Death Stranding User Score Spikes as Metacritic Removes Over 6000 Negative Ratings

Saddest people ever...

The problem is there’s no real way to track if the user’s played the game or not. That’s why user scores like these have to be taken with a pinch of salt. I just don’t really get what there is to gain from writing a review of a game you haven’t played but hey, people do more damaging things every day.

Did they take a bunch of the 10s out too? Cos it happened on both sides.

7.4 seems a bit low. Clearly too many hateful and misinformed reviews remain. Only when the game is at a perfect 10 will we know for sure that all the basement dwelling haters have been removed.

Let's keep pushing for a unified and singular review score my comrades. No dissidents allowed!

Better not hear any Nintendo/Astral Chain fans crying about this.

I still can’t imagine enjoying this game, based on what I’ve seen. Looks like a 5/10, honestly. Oddly enough, the production values alone still put this near the top of my most wanted list, lol.

“We still struggle to wrap our heads around why people would waste their time doing this to begin with.”

Maybe because folks like PushSquare described the gameplay as “tedious,” “heartbreaking,” and “lackluster” but somehow award the game a perfect score of 10/10. Kojima bias is unreal.

if you remove the troll/bot negative scores, you also have to do the same with the troll/bot postiive scores. a lot of people countered the 0s with 10s, so metactitic needs to be fair and remove those 10s as well. but.... i doubt they will. it will be impossible to get an honest user score at this point, but it would likely be below the current 7.4/10 avg.

@OscarHTX interesting idea. i wonder how you could prove you made a purchase, though? especially if you purchase the game used and the previous owner already registered his/her proof of purchase?

hmm, i think one idea to do this would be to include a unique QR code in the box... metacritic would need to implement a QR code registration function in its app. i can see that totally working. only once a user has registered for a particular game/product, can he/she be given "access" to review said game/product.

good idea you brought up here. this would add a much higher degree of honesty and legitamacy to metacritic user scores. as it stands now, it is a complete joke.

I look forward to the day scores are removed completely.

I imagine that Konami are so very bitter they would definitely pay dregs to post those scores.

Anyone giving this game a zero should have their ps4 permanently taken from them.

I just tend to buy what i think looks like my kind of thing, turns out Death Stranding is made for me. 105 hours in and creeping closer to the platinum.

@LegendOfStewart have u played it?

@Porco So you keeping that same energy for Astral Chain? They kept the 10s for that one as well.

I smell money changing hands.

Someone should create a review system that works through the consoles! Only when you’ve bought and played some of the game should you be able to review, this would create a much more balanced and trustworthy user score system. I don’t bother with metacritic anymore because of the day one 0 and 10 that people award.

@Porco easy, link your PSN account to metacritic and voila you can only review games you've already played

@mini_piekarnik
Hmmm??? Perhaps you're not wrong, about that.

Having now got to chapter 10 and spent a huge amount of time with the game I can comfortably give it a 10. I've really enjoyed the gameplay and there is a genuine sense of progression as you unlock a lot of equipment and Sam's own capabilities increase. The asynchronous multiplayer is a revelation as you work together to make these journeys easier and the world is such a joy to explore and you get to know it very intimately as you and your fellow porters forge paths throughout was once harsh terrain. That's all without touching on what is a great story with some quite out there set pieces

Wow when remove all the bad review and r only left with good ones what do u expect will happen

@carlos82 love that idea u should make a petition to have that done so its fare for real no joke

Maybe have an option to login with PSN XBOX LIVE, STEAM or a dedicated platform app then can sync or have a way to share like u can to twitter with trophies as proof of the game been played, and how far they got in the game, probably difficult to implement, due to security reasons, but just a thought.

@thefirst hahaha nice!

So they removed the ridiculous 0s but didn’t deal with the ridiculous amount of 10s posted to counter the 0. People voted either end of the scale with no logic just in a score war. I don’t believe half the people believed it was a 10 - 8/9 yes 100% but honestly they all thought it was a perfect 10??

@Stocksy if were taking a 10 to mean perfect then I don't think I've ever played a 10, though I do agree I don't believe half of those 10s even if I personally scored it that way

Bias or not, it’s still someone’s opinion that has been taken away because someone else doesn’t agree with it. That’s a slippery slope.

@carlos82 yeah I think it’s fine to score a game ten even if I never would. I’ve never played what I’d call a proper 10 - no way all the people actually believe the games they give ten on Metacritic are 10s.... especially when it’s clear a scoring war is going on.

I think people often invest so much in a game that’s coming and hyped they want it to be a ten. Even if it wasn’t.

Just a fan of balance if you delete all zeros you should delete tens too.

It just shows people have ruined user scores but not having the maturity to score it on the actual game and gameplay.

and there is the main reason i DON'T take any notice of meta sites

not only can the scores be skewed by trolls and hate posters but if the site can just remove reviews and change the score then how can you believe them

meta sites need to go the way of social media sites and just die

@BarefootBowser i love the combat mixed with fire arms and the ability to knock mules out by smacking them with cargo is fun, also the adrenaline rush sam gets when being chased along with the music is excellent.

