CD Projekt Red's sci-fi RPG Cyberpunk 2077 is hardly the first game to experience a rocky launch, and it definitely won't be the last. Recent years have provided plenty of examples of where over-hyped and highly anticipated titles have failed to make the right kind of impact, either because of unfair fan expectations, developer missteps, or both. Cyberpunk 2077 may not have been able to deliver on its own hype, with bugs, missing features that had been promised during development, and some lackluster NPC animations, but CD Projekt Red has dedicated the years since launch to rolling out patch after patch to try and get Cyberpunk 2077 into much better shape. Some fans may remain unconvinced, but others agree that Cyberpunk 2077 has more than redeemed itself.
As such, it feels particularly galling to a large number of players to see Cyberpunk 2077 become the victim of review bombing once more. The phenomenon – where a group of individuals deliberately target a product with negative reviews to harm its reputation and sales – has been a weapon wielded more than once in the video game community to take down games for various reasons. Cyberpunk 2077 has already had its fair share of problems since it was launched in 2020, and the most recent review bomb attack has helped to highlight how needlessly vicious the practice is.
Cyberpunk 2077's Struggles
Sometimes the marketing for a game leading up to its launch can cause more problems than intended. If promotional materials are particularly well-crafted, players undoubtedly get incredibly excited, and if those materials are unrealistically representative of the finished product, then issues inevitably arise. It is fair to say that Cyberpunk 2077 promised much, and it was sadly unable to deliver on all of those promises. While fan disappointment is understandable and criticism aimed at developers is sometimes fair, there are those in the community that can take this way too far. Amidst the problematic graphics, game-breaking glitches, and occasionally unreliable gameplay, Cyberpunk 2077 lost the goodwill of a lot of fans.
The launch was considered so disastrous by some that Sony even pulled the PlayStation version from its stores and offered full refunds for unhappy customers shortly after Cyberpunk 2077's launch - although it has since returned. CD Projekt Red certainly had a lot of work to do to ensure that the game was up to scratch, but in fairness to the studio, it has been willing to put in the time and effort to deliver the kind of game fans were expecting in the first place. Launch woes and criticisms aside, Cyberpunk 2077 has also had to face the ignominy of being review bombed not once but twice by angry players.
Thanks to the developer's hard work, Cyberpunk 2077 climbed to a Metacritic score of 86, with many gamers agreeing that it has vastly improved since its launch. The game received a hefty bout of review bombing after players were annoyed with its performance issues, particularly on consoles compared to the much smoother experience on PC, but the second round of review bombing is in many ways more personal, and undoubtedly more political. Due to CD Projekt Red's open support of Ukraine after Russia's unprovoked invasion earlier this year, some players have taken it upon themselves to make a stand against this display of comradery and attack Cyberpunk 2077's review scores.
The Issue with Review Bombing
It's always a thorny topic – whether or not games and game developers should get political. Some believe that politics shouldn't have a place in video games, whereas others think that it is inevitable and that any form of art is intrinsically political anyway. No matter a player's opinion, resorting to review bombing is an unfair reflection of a game's worth, and is usually the result of a vitriolic and unnecessary backlash.
It often goes hand in hand with a kind of toxic fan culture that makes some players feel entitled to have their own views featured in games, but no one else's, and can spring from homophobic, racist, and/or sexist opinions. Games like The Last of Us inevitably face backlash for featuring queer characters and centering queer relationships, with calls from some corners of the gaming community for boycotts and review bombs.
Review bombing can seem like a particularly childish tactic to employ, but there's no doubt that it can do some damage. Players who might not know about a recent bout of review bombing may be put off from playing a game because of its low score, even if that score is not at all reflective of the title. There's no doubt a better moderation process needs to be in place to stop reviewers from being able to so easily review bomb a game, but it's hard to know what that process should or could look like without discouraging legitimate and well-meaning reviewers and actual criticisms. Cyberpunk 2077's most recent review bombing is even more unfair, given that it has nothing to do with fan disappointment and everything to do with personal political beliefs.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
