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TLOU2 Haters and Detractors are review-bombing Metacritic. The Salt rises!

TriSuit666

Banned
-The main character is openly gay
-The game leaks suggest it doesn't play out the same as the fanfics people imagined in their heads
-But mainly the first point

There's nothing wrong with point one... to be frank, who gives a flying shit what the sexuality of the protagonist is or isn't?

Point two however... the leaks have been proven to be correct, but worse, they are COMPOUNDED when placed in narrative context.
 
What's happened (in my non educated opinion) is Sony has enough fans to support their product regardless of an agenda. So at first non Sony gamers or Sony gamers that hate SJW agendas did not like the direction of the game and spoke up loudest, but the overwhelming majority of Sony fans will support a 1st party game almost irrespective of quality, agenda, length, etc and they now have the louder voices on Gaf and throughout gaming it seems.

This is coming from someone that supports the "SJW" movement for more diversity in games. I just find it interesting that this is the one approach that can be taken in the gaming industry that will allow the SJW agenda to thrive.

Sony fans will back their horse no matter what. To be fair, the same can be said for Xbox fans, they just have a MUCH smaller fanbase.

So basically, supporting a product out of blind devotion instead of the merit of its genuine quality? Sounds like a good diagnosis to me. I've seen the first 2-3 hours or so and hey, for everyone who ends up enjoying the game, I'm glad they have a game to enjoy.

But as far as my own tastes in terms of gameplay and story, in those few hours (plus I did see the leaks) there's virtually nothing to this game I find appealing. A lot of people are fawning over the graphics but I've always been a sort of gamer where pretty visuals don't mean everything especially when most of it is just scenic eye candy.

More than the story issues some people seem to have contention with, though, I'm more alarmed with the comments on the gameplay. It sounds like ND neglected any significant new takes on the gameplay for the sake of the story and investing everything into that. Some are saying it's literally the same structure as TLOU1 but with even simpler puzzles. I understand the focus was on the story, but they should've kept in mind this is a game first, above all else, and literally repackaging the same game mechanics as the first release from several years ago, makes it sound like this should've simply been another DLC.

All that said, those are just my takes on what I've seen in those first 2-3 hours as well as some of the leaks. I don't have a desire to play the game tbh, but again to the people who do and end up genuinely liking it, I'm not gonna stop them (not like I could xD). I'm glad they have a game to enjoy. But I do think this is going to be a very divisive game among the fanbase and it certainly is for people outside of that.
 

Dodkrake

Banned
For most storytelling issues that irk too much. And considering its solely single-player and story focused that is a deal-breaker for several people (including me). There's a few that criticize other aspects, but that's overblown. Has decent gameplay for what it is, looks and sounds great. Still, I'm not interested in it, because I lose all motivation once I hit something that actively annoys me.

The whole things aggravated by the 10/10 scores, and here we are.

So, you just reviewed the game without playing it
 
edit - this is weird... I keep typing posts and then when I go to post them at least half the post has disappeared? Eh... not bothering re-typing it this time
 
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Dodkrake

Banned
So basically, supporting a product out of blind devotion instead of the merit of its genuine quality? Sounds like a good diagnosis to me. I've seen the first 2-3 hours or so and hey, for everyone who ends up enjoying the game, I'm glad they have a game to enjoy.

But as far as my own tastes in terms of gameplay and story, in those few hours (plus I did see the leaks) there's virtually nothing to this game I find appealing. A lot of people are fawning over the graphics but I've always been a sort of gamer where pretty visuals don't mean everything especially when most of it is just scenic eye candy.

More than the story issues some people seem to have contention with, though, I'm more alarmed with the comments on the gameplay. It sounds like ND neglected any significant new takes on the gameplay for the sake of the story and investing everything into that. Some are saying it's literally the same structure as TLOU1 but with even simpler puzzles. I understand the focus was on the story, but they should've kept in mind this is a game first, above all else, and literally repackaging the same game mechanics as the first release from several years ago, makes it sound like this should've simply been another DLC.

