Some Xbox Game Pass subscribers are taking to the internet to express their frustration with users seemingly randomly review bombing titles on the popular gaming service, particularly regarding indie titles. Xbox Game Pass allows players to pick and download from an ever-evolving library of Xbox and PC titles. The service also offers a review system, so players can see which games they may be interested in. However, some titles are being review bombed by users who seem to not enjoy the selection of titles.
The selection of titles on Xbox Game Pass is vast. There are triple-A titles on the service, such as the recent Deathloop, and there are indie games that reached a wide audience and became fan favorites, such as Hades. However, not all indie games are being supported by users on the service, even with an indie game like Immortality getting high review scores, it appears that some users are not satisfied with the titles on the service and believe there are too many indie games.
In a Reddit thread created by user Irion15, the user presents their thoughts regarding review bombing on the Xbox Game Pass service, specifically, their thoughts about indie games being review bombed when a new one is put on the service. The user also points out a large flaw in the Xbox Game Pass review system: users do not even need to download or play the game to leave a review. With that in mind and with indie titles already being smaller in budget and more niche, bad reviews from players that have not actually played the game could turn people away from even giving the game a try. With upcoming games like Lies of P being confirmed to be an Xbox Game Pass day one release in 2023, many users are hoping that the review system changes to stop potential players from being swayed from giving games a try.
A comparison that is made in the comments section is with the way Steam handles its review scores. When users review a game on Steam, the review tells potential customers how long the reviewer played the game at the time of writing a review, in order to potentially show customers if there is review bombing occurring. The reasoning for review bombing will never be simple, but recently, Digimon Survive was review bombed because of it being a visual novel instead of a traditional RPG.
While reviews can turn away Xbox Game Pass subscribers from downloading a game, luckily, there isn't a cost to try the game outside the subscription fee. Still, it can be frustrating for gamers to see their favorite titles being reviewed negatively by players that didn't even download the game. Even a well-received game like Grand Theft Auto 5 can be the subject of review bombing. Hopefully, there will be changes to combat review bombing on Xbox Game Pass.