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We’re obviously huge fans of God of War Ragnarok here at Push Square – we awarded the sequel our highest possible score – but we also welcome a variety of different opinions. While the majority of the media also appeared to share our sentiment on Santa Monica Studio’s release, one reviewer for IGN Korea believed the title fell short.
In his review, Bae Sang Hyun awarded the game a 6/10, where he criticised the title’s father-son narrative device and ultimately compared the sequel to DLC. However, with the review being written in a different language, some of the context was lost – and its translated Open Critic synopsis has since been revised to better reflect the author’s original intent.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t prevented some individuals from attacking the reviewer on social media. Bae Sang Hyun shared one of the messages he’d received, which included references to his nationality, personal appearance, and ability. It concluded with a death threat. “Please don't do this,” Bae Sang Hyun said. “It's so heartbreaking. I can't do anything else. I ask you politely, please, just enjoy your game.”
We’ve read a machine translated version of the IGN Korea review, and while we obviously don’t agree with the author, it’s interesting to see a different opinion. Nevertheless, the game is one of the highest rated releases on Metacritic this year, and is going to sell many millions of copies. There’s really no need for this kind of behaviour at all.
[source twitter.com, via dualshockers.com]
Comments 83
Saddos investing way too much of their personal self worth in a product they had absolutely no hand in creating. Disgusting carry on. Hope the reviewer isn’t too shook up and continues in their field.
Why does this keep happening?
You could politely disagree with the reviewer is one thing but attacking the reviewer is another thing.
People have developed this weird idea that THEIR opinion is somehow part of them, of who they are as a person, and anyone who disagrees with that opinion is, therefor, attacking them directly and personally - which justifies them attacking back, directly and personally. It's obscene, is what it is.
I expect I will love GoW Ragnarock. But it doesn't hurt me at all if other people absolutely HATE it - that doesn't affect my enjoyment one little bit. Likewise, if I decide it's really not my thing and I don't love it as much as I hope to, reviewers here giving it 10/10 doesn't hurt me at all - it just means I would disagree this time.
Really, stop acting like your own opinion is somehow more than just a personal opinion. It's fine if people disagree, you should never attack them because their priorities and preferences happen to be different. [That's directed at the wide Internet, who will surely ignore it entirely, not at Push Square staff or reviewers]
I still can't believe he called it DLC( even though its 50 hours long), that was the buzzword from "xbot" trolls on twitter about Ragnarok which doesn't help the review, as it will clearly trigger "ponies" who will see it as a troll review, especially when no other reviewer has called it a DLC.
Still though, twitter is fully of negativity and I don't see why people bother with it or take it seriously, how many times have developers recieved hate messages and inappropriate images, but people are still getting surprised by this behavior. First thing these developers/editors should do is disable messages from randoms.
@UltimateOtaku91 you've just done it yourself. Opinions are opinions. I definitely don't view the game as DLC myself but instead a significantly improved sequel, but equating his opinion of it being "DLC" with something that "Xbots" say is what causes this toxicity in the first place.
@UltimateOtaku91
I still can't believe he called it DLC, that was the buzzword from xbots on twitter about Ragnarok which doesn't help the review, even though the game is 50 hours long
So it's all Xbox fans fault ? If I remember right you did exactly the same thing with another game that some ps fan boy sent bad MSG's over a game u tried to say it was some Xbox fan pretending to be a ps fan
Ppl have Thier right to Thier opinion just cause it doesnt match what they want doesn't justify crap like this .... Ps I don't like cherry's but for all those who do nice enjoy em , I won't b sending a threatening msgs to anyone lol
gamers are ***** corny , hands down top 3 most obnoxious people on the planet
Twitter is a sesspool, but calling it dlc ,what did he actually expect to happen it just gives them the ammunition they need to personally attack someone ,anyway hes got his 15 seconds of fame for being a negative nelly.
@Martsmall @pip_muzz I've seen countless people on twitter use the word DLC to bash Ragnarok and has become a common thing when it comes to console warring on twitter, hence why that reviewer calling it DLC in his review obviously triggered twitter sony fan boys as they see it as a "troll" review. I didn't mean to say it was xbox fans fault in general that they verbally abused him, just the xbot trolls on twitter with their pointless console warring with "ponies", just like the non stop "playstation better" and "xbox better" that both sides get, anything negative towards either side is going to get attention and end up with someone getting abusive messages.
Another PlayStation game linked to death threats from rabbid fanboys. Tsk tsk.
@UltimateOtaku91 yet you calling Xbox fans xbots isn't pointless console warring at all ? If some ppl think it's dlc that's up to them still no need to abuse ppl like they have
@Martsmall I'm not calling xbox fans that, to me xbot is my term for xbox trolls and ponies are playstation trolls.
