Not only has Sony taken a step backwards around the controversial PSN requirement for Helldivers 2 on the PC via Steam, but also the community: After the immense review bombing, there are now positive reviews!
Things have been quite turbulent around Helldivers 2 in the past few days after an update was initially announced that would have required linking a PSN account when playing via Steam on the PC. That would have caused problems in many countries, because the PlayStation Network is not nearly as widespread as Steam. This is also why there was an incredible amount of criticism from the community and the makers not only had to endure a full-blown shitstorm, but the game itself also had to endure a review bombing of epic proportions.
As a result, the developers at Arrowhead Game Studios said that they themselves were not necessarily enthusiastic about this step and that it was due to Sony’s specifications – and a few hours later the complete roll backwards followed: The immense criticism and review bombing had an effect and Sony announced that it would waive the obligation to link to PSN when gaming via Steam.
The community, in turn, is now showing its gratitude that Sony has come to the realization in its own way: After the review bombing, the fan community is now trying to restore the action game’s reputation. While the review bombing led to almost 400,000 negative reviews, within a very short time there were countless positive reviews on Steam. Since Sony gave in and canceled the PSN account linking requirement, Helldivers 2 has already collected over 207,000 positive reviews. This includes 143,000 reviews that were previously negative and have now been reclassified accordingly. The rest are completely new positive reviews.
At the height of the controversy, Helldivers 2 still had around 389,000 negative reviews. At this point, the previously popular game was also the most negatively rated paid game on Steam. Now over 70 percent rate the title as positive again, but it is still a little longer to reach the value before the controversy, which was around 85 percent.
With “Polar Patriots”, a new warbond for Helldivers 2 is presented in this trailer.