All that said, those are just my takes on what I've seen in those first 2-3 hours as well as some of the leaks. I don't have a desire to play the game tbh, but again to the people who do and end up genuinely liking it, I'm not gonna stop them (not like I could xD). I'm glad they have a game to enjoy. But I do think this is going to be a very divisive game among the fanbase and it certainly is for people outside of that.

5 hours in and I can categorically tell you you are wrong in all accounts where I bolded. TLOU didn't have puzzles whatsoever, and the amount of detail in figuring things out in this one is really good.

Not going to comment on your personal opinion on graphics, not my place, and I end up agreeing that art style > graphics every day.
 
Where was your thread complaining that there were thousands of 5* reviews in the Playstation Store, weeks before the game even came out? Not crying about those reviews? Oh ok then.

That did get discussed on the forum, can't remember if it had its own thread or not. The truth is all games go through that, check Cyberpunk's score on the PS store right now.
 

Atrus

Gold Member

That just reiterates what I said from his video review. The thing is, people like yourself, who clearly didn't play the game, are hugging onto his predominantly subjective opinion of a plot in a game that he otherwise praises highly in most other aspects. Plot has a heavy weighting in his review and he says that a pretty significant deviation in the game doesn't have a payoff, that's fair, but the rest of what makes up a game is still reviewed well.

Nothing in his video review comes close to indicating that this is a terrible game.

Are you an adult? If so I challenge you to put down a precise and articulate explanation on why this is a terrible game based on your personal experience. So far, all I see is a bunch of whiny snowflakes who are turning this game into a battle for their console or their counter-culture war against SJW's as if they arent the same sort of problem.
 
5 hours in and I can categorically tell you you are wrong in all accounts where I bolded. TLOU didn't have puzzles whatsoever, and the amount of detail in figuring things out in this one is really good.

Not going to comment on your personal opinion on graphics, not my place, and I end up agreeing that art style > graphics every day.
Well, I am about six hours in and I agree on a lot of his points. This story is not what I signed up for and, as someone who also partook in the leaks and spoilers, I can see where this game is going and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I'm all for reserving judgment until I've played it and I think anybody judging should play before they judge but afterwards those opinions still remain valid. This game is not a 10/10 but it is very good. I hate applying scores to games but even 6 hours in I can tell this game does not have the story structure or quality of narrative the first game had. By a long shot.

That saddens me the most. The gameplay is good, the artstyle is stunning and the environments are just intense beyond belief. But they're all wrappings around a greater piece of art - the storyline. The true meat of the first game and the meat of this game. And the quality is not the same.

Again, I'm about six hours in at this point so time will tell but the narrative alone has fallen flat on its face in at least two places so far.
 

Croatoan

They/Them A-10 Warthog
That's very mature.

Do you ever look back on what you wrote and think, "i'm being childish"?

Accepting and understanding other peoples opinions is a form of maturity and growth. Not responding with "waaahh, im not going to talk to you anymore cause you're an extremist feminist, of which i have no proof"
Nope? I could care less what you think is mature, or if you think I am childish lol.

I do understand and accept his opinion, I just think it is shit and not worth my time. I can't accurately lay out why I think his opinion is shit without spoilers though so maybe they can come in the spoiler thread after they play the game and discuss later. Maybe then they can change my mind on whether their opinion should be of interest to me.
 

decisions

Member
- Reviews from people who haven’t played the game are bad.
- A piece of art that communicates a political ideology that you disagree with is not objectively bad by virtue of that fact.

People can hate the game all they want, I think this is an issue of so-called “hardcore gamers” pretending that they can give a fair review of a game without actually playing it.
 

Dodkrake

Banned
TBF from what I've seen so far and know from descriptions of relatively trustworthy reviewers, if you've played TLOU1 you've basically played TLOU2 aside from the story, as that's the only thing with significant differences.