@UltimateOtaku91 that's fair enough but the terms xbots and ponies are negative meanings to both community's, it's what they call each other as a insult whether they trolling or not ,forgot what Nintendo fans are called as I rarely see a lot of abusive Nintendo posts but saying that I don't frequent Nintendo forums so I could be wrong
I find it crazy that some comments here are actually piling on and trying to justify the harassment at the same time they pretend it’s just twitter being terrible….
“But he called dlc!!!” 🤦
@Martsmall yeah I understand and il try not to mention it again, I know it's negative and I don't think I've ever called anyone personally an xbot or pony, just used the terms to describe groups on twitter.
I don't think Nintendo fans are all that tocix tbf, they keep to themselves whilst there's always been a rivalry between xbox and playstation due to their similarities, I would assume it would be the same with nintendo fans of their consoles were the same specs and had the same third party a games as playstation/xbox.
Removed - inappropriate
@Martsmall also kinda on topic, hopefully Elon musk can sort twitter out and weed out the troll accounts and start getting stricter with bans and putting a stop to these kind of situations. People should be allowed to use twitter whilst knowing they are safe and protected.
Social media at its finest again i see.
twitter etc should be done with. we survived without it. with much less hate
@UltimateOtaku91 it's nuts fighting over console choice the world has gone mad ,but it seems to be the normal thing nowadays unfortunately and as for ppls choice like the person who wrote the review that's Thier choice ,we live in a world where ppl get bad MSG's over having pineapple on pizza ,that shows how nuts this world is , u like /don't like pineapple on pizza so what ? Lol
Anyone on any community that gets this worked up over a review to send msgs like that shows us we have truly gone to far to be called civilized
@Martsmall I agree and twitter seems to be the worse, and like you said it's not just the gaming community but gaming seems to one of the worse ones, along with football (soccer). Something needs to be done, surely its not hard for twitter to block certain words or phrases.
@UltimateOtaku91 I hope what u think about musk does come true but honestly I doubt it , the more bad stuff on twitter the more ppl sign up to see and the more advertising they will charge and he's already starting blocking ppl that disagree with him and tell him why they do
@UltimateOtaku91 it is mostly everything nowadays we are going back in time to tribes warring over anything and nothing and it's getting worse
Edit I'm taking up knitting I never hear of knitters arguing lol
@Martsmall Crochet is so much better 😂
This is disgusting and sadly the same behavior exists if you post any valid criticisms on sites like these.
The game is very iterative and his opinions were absolutely valid.
@Eagly wow that doesn't sound good, so instead of helping to remove tolls, he's becoming one himself.
@Eagly I dont know if Ur a star wars fan but musk reminds of the emperor when he disbanded the senate ,I'm pretty sure in the star wars universe some civilians thought oh things are going to get better now ....yeh deffo wrong ,only worse
"6/10!? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!? HOW DARE YOU! I WILL MAKE YOU PAY!!!!!!"
-Some jack ***.
Seriously gotta wonder how people like this can function in everyday society.
People are allowed to have their own opinion, no matter how dumb I think it is. Calling it dlc 😂😂
No one should harass him for it.
@Martsmall musk hasn't even done anything to warrant such comparison...
Let's give him a year before comparing him to Palpatine...
Why are you guys so sure it's Playstation fanboy
But anyways, threaten to reviewer isn't a good move
Korean reviewers also don't comment like DLC of God of War 2018 or something like GOW 1.5,
It makes PS fans really really angry
Heaven forbid someone dare not enjoy a highly-rated [insert console] exclusive video game!
I hate the internet.
Not surprised.
Same thing happened to Jim Sterling for not giving a high score to Breath of the Wild.
Same thing happened to some critics who gave lower scores to certain superhero films.
Big geek media franchises all have their share of absolutely nasty customers who like to harass anyone who doesn't toe the line.
6/10 is a joke, I‘m glued to the screen for hours straight now. What a masterpiece
Just why? Threatening the person certainly won’t change their mind, makes the person issuing the threat look unhinged and dependent upon severity can lead to charges being filed for harassment. Just leave people alone. You like the game? Go play it. Or post your own review. But don’t be a creep.
This happens every time a Zelda game is released too. 🤣
Fanboys make fans look bad.
@Eagly
U don‘t say mr obvious
It's TLOU2 all over again.
I completely passed on that one.
GoW i know i like so i won't be passing on it.
Reviews are personal opinions. There is nothing objective about them and people should get over themselves and their echo chambers.
You know what they say about opinions... you can't agree with everyone. I've Just played the first 2 hours and he's obviously trying to be edgy. Maybe they should all stop listening to each other and live a happy life.
Its just a game and all this reviewer has done is share his honest opinion for it. These scum really need to be named and shamed and face legal troubles because its quite frankly disgusting.
Reminds me of when Jim Sterling gave BotW a 7/10 and got death threats, abuse and their site attacked for it. Its awful.
