God of War: Ragnarok has finally been released on Steam, except it’s getting mixed reviews on Steam, and yes, that’s (mostly) because of the PSN requirement.
I think it’s clear by now that a lot of PC gamers do want to play PlayStation games, they just want to play them on PC. Conversely, I also think it’s clear that these same gamers don’t want to go through all the hassles of trying to play these games, beyond the usual but still annoying hassles of having to pay for these video games. Yet here we are again, with PlayStation releasing another first-party game on Steam, and players immediately discovering that they need to connect to a PSN account in order to play the game. Infamously, earlier this year, Helldivers 2 was heavily review-bombed for requiring players to link their PSN accounts to the game, though that stipulation was later rescinded.
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For online games, the PSN account debate might be somewhat understandable given cross-platform saves and the like, but for single-player games it’s a bit like a door-to-door salesman trying to sell horse meat to a butcher – it’s not impossible, you just probably don’t want to be the only butcher in town selling horse meat. Even so, God of War: Ragnarok finally came to PC on Friday, and yes, linking your PSN account is required, so players did what they seem to always do now, which is review bomb the game.
It’s worth noting that these aren’t all negative reviews, as quite a few of them point out a number of issues with the game, such as crashes, visual glitches, and stuttering. PlayStation has a history of failing to release PC ports, so this isn’t surprising.
It’s unclear if Sony will change its mind about the PSN requirement, as it hasn’t changed its strategic approach to all of its PC games. But hey, it’s already verified with the Steam Deck, so at least you can hear Kratos say “boy” on the go? I guess?