I am playing the game. You are categorically wrong.

The gameplay "loop" is similar, but the game is a sequel, so that is to be expected. Other than that? Puzzles so far have been easy, but much more varied than the ones in TLOU. It's not even comparable. The ability to go prone in a semi-open world has opened many doors to places where you get story content and that you may miss it if you just speedrun the thing. And the funny part is that this doesn't feel like a chore.

Also, dodging is an awesome addition and has created some incredible gameplay moments on my playthrough. It seems silly, but it makes the whole combat thing feel much better. Gameplay is also massively improved, it's a no contest.
 

turtlepowa

Banned
It's clear I was talking about the reviews from gaming sites and publications, sources that many people seem to covet. Which is what sparked off this review score controversy. Although the essence of what I'm arguing doesn't really change.

Obviously anyone giving it a review without actually having played it for themselves is in the wrong, positive or negative.
So I'm not sure what your argument is here?
My fault. "The people", instead of something more obvious like "journalists", was not clear to me.
 

Dodkrake

Banned
- Reviews from people who haven’t played the game are bad.
- A piece of art that communicates a political ideology that you disagree with is not objectively bad by virtue of that fact.

People can hate the game all they want, I think this is an issue of so-called “hardcore gamers” pretending that they can give a fair review of a game without actually playing it.

Everybody shat on The Last Jedi. I went to see the movie, kinda enjoyed it, but still rank it lower than the prequels bar episode 1. I waited until I saw it before providing an opinion to my friends that were dubious about seeing it, because I'm the star wars fan in the group.

Reviewing things just based on hearsay is just stupid.
 

mortal

Banned
Actually no, I consider those 0's fake too, nobody could honestly give this game a 0 based on the technical aspects alone.



Again, you're saying this, but it isn't true. There were 10's being given as soon as the metacritic scores were open, those people did not play the game.

This is why I'm disagreeing with you, because you're saying that the 10's are "genuine opinions" of people who played the game and the 0's are "trolls" who didn't play the game.
I made very clear distinctions in my posts, so why are you still making that argument. I never said that people giving it 10's are all genuine impressions.
I was speaking to game sites and publications give glowing reviews, that people some people took issue it and believe they were being inflated. Which some of them might be.
At the very least those reviewers actually played the game. It comes down to whose opinion you trust at that point.

The user review score being bombard by negative reviews paint a very different picture. Since it's visibly and questionably low thanks to all of these "fresh" negative reviews of a 20+ hour game that hasn't even been out for a day.

It goes without saying that same crictism is extended to anyone giving a review for a game they haven't played, positive or negative.
The user score isn't middling nor positive, it's overwhelmingly negative. Which is why my criticism and suspicion is geared towards those negative reviews scores.
Had the user scores been overwhelming positive, I would be saying the very same thing, but that's not he case here.
 
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Time will tell, this is counter cancel culture at its best (well they still want to cancel the original cancelers).

What a sad world do we live in.
 
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Dodkrake

Banned
Well, I am about six hours in and I agree on a lot of his points. This story is not what I signed up for and, as someone who also partook in the leaks and spoilers, I can see where this game is going and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I'm all for reserving judgment until I've played it and I think anybody judging should play before they judge but afterwards those opinions still remain valid. This game is not a 10/10 but it is very good. I hate applying scores to games but even 6 hours in I can tell this game does not have the story structure or quality of narrative the first game had. By a long shot.

That saddens me the most. The gameplay is good, the artstyle is stunning and the environments are just intense beyond belief. But they're all wrappings around a greater piece of art - the storyline. The true meat of the first game and the meat of this game. And the quality is not the same.

Again, I'm about six hours in at this point so time will tell but the narrative alone has fallen flat on its face in at least two places so far.

I was commenting on the gameplay details. The game is much more fleshed out and pleasant to play.