@tallythwack Ah the classic victim blaming. He's Korean so there's a good chance his context of the term is different to ours and how he used it. Either way it DOES NOT MATTER as its just a video game and not something you said death threats over.
Lol, this is why we can't have nice things.. the internet was a mistake!
The game is a 7 or an 8 at best. It does nothing to improve on the last game, it's more of the same, and whether you like it or not ultimately comes down to how 'cinematic' you like your videogames to be. I like my videogames to be games, ultimately leaving this to be a largely meritless videogame that does more of the same. So realistically, yeah, it gets an 8 for being polished and well executed. It doesn't get anything close to a 9 or a 10 because essentially, it is a rehash.
10 point scales exist for a reason. This isn't a 4 point scale. If it were a 4-pointer, it'd be getting a 3.
@Ralizah BOTW is another game that doesn't deserve anything close to a 9 or a 10. How it is so beloved is well beyond me. I still, to this day, largely blame TikTok and YT influencers for that barebones whale skeleton being so well liked.
Removed - trolling/baiting
Have to love the age of antisocial media lol. I used facebook for a little while when it first started up but then deleted my account when it was obviously becoming a really horrible place to inhabit..never used any of the others either..we started up a whatsapp golf group but i left that when other members started getting abusive. The only form of social media i use is the pushsquare comments sections because you guys and girls on here are pretty much cool people to chat to and yeah i know we dont always see eye to eye and can get on each others nerves from time to time but we usually sort things out eventually and move on. Thats what friends do but we dont issue death threats at each other as that ***** aint cool..
@ChromeSQD So have you come on to troll and start trouble? Like why? None of your comments have relevence to this article at all.
@Northern_munkey Helps that the PushSquare and sister sites teams actually mod and keep an eye on things. Gets too heated they step in and if it gets abusive they ban.
@WallyWest That's the problem with a lot of fans of this company, you assume that a dissenting opinion is there to cause trouble. I don't care about the consensus, nor do I care about the brand identity issues many of you carry. This game is an 8/10. 6 might be low, but it's not far off the mark. I am perfectly entitled to state that this game is an 8, which is very related to the above (as well as you're assumption that me rating it any lower than a 10 is an attempt to 'cause trouble'). That's coming from what is likely to be more years spent gaming than you have been alive. There's very little point in ever visiting this website if it's an echo chamber. It might be dedicated to Sony, but that doesn't mean everything has to be guaranteed a 10. Many of Sony's recent turnouts have been bad, and if not bad, then mediocre. They're the equivalent of pop music — they do what they need to do to make a profit, but they in no way should be considered the milestones and achievements that they supposedly are.
@ChromeSQD "PS5 has been dead in the water for the last two years." Whilst i can see your point in most of what you have stated i dont agree at all with that sentiment. In the 2 years we have had a fair few great games and a fair few duffers as well. Most console generations take at least a couple of years to hit their stride and the ps5 is no different. Dead in the water? No way but it needs to take of the floatation device that is the ps4 and start swimming on its own merit..
It for sure is not a 10/10 either. Like the 2018 one wasn't (the repetitions, the lack of boss fights the short narrative but stretched gameplay, the atrocious crafting and upgrades, the broken difficulty settings)...
But.
But, the overall product was a greater thing than the sum of its "goods" and "bads", and a masterful and enjoyable success. So, we like to award such efforts with 10/10.
On the other hand, this dude focused on the negatives only, which is fine, but all of them, in the face of the overall achievement, realistically, should maybe bring the score down by half a point, fine have it your way, a point. It still ain't a 6, dude, that was malicious, so you know, lesser people will want to get malicious with you then. Not approving of such behaviour, just saying, you should expect it. You wake up and choose violence - then don't cry when violence comes a knocking.
Il never understand people who act this way, or get triggered when people call it dlc. There's is no need to be that emotionally invested to a piece of plastic, and some of the comments on here are part of the problem and are super embarassing
@ChromeSQD mediocre is the word, my dude. I've had the same feeling since ps5 with Sony's first party games, Astro's Playroom being an exception.
Racism and a death threat or death wish over a review? What on earth is wrong with people?
I sincerely hope the person or people engaging in this behavior seek help and identify the underlying causes of the negativity they choose to put out into the world. There’s no excuse…
Sadly there is a very large group of idiots whose weird band loyalty spills over into the real world. You've only got to spend 30 seconds on Twitter to see the absurd amount of these accounts whether it be Playstation or Xbox amd they all have 1000's of idiots following them.
These are bloody video games and are meant to be a bit of fun, if somebody doesn't like a game as much as you then so what or vice versa. I saw it on here the other day with Sonic and people saying rhe cmscore is wrong on a game they haven't even played.
The lot of em need to grow up
Social media aye.. best way to deal with this kind of behaviour, it just like someone else said.. block all communications for randoms. Obviously it won't stop stories being posted though.
