One of the biggest and most noticeable differences between Valve's Steam and the new Epic Games Store is that the latter does not feature any game reviews. When users of Epic Games' newly launched storefront go onto the page of a game, they won't see any reviews from other users, but that could be about to change.
Responding to a Twitter user, Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney confirmed that the team is "working on a review system" for the Epic Games Store. It will be based on the review system on the Unreal Engine marketplace, explained Sweeney, who added that the review system would be "opt-in" by developers. This means that it will be up to game developers whether they display user reviews on their game pages or not.
Some PC gamers are furious about the opt-in status, saying that it would allow game developers to cover up legitimate criticisms of their titles. The argument is that if a game is good, a developer wouldn't have to hide the reviews. However, Sweeney said that reviews would be opt-in "because review bombing and other gaming-the-system is a real problem."
Sweeney's tweet was made at the end of December, but the recent review bombing of Metro Exodus would appear to prove the executive's point. Some Metro fans, unhappy with the decision to remove the game from Steam and make it an Epic Games Store exclusive, began to flood the game's Steam reviews with negative feedback. Review-bombing is designed to put pressure on developers to make changes or at least respond to community issues.
Metro Exodus is just one of several big games to be review-bombed on Steam. Ubisoft shooter Rainbow Six Siege was review-bombed after making changes that appeased Chinese censors, battle royale game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds was review-bombed due to VPN ads, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider was review-bombed for going on sale quickly after launch.
Steam has made changes to combat the effects of review-bombing including highlighting negative review spikes to help gamers make informed decisions. But this hasn't actually prevented review bombs from happening nor does it appear to have dissuaded people from taking part.
It seems unlikely that Epic Games will shift gears on this. From the start, it has aimed to solve existing problems within the PC gaming market like offering developers a more favorable revenue split than Steam. And this strategy has worked, with major games like The Division 2 becoming exclusive to the Epic Games Store. The lack of reviews (and thus the ability to review bomb) is another selling point for developers and Epic won't want to eliminate that.