I don't know the story, nor have read spoilers apart from one, so I shall reserve my final judgement until after completing the game, as it should be.

I'm 5.5h in and didn't see that, but I trust we perhaps are in different sections. I spent 3h in a specific location.
 

OmegaSupreme

advanced basic bitch
-The main character is openly gay
-The game leaks suggest it doesn't play out the same as the fanfics people imagined in their heads
-But mainly the first point
I would disagree with this. Gamers have known ellie is gay for years now since the expansion for the first game. I think it's more to do with the spoilery stuff.
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
Lmao praising? He said the story, characters and worldbuilding are great but everything else is crap.

Yeah, he specifically singles out the gameplay as something he didn't like about the original, and its very evident that because there is more and lengthier stretches of gameplay between story beats he basically was forcing himself to play through after the first 5 hours.

Its good of him to be upfront about that, but truthfully it does make it easier to discard his viewpoint. Especially when he soft-pedals the extensive list of mechanical changes and improvements to the stealth/combat loop in the sequel as showing no real advance on the first game. Its a strikingly contradictory statement that serves to show a disconnect between him and the overall gameplay style and approach of the game.

And when its so obvious that there's no meeting of the minds on such a fundamental aspect... Its kinda obvious its a proper "not my cup of tea" deal.
 

GrayChild

Member
Even taking Druckmann's personal views and the agenda pushing aside, the story, characters and dialogue of TLOU2 are cringeworthy and a huge step down from its predecessor.

IMO this will be another TR reboot/Bioshock Infinite situation - glowing reviews and universal praise at launch, and then completely forgotten and irrelevant 2 years later.
 
I was commenting on the gameplay details. The game is much more fleshed out and pleasant to play.

I don't know the story, nor have read spoilers apart from one, so I shall reserve my final judgement until after completing the game, as it should be.

I'm 5.5h in and didn't see that, but I trust we perhaps are in different sections. I spent 3h in a specific location.
Fair enough.

I will say to anybody who thinks this is about Ellie being gay or about some alt-right invasion, making that point is impossible for people to articulate or counter-argue due to spoilers. But it is HIGHLY not the reason that people are reviewing bombing the game.

Time will tell.
 

Hustler

Member
Because User Score Review bombing will lead to less sales globally, right....right?

*Fast Forward to next week* TLOU2 goes on to break every Playstation Sales record ever.
 

Dodkrake

Banned
Yeah, he specifically singles out the gameplay as something he didn't like about the original, and its very evident that because there is more and lengthier stretches of gameplay between story beats he basically was forcing himself to play through after the first 5 hours.

Its good of him to be upfront about that, but truthfully it does make it easier to discard his viewpoint. Especially when he soft-pedals the extensive list of mechanical changes and improvements to the stealth/combat loop in the sequel as showing no real advance on the first game. Its a strikingly contradictory statement that serves to show a disconnect between him and the overall gameplay style and approach of the game.

And when its so obvious that there's no meeting of the minds on such a fundamental aspect... Its kinda obvious its a proper "not my cup of tea" deal.

So much this. And again, I'm not in the bandwagon of shitting on someone that doesn't like the game after playing it. That's fair play. But saying the gameplay shows no real advancement over the first game is asinine. Even the companion AI, which was horrible, has seen great improvements.
 

Croatoan

They/Them A-10 Warthog
There's nothing wrong with point one... to be frank, who gives a flying shit what the sexuality of the protagonist is or isn't?

Point two however... the leaks have been proven to be correct, but worse, they are COMPOUNDED when placed in narrative context.
Yeah, I actually like that Ellie is LGBTQ. I have no issues with the love story in the game (even if it is poorly written). I have issue with how badly written the game is as a whole, and how hacked together the plot is. Druckman basically tried to make the edgiest game possible with no regard to whether it made since for the narrative.
 