God forbid anyone dislikes a kind Kojima game

Does Liam moonlight for them? Lol
On a serious note, I fail to understand why folks will take precious time out of their busy lives to spam some games with fake sores. And as previously mentioned, the vast majority won't have even played it. Saddos.

@BarefootBowser have you played on hard against the mules later in the game that have weapons? No punching your way out of that, same with BT's on normal you could practically stand still and take them out, on hard first time i ended up fighting one it crept up on me and ate me within seconds of starting the fight!

Had anyone ever seen the George carlin skit on the ten commandments, watch it he explains why a ranking system of 1 to 10 was made by smart ppl to control stupid ppl. If I award something a 10 and you a 5 why should a third person be passively forced to choose who is right and who is wrong. In this day in age don't let anyone or anything push your buttons if you know what I mean!

@OscarHTX Didn't Rotten Tomatoes recently introduce something like that for the same reason? I think you now have to provide a photo of your cinema ticket stub before you can leave a review, or something like that.

Anyway, I've been relatively critical of the game any time I've spoken about it, as it just holds no appeal for me. But I haven't played it, so I haven't reviewed it. I never do reviews anyway, even for games I like. If you don't like something, or even if it just doesn't appeal, why waste your time and energy? Plenty of other things to do... such as, oh I don't know... playing a game you do like, perhaps? 🤔 Just a thought.

@ellsworth004 I have, have you? I spent over 12 hours with it and hated it.

Now the score looks a lot more fair than just a FIVE... It's probably not a 9, let alone a 10, only maybe an 8. - I mean, it just seems that people like it, at least those who can appreciate the quirkiness and artistic side I suppose, but then the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired for a significant amount of people. - You can't discredit it for what it DOES do, so like 70-75% positive on this game seems fair.

@m8e3point1415 for me, the pacing is way worse than even MGSV.

If games are art then you can't really score that. The scoring system is stupid and anyone who puts stock in it is stupid. They don't review books films music cars or anything on a scoring system of 1 to 10 so why games. The whole industry needs to grow the f**k up and drop this system. Offering an opinion is fair it's a free country but only an ass would then score their opinion and that's what this is.

@m8e3point1415 +1 mate you did your research then made an educated choice.

I love death stranding I'm probably 70 hrs in and still enjoying it. After I finish I fancy a bit of terminator resistance because I watched gameplay read reviews and on that basis decided to get it and to hell with the scores.

@m8e3point1415 I would disagree on the art. For me the world's and visuals that comes from games is more impactful to me and left many a positive and negative impression than any painting I have ever seen.

@carlos82 that would be nice. sounds like there could be a fair amount of backend development, though, and a willingness from sony and metacritic to work together. not sure if that is in the cards or not? the qr code thing might be easier to pull off since it is an implementation at a smaller scale but both are interesting approaches for sure.

@AdamNovice So you say. Someone on the other side of the argument can just easily claim that someone that scores it higher than a five aren't in their 'right mind'. That's the problem with gatekeeping the validity of opinions; it very quickly devolves into only those that match yours being acceptable.

I think Death Stranding is one of the most pointless and detestable games that I've ever played. I consider the story inane, pseudo-philosophical drivel from a writer punching far above his intellectual weight. I find the gameplay loop to be tedious to the point of pain, and reference-quality visuals wasted on a completely barren, uninspiring world.

You disagree with me, and that's fine. I choose to celebrate that difference as an opportunity for a greater variety of games to find a successful place in the industry. Take care to do the same.

@LegendOfStewart "I have, have you? I spent over 12 hours with it and hated it."

I just checked your trophies. You've never played it.

@oldschool1987 Lol nice try. Too bad my PlayStation account has a different name.

@LegendOfStewart how convenient

@JoeBlogs This makes no sense. All reviews are just someone's opinion. Most media reviewers ate no more educated than a user review so you are just wrong.

The people in the media are no more educated than we are. They don't teach game review classes in college and I have a college degree, two actually so does that mean you are stupid compared to me?

Media reviewers are just common people who put together words, nothing more. Look at the IGN review on Death Stranding, its garbage from a writing standpoint and I have written several A plus 10 page papers.

It would be wise to not take anyone's review as the gospel period. I am more educated thsn 99% of all ceitic reviewers. Also even if they were professional writers, that has no credibility when it comes to reviewing something.

A legendary movie director said that Marvel movies are not cinema, being a director does not mean he is correct. He is wrong by the definition of cinema anyway.

@oldschool1987 It always is LOL.

@Weegee71 I always laugh at silly comments like this LOL. I don't recall any Kojima game getting a perfect 10 on metacritic. His games get tons of criticism which us ironic since Death Stranding is said to be divisive.

This is about troll reviews, not legit reviews. As a fan of his work I felt MGS4 was a disappointment, I did not like Peace Walker abd MGS5 is overrated. I don't like MGS5 at all. Yet Kojima never faces criticism? BS.

