Summary
If you’re tired of using stars as a means to finding out whether a game is worth playing, then things might be heading in your favor relatively soon. That’s because Sony is experimenting with the potential for written User Reviews. Indeed,SonyviaPlayStationhas begun sending out emails to gamers asking for a written review on a game that has been associated with their Online ID.
News of the potential for user-curated reviews was first mentioned on the PlayStation subreddit, where one user shared the email they received, inviting them to leave a review forHelldivers 2. The Gamer is able to verify the emails sent because it has received a similar email asking for a review forThe Witcher 3.
Perhaps what’s most interesting about the request, is that, in the case of the email I received, I hadn’t logged more than a handful of hours into The Witcher 3, yet was prompted to share a review.
In another interesting wrinkle,users who had owned the game on disc were also prompted to share a review, but weren’t able to do so.One user shared on Reddit, “I tried to give a review for the Final Fantasy remake that I preordered and played. I couldn’t, and it kept saying I had to own the game to play it.”
It appears that the reviews aren’t being publicized, so this is likely a beta from PlayStation. Perhaps those errors will be resolved ahead of an official launch.
User Reviews Are A Mixed Bag
In a sea of reviews by critics, user reviews do have their place. They also serve as a great outlet for those interested in games criticism or writing. That said, like with anything, there are bound to be bad actors, andreview bombs are not uncommon.
So much so thatTake-Two, the holding company ofRockstar Games,recently noted in an SEC filing that review bombs can impact sales, as well as the reputation of the company.
Recently, Steam began cracking down on “joke” reviews. Users spotteda new “helpfulness system” that filters out meme reviews from actual reviews of substance. It remains to be seen what kind of safeguards Sony will put in place to avoid the same situation occurring on its PlayStation line of products, though certainly it will have to deal with its own set of bad actors regardless.