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MiguelItUp

Member
He doesn't even like the first game either. His opinions have been as consistent as you can be
Exactly. I've said this many times before, but I was already a fan of his for awhile. When I saw he was doing a TLOU review, I was excited to know what he thought. His opinion(s) shadowed mine almost down to a T. He praised the writing, characters, and story. But everything else was meh, or below meh. I had the exact same reaction with it when I played it at launch. The gameplay mechanics to me just felt meh or were better elsewhere. Which was mind blowing to me since a lot of people thought the game was flawless. I didn't see it at all.

His TLOU2 review showcased the same woes, along with a messy story. So it made for a worse experience. Which I can wholeheartedly understand.

Originally I was telling myself I'd still play it at some point. But after finding out some new info the last couple of days, I really don't know anymore.

I just feel bad that Ralph is having his review used in such a way that people have dog piled him because they don't agree. A lot of them having not even played the game yet. It's absolutely disgusting.

In the past few Laymen Gaming videos if it's brought up he mentions how he doesn't even want to talk about it anymore. Cause he's that exhausted and over it. They're apparently livestreaming later today to talk about the review bombing, which I'm looking forward to. Only because I want to hear his potential take on the portion of the game that he and other reviewers were NDA'd on in their original reviews.
 

Dodkrake

Banned
Fair enough.

I will say to anybody who thinks this is about Ellie being gay or about some alt-right invasion, making that point is impossible for people to articulate or counter-argue due to spoilers. But it is HIGHLY not the reason that people are reviewing bombing the game.

Time will tell.

A lot of it is, but I wouldn't claim all is. There's no game that is universally loved. I didn't enjoy BOTW one bit. Is it a good game? Objectively, yes, but I didn't like it, it doesn't fit my game style. And that's fine.

But let's both be honest, a lot of the foul comments about TLOU2 are related to the supposed "gay" agenda and Ellie being a gay female character. You can read those in this very own forum.
 

TriSuit666

Banned
In the past few Laymen Gaming videos if it's brought up he mentions how he doesn't even want to talk about it anymore. Cause he's that exhausted and over it. They're apparently livestreaming later today to talk about the review bombing, which I'm looking forward to. Only because I want to hear his potential take on the portion of the game that he and other reviewers were NDA'd on in their original reviews.

Give their React to the EA Livestream a watch, they talk about it quite a bit at the start before the EA stream starts.

 
Demonstrably not true...

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Literally happens with ever single big game.

User reviews = full of 0's and 10's from people who never played.
 

samporter

Banned
Even taking Druckmann's personal views and the agenda pushing aside, the story, characters and dialogue of TLOU2 are cringeworthy and a huge step down from its predecessor.

IMO this will be another TR reboot/Bioshock Infinite situation - glowing reviews and universal praise at launch, and then completely forgotten and irrelevant 2 years later.

Watching the gameplay and story so far, it is quite obvious all the 10/10 reviews are completely untrustworthy. Maybe they didn't want to give a game that deals with LGBT issues a bad rating?

Because User Score Review bombing will lead to less sales globally, right....right?

*Fast Forward to next week* TLOU2 goes on to break every Playstation Sales record ever.

I think the opposite will happen. As more people get to play it, they will push back against the universal 10/10 jerk circle scores. I don't see anything about this game that is revolutionary, groundbreaking, or boundary pushing. It is an overly long and bog standard cinematic experience.

I think it will see a price cut 6 month in, possibly sooner.
 
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So much this. And again, I'm not in the bandwagon of shitting on someone that doesn't like the game after playing it. That's fair play. But saying the gameplay shows no real advancement over the first game is asinine. Even the companion AI, which was horrible, has seen great improvements.

There is no real advancement. It's just the same core gameplay from the first with refinements.

Core gameplay as in, the stealth, gunplay, and melee.
 
