Sonic fans on PC haven't exactly had an easy time with the series' latest release, Sonic Mania. Not only was the game delayed on PC, but once it finally made its debut on the platform, players were confronted with an unwanted feature.

Yesterday, PC players began to note that the Steam version of Sonia Mania requires an Internet connection, and many blamed it on the game's Denuvo DRM system. The Steam Store page for the game made no mention of the always online requirement nor the Denuvo DRM, and many of them were incredibly upset. On Twitter, a PR representative for the Sonic franchise, Aaron Webber, encouraged players to share their feedback on the DRM and make their voices heard.

Fans responded in kind by expressing their opinions on social media and review-bombing the Sonic Mania Steam listing, slamming the game with negative reviews in an effort to get Sega to take action. With Sonic Mania being the franchise's highest-rated game in over a decade, it didn't take Sega long to respond. The company released a statement explaining that the always online requirement was in fact an error and not an intended feature, nor was it in any way related to the Denuvo DRM.

"We’ve looked into the DRM complaints and can confirm this was not the cause of the problem," said Sega, adding that "with this particular bug, we are on the case and working on fixes so everyone can have an uninterrupted and enjoyable experience playing Sonic Mania both online and offline." Shortly after, Sega confirmed that the patch had been released to players, but asked them to let the company know if they experience any further problems.

While players' ire was misplaced, as Denuvo DRM turned out not to be the cause of the problem, many will see this as another win for review bombing. Sonic Mania is not the first game to have been hit with waves of negative reviews, as players seek to force change, with Dota 2 recently facing review backlash from Half-Life fans in an effort to get Valve to take notice. Last year, No Man's Sky also saw overwhelmingly negative reviews on its Steam page, as players were largely unsatisfied with the game's content. Hello Games has since released several updates to address it.

Although review bombing may not be the kindest way to get the point across, many will see it as an effective method. And so unfortunately for developers and publishers, this is one trend that looks set to continue.

Sonic Mania is out now on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

Source: Sega – Facebook