God of War Ragnarok's PC Steam release has sparked controversy, resulting in a "Mixed" user review score. The source of the outrage? Sony's controversial requirement for a PlayStation Network (PSN) account to play the single-player game.
Steam Review Bombing Over PSN Requirement
The PC launch, while anticipated, has been met with a wave of negative reviews, many directly criticizing the PSN requirement. The game currently holds a 6/10 rating on Steam. This review-bombing stems from player frustration over the perceived unnecessary linking of a single-player game to an online account.
Interestingly, some players report successfully playing the game without linking a PSN account, suggesting inconsistencies in the implementation or enforcement of the requirement. One review states, "I get why people are upset about the PlayStation account... But I don't even understand because I could play fine without logging in. It sucks because those reviews are gonna turn people away from an incredible game." This highlights the potential for unfair negative impact on the game's overall perception.
Another review expresses technical issues alongside the PSN frustration: "PSN account requirement kills the excitement... launched the game and even logged in but it gets stuck on the Black screen, didn't play the game but it shows i played it for 1 hour 40 minutes, how ridiculous that can be."
Despite the negative reviews, positive feedback also exists, praising the game's story and quality while explicitly attributing the negative scores to Sony's policy. One such review reads, "Good story as expected. Players are giving negative reviews mostly for PSN. Sony has to look carefully now into this matter. Otherwise the game is top notch in PC to play."
This situation mirrors a previous incident with Helldivers 2, where a similar PSN requirement led to widespread backlash and a subsequent reversal of the policy by Sony. Whether Sony will respond similarly to the God of War Ragnarok situation remains to be seen.