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A lot of it is, but I wouldn't claim all is. There's no game that is universally loved. I didn't enjoy BOTW one bit. Is it a good game? Objectively, yes, but I didn't like it, it doesn't fit my game style. And that's fine.

But let's both be honest, a lot of the foul comments about TLOU2 are related to the supposed "gay" agenda and Ellie being a gay female character. You can read those in this very own forum.
This is absolutely not true. We've known for YEARS that Ellie was gay. Where were the review bombs? There was minimum.

You don't want spoilers, I respect that, but there is no way for me to counter that argument without spoiling. I already said that. So for you to bring it up is basically using it as an argument that I just told you I cannot counter without spoilers.

Time will tell.
 

Redlancet

Banned
Anybody who saw the leaks knew this was coming. The defenders are the folks who steered clear of the leaks, and still don't know shit.

You think the outrage is hot right now? Wait a while for everyone to finish the game.



You don't need to finish GoT to know if it's a good show or not.

Oh. Wait.


I finished the game, and i liked it a lot,your argument doesnt work here, most haters i have seen,dont have played the game of wont play the game, they have read "leaks" so who is the Wrong here?
 

Tripolygon

Banned
He claimed he hasn't seen a single intelligent person give out a negative review

I'd say Skill Up fits that

I understand completely. You just need to work on your reading comprehension
How does it fit that?

I've watched the video and while i would not call him unintelligent, I don't agree with it.

Within the first 2 minutes he posits that the core gameplay loop has not evolved. Well it is a sequel so the core gameplay loop is not going to whole sale change just like how you won't expect Uncharted 2, 3 or 4 core gameplay loop to be different than the first one. They have certainly evolved the gameplay loop.

In the first TLOU, the core gameplay loop was hide behind cover, stealth kill and run and gun.

In the new game those mechanic has been evolved.

1. There is jump, prone
2. They have introduced an analog soft cover system where by you can hide in tall grass depending on how far away you are from an enemy they can spot you.
3. You can hide under things and enemies can now look under things to find you
4. You can shoot from any positing, prone on your back or standing
5. The crafting system has been expanded with new abilities and weapons
6. Hiding is not really an option as they have introduced dogs which can sniff out your hiding spot so you always have to keep moving.
7. They have fully fleshed out the infected type creatures in TLOU and added new types
8. There are now 2 types of human enemies, the WLF who favor military style tactics and the Seraphite who favor guerilla warfare and like to be stealthy, use bows and hand combat with axes.
9. The melee system has been greatly expanded with a dodge / parry type system with timing taken into account.
10. Environmental traversal has been made more vertical
11. Enemy Vs Enemy combat scenario has been expanded, something they only did in the DLC iirc.

Secondly he posits that TLOU 2 forgoes established relation from the first game in favor of a pitiful revenge story. The only established characters at the end of TLOU 1 are Ellie, Joel, Tommy and his wife. From the very first showing of the game it was established that the story was going to be about hate, the opposite of the first one and from what i have read and seen (i could not help it so i spoiled myself) the story is compelling. The newly introduced characters are compelling in their own right and motive. TLOU has always been about the journey along the way with characters you meet. We met Sara, Tess, Merlene, Sam and Henry, David, Bill in the first one and now they are introducing new characters and so far from what i saw they have interesting motivations just like the first one. Henry to protect his brother, Tess to get guns and supplies, Bill to settle his debt, David is fucked up in the head but also was looking for revenge for Joel killing his men.

So no, posting skill up does not support your point. I wouldn't call him unintelligent though.
 
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Dodkrake

Banned
This is absolutely not true. We've known for YEARS that Ellie was gay. Where were the review bombs? There was minimum.

You don't want spoilers, I respect that, but there is no way for me to counter that argument without spoiling. I already said that. So for you to bring it up is basically using it as an argument that I just told you I cannot counter without spoilers.

Time will tell.

Go read the non-spoiler thread. Then come back, and say I'm right. And notice I said a lot, not all.
 
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