Why are you people so obsessed with this man or upset that he gets appreciated? Most of the things you like on games came from thd Metal Gear series. Stealth would not even exist without him so no AC, No Splinter Cell and no Batman Arkham Asylum.

7.4 seems pretty spot on to me. Amazing visuals but story was mediocre and endgame pacing was awful.

@GodGamer at least @JoeBlogs knows what 'The Cloud' is. I don't think you're in any position to be questioning people's intelligence! As for statements like you're more intelligent than 99% of a group you probably know less than 1% of... Wow, I wouldn't have thought it possible but your arrogance surpasses even your stupidity. All this from a person who thinks cloud servers don't exist in the physical realm. You are certainly a poster boy for the Dunning-Kruger effect.

Of course.
Metacritrics is trying to look relevant somehow.

@jess3a3 Ditto for anyone that gives it a 10.

@LegendOfStewart I agree with your sentiment. If you take the exact same game but remove Kojima and put let's say some generic EA or Activision developers I don't think the praise and scores would be as high.

Is like if Beethoven resurected and came out with a new symphony, before everyone even hears anything people have already concluded that it is incredible and epic. He could be farting the whole thing and it won't matter cause is coming from the legendary Beethoven.

I'm trying to think of a person, logging onto Metacritic, looking at a 0 rated review, that simply says "game is trash" and that person believing that is a valid review!

@keihtg you really should try it. The game is incredibly satisfying from the get go. I'm now well over 60 hours in and there was no dull moment. Now I'm working on my plainum.

As a Messiah going by my avatar, I cast Death Stranding haters back into Fortnite. They can rage all they want there.

Well, if you don't have any games to play, you hate on the games you can't play.

For one, its a unique game that has never been a concept before also those that are very critical oj controls etc.
When did you play a game that was bit iffy with movement,slow response etc that you heard got 8Score for example or your you liked.

I don't think it a perfect game but neither was Days gone or a few others that had mixed reviews.
End of day its a matter of opinion and reviews should give you a idea instead they label it crap etc, tbh i only ever looked at a review once or twice because mose if not all are hypocritical and probably have their so called fans aka sheep to spread the word.
Makes you laugh lol really in a way how many people don't have a brain to think by themselves ^^

Exclusives always have some haters, I heard astral chains is review bombed too. User review score on metacritic is useless, the game is not for everyone but 0 score? nah.

@LegendOfStewart The game is good, even hollywood people and other games maker, including sakurai admit it.

They do it to bully people who care.
Kids and, sadly in some cases, adults who only gain pleasure from the mysery of others.

This game is extremely divisive.

I loved it, continued playing even after the story was finished. But most peoples gripe appears to be with just running around delivering things.

I get that this is definitely not for everyone, but the point is this doesn't make it a bad game per se, it just means it's not the right game for the person in question.

The problem with metacritic is peoples opinion of the game is from a subjective point of view, not an objective one. So they mark it down because it's not to their taste, as opposed to giving it the score it deserves for the game it is trying to be.

@BarefootBowser I get that. I really do. I'm not suggesting to silence peoples opinions.

But also, with due respect a lot of the heat the game is getting is from people jumping on the bandwagon (especially people who haven't even played the game).

Look, i'm not saying it's the best game ever released. I enjoyed it personally, and I also agree that there is a level of nicheness to this title, as it is not mainstream. But I still believe it is a good game in it's own right, with a lot of flaws.

What it tried to set out to do fell short, but in other areas it managed something revolutionary, which is make a game about delivering sh*t actually engaging, that in itself is a momumentally difficult task that almost no studio could pull off. Kojima may not have nailed it, but he did a damn good job of making it at least a reasonably enjoyable game.

Moving back to the subject in hand. I believe a large portion of the hate this game received is from people that haven't even given it the chance because the premise sounds boring.

@BarefootBowser I'd still argue this games user score was heavily skewed by bandwagoners, more so than other exclusives, mainly due to the hype surrounding it.

Edit: I'm sure metacritic didn't just remove peoples scores without thought. In fact, looking on there, there are still a lot of negative scores, but with the low scores have come constructive criticism of how they came to the conclusion. I'm guessing the negative scores that were removed from metacritic were primarily from either just anger filled rants, or people bashing arbitrary points that weren't ancillary to the game itself.

@BarefootBowser I agree. Just as much as a 10 is almost just as stupid.

In fact, nothing is really ever a 10 in my book. 10 would be flawless, without any negative points. Some games may get close, but there is a reason no game can ever get 100/100, it's just not possible.

Correction - "it appears as though over 6000 Xbox owners negative ratings have been removed by the site" Don't worry Xbox Fans you can play it on PC soon just like all your other Xbox Exclusives.

If you give a game like Death Stranding a zero you are clearly trolling. I have yet too see zero game. Or it has too be unplayable and a horrible looking. I dont like RDR or GTA but i can even agree that the game are great just not for me so i wont score them. People should stop being annoying and act like the world revolves around them.

The mentality of "if you're not with me, you're against me" in some posts, for me, is very alarming.
I don't doubt that a big portion of the 0's are bots or people that even didn't played the game, but some of them must be true..