of the Obsidian Entertainment video game New Vegas. Warning: Spoilers ahead for New Vegas and Amazon’s show!

Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard and Fallout TV executive producer Jonathan Nolan recently sat down with IGN to discuss the timeline. Howard was taken aback when showrunners Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet presented him with the surprising concept of obliterating Shady Sands, the bustling capital of the New California Republic, in the aftermath of the events in New Vegas. Howard eventually warmed up to the idea: “After discussing it, we realized that this could be a significant story moment that many things hinge upon.”

It seems that they had to make some tough decisions to ensure everything fell into place, but Howard emphasizes the importance of preserving the integrity of the Fallout timeline: “We take great care with the timeline. There seems to be some confusion in certain areas. However, all the events from the previous games, including New Vegas, did occur. We take great caution in that matter. We’re really pushing the limits here, but the explosions occur right after the events of New Vegas.

What are your thoughts on this? Is it up to par? Even though it may not have a significant impact on the overall quality of the games or show, it is comforting to know that those in charge are paying attention. We value your feedback and would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Evaluating Fallout 76’s Value in 2024

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If you’ve been keeping up with the new Fallout show on Amazon Prime, chances are you’ve been relying on PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium to access and enjoy one of Bethesda’s legendary RPGs. We decided to bypass the highly acclaimed Fallout New Vegas and Fallout 3, opting instead to explore the vast landscapes of West Virginia in Fallout 76. Infamous for its initial reception, Todd Howard’s “Fallout with Friends” has evolved significantly over the past six years. However, does that imply the game is of high quality? Is it worth playing in 2024?

As we ventured out of Vault 76 for the very first time, we were determined to find the answers to those burning questions. Recalling our escapades on the Push Square YouTube channel, we encountered quest-giving NPCs—a feature that was surprisingly absent upon release—awe-inspiring bases built by fellow players—and an abundance of loot that could easily burden us 76 times over.

In the midst of the vast array of open-world online experiences, we found ourselves quite enthralled by the combination of 50s classics playing in the background as we obliterated the heads of ghouls. And to top it off, we were able to enjoy all of this with our friends. Exploring the wasteland in the company of a ragtag band of survivors adds a unique element to Fallout 76, setting it apart from other games in the series. However, does it manage to prevent us from uninstalling and transitioning to one of the mainline entries in the series? To discover more, be sure to watch the complete video!

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