He was just pissed that he had to put his Genshin Impact play on pause to review Ragnarok. I can understand.
@PhantomMenace84 As you said yourself, you haven't played the game. And you aren't a reviewer. So your personal criteria for a review doesn't actually matter, now does it?
Lol why do people take IGN seriously?
Honestly, gamers have shown time and time again that they're like uncontrollable dogs. When these incidents occur, there should be a system to petition PlayStation/XBox/Steam to permanently terminate their account. Take away its treats, discipline the bad dog, it'll quickly learn.
Yes, many would use alts, but many won't have the forethought to. If you're sending a death threat over a game review, you're not very smart.
I've never read a review who's opinion changed mine. They are mostly irrelevant barring a few voices.
Man, I’m glad I put Otaku on ignore over a month ago, looking at the first few replies in this comment section shows he’s still up to his usual infantile shtick.
On this topic I’ll never understand people abusing someone for a review like this it’s just sad and it happens way too much. Given time some of the more ‘controversial’ reviews end up being more accurate also. Not saying that’s the case here but it does happen.
Whatever happened to polite discourse?
“I disagree with what you say, but I shall defend your right to say it”.
What is even worse, is that if people are unwilling to hear ideas that differ from those they already hold, then how could these people be expected to learn anything?
The best answer is - think for yourself. Play it, form your own opinion.
It’s not the end of the world.
Alas there’s absolutely nothing surprising about this. Twitter and all who adore it can f-ing do one as far as I’m concerned. It’s long superseded Mos Eisley as the universe’s greatest hive of wretched scum and villainy.
I'm guessing his review would drop the meta score of the game? is this their reasoning behind this?
Anyway the internet is an ugly place things like this keeps happening because people suck
But the Tech-emperor of the Twitterverse will surely save us from such angry aggressive brainless people? “Freedom of speech” you say? Oh Musk, you absolute c***!
Removed - inappropriate language
@Eagly of course its not ok ,I suspect the guy knew the reaction he would get ,especially with the comment he made about it being glorified dlc ,if he hadn't had put that, maybe then I would've thought it was a genuine critique of the game and maybe not a play for attention
@Martsmall damn marts you got great memory, I forgot UltimateOtaku was on about that non argument 🤣
@RobN fully agree, I expect I’ll love it but doubt it will be a 10 for me, but who cares?
@Cherip-the-Ripper unfortunately my head keeps some of the most stupid things said in there lol
It was always funny to see someone try to be cool by saying they don't like what everyone else does.
Honestly since I moved over to Mastodon and a lot of the folks I follow have also moved there, every time I look at Twitter I get the impression that all the decent folk have left, are no longer posting. Its been a pure trashfire for the past week or so there, which is just polarising stuff like this even more.
6/10 sounds accurate.
This is exactly why the games industry is still looked down upon despite generating more revenue than music or movies. Reviewers receiving racial hatred and death threats is just absolutely pathetic and inexcusable.
Is anyone still on twitter? Goto twitter, get twits.
That the guy was attention seeking with his review is obvious, and he got thecattention he was seeking, so job done.
That some idiot fanboy on twitter would over react was guarenteed, so its not suprising. It is still dissapointing though..
no need to check reviews god of war is great craic! now im with gears if war if i see gow lol
The thing is he didn't review the game. He made the decision to give it a low score so he can get a reaction and attention. If you can't see that then I don't know what can help you.
@Titntin Exactly! You get it! There's not a lot of common sense these days.
@AstraeaV I would give the first game a similar score not to be different but because I genuinely didn't enjoy it as much as most.
Usually on a 10 point review system 6 means "fine" which is how I'd describe GoW 2018, different opinions exist.
Some people need to learn to judge a game for themselves and only use reviews to get a general feel of what they're in for.
At the end of the day the only opinion that matters is your own, I've played plenty of supposed 10/10s I've felt cold on and plenty of 6/10s I've adored.
A couple examples from this site is the 10/10 LoU Part II(7/10 for me)
And the 6/10 Yakuza Kiwami(9/10 for my tastes)
I think an important aspect has been lost here, and that's the fact that this 6/10 review has not been included on metacritic. If ever there was proof that there's some backhand shenanigans going on with reviews scores and metacritic this is it.
Also, IGN US having more sway in the overall meta scores of games is all kinds of games media mafia bullsh@t.
That's just terrible to see, cyberbullying at it's finest.
That's seriously crook... Personally I'm keen to give the game a go, but it's not the be-all and end-all. And I'm sure that although there will be many millions of copies sold there are many millions more that are simply not interested in the game and thus would score it lower. I hate that as a global society we're being cajoled into a cookie cutter society...
Games are like art, ya likes what ya likes and it should not matter one jot to another, Nazi Germany didn't win the war.
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