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Earth Defense Force 6 on Steam requires an Epic Games Account to play, game gets review bombed

ultrazilla

Gold Member
It was not known before launch. More specifically, it was not known before launch AND while preorders were being made. The game released on July 25th. This is what the Steam page looked like on July 25th a few hours before release:

ThEGkrD.png


Source:
Code:
https://web.archive.org/web/20240725083601/https://store.steampowered.com/app/2291060/EARTH_DEFENSE_FORCE_6/


This is what the Steam page looked like on July 25th just 30 minutes after release:

ohqAl00.png


Source:
Code:
https://web.archive.org/web/20240725113756/https://store.steampowered.com/app/2291060/EARTH_DEFENSE_FORCE_6/

If they didn't allow preorders I wouldn't say it is a big deal. But if you're going to allow preorders, then you need to be keeping people informed of what they're preordering. That was a scummy tactic.

This is some shady ass "bait and switch" shenanigans and *probably* against the law in the U.K.

I love me the Earth Defense Force games but to have a specific launcher in order to play the game when none of the other their games did this? What the hell were they thinking?
 

JayK47

Member
Keep Epic out of Steam. So dumb. And gamers just keep giving ground to stupid BS just to play a shit game.
 

Toons

Member
Oh man imagine thinking that the review score on a STORE FRONT was there to discuss the many nuances of a games experience like a professional critic, instead of, you know, a review of the product that they bought on the storefront that they bought it from.

I can't wait to read about the delicate curves and a break down of the artistic expression in the manual of my Dyson hoover next time I'm on amazon.

I mean if you saw a review on a Dyson vaccuum about dysons working conditions or business practices would you consider that a legitimate review of the vacuum? Because i wouldn't.

Idk anyone rational who would, even if they are making solid points, that's not the place that is supposed to go. That place is meant for the product to be reviewed lmao.
 

Guilty_AI

Member
I mean if you saw a review on a Dyson vaccuum about dysons working conditions or business practices would you consider that a legitimate review of the vacuum? Because i wouldn't.

Idk anyone rational who would, even if they are making solid points, that's not the place that is supposed to go. That place is meant for the product to be reviewed lmao.
If the Dyson vacuum i bought forced me to make an online account to function, i would definitely be putting that in the review.
 

Toons

Member
If the Dyson vacuum i bought forced me to make an online account to function, i would definitely be putting that in the review.

I'll give you a touche on that one. But I still think its misleading to see a review score when the game itself can be fine or even good. Id sill like any review to include elements of both. "I like the game but this requires a sign up snd I would've liked to know that beforehand' is a much more informative review than simply leaving a one star and moving on
 

DaciaJC

Gold Member
I mean if you saw a review on a Dyson vaccuum about dysons working conditions or business practices would you consider that a legitimate review of the vacuum? Because i wouldn't.

Idk anyone rational who would, even if they are making solid points, that's not the place that is supposed to go. That place is meant for the product to be reviewed lmao.

You're not presenting an equivalent analogy here. The Steam reviews don't concern workplace conditions, they're in respect to a previously undisclosed requirement for a third-party account for the product in question to function. If a Dyson vacuum had such a proviso, then a review would absolutely be the appropriate place to express your displeasure.
 

JayK47

Member
Epic BS aside, there are plenty of other negative reviews. These games were never that amazing. A decent couch coop game back in the day for a budget game. As they are asking $60 for the game, it is no longer a budget game. Having tons of jank and poor performance, along with Epic requirement, it would seem to deserve the poor reviews. Helldivers does it better for less.
 

Guilty_AI

Member
I'll give you a touche on that one. But I still think its misleading to see a review score when the game itself can be fine or even good. Id sill like any review to include elements of both. "I like the game but this requires a sign up snd I would've liked to know that beforehand' is a much more informative review than simply leaving a one star and moving on
Your whole mentality is based around the idea a good game needs to have a pristine, high numerical value displayed on the Steam store page specifically, just that.

It doesn't. That comes from a position that cares purely about optics.

Steam reviews are a product review, not a game review. And regardless of whether you agree or not, enforced third party accounts in a product (especially if undisclosed before purchase) is something that bothers a lot of people. And in that case, Steam reviews are serving their intended purpose and warning potential buyers of that. You don't care? That "mixed" in the store page isn't stopping you from putting the game in the cart and enjoying it on the terms given.
 
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Gonzito

Gold Member
Its a fucking joke they are asking 60 euros for this crap that doesn't even have the option to activate vsync inside the game
 

GymWolf

Gold Member
Its a fucking joke they are asking 60 euros for this crap that doesn't even have the option to activate vsync inside the game
I understand your point, but can't you just use the vsync from the nvidia/amd control panel?

I use that one by default because it's usually better than ingame vsync.
 

Gonzito

Gold Member
I understand your point, but can't you just use the vsync from the nvidia/amd control panel?

I use that one by default because it's usually better than ingame vsync.

Being able to activate vsync in nvidia control panel doesn't excuse the poor effort this company has made. If you understand my point it doesn't make sense that you write this back
 

GymWolf

Gold Member
Being able to activate vsync in nvidia control panel doesn't excuse the poor effort this company has made. If you understand my point it doesn't make sense that you write this back
I understand that you are mad about it, i was just offering a solution that usually work better than ingame vsync, in case you end up buying the game anyway.

I'm surprised aswell that the game is 53 euros on the store but it look like a 30 euros top game.
 
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GymWolf

Gold Member
I think the price is justified because after playing the game, you'll also be the proud owner of an EGS account.
In essence, you get the game plus an EGS account for your money. That's good value.
Can i get a 10 euros discount if i have an epic account already?
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
Hopefully the devs sort this shit out. The game's really fun and it's a nice step up coming from 5 imo, it deserves better than a gutted launch.
 

Toons

Member
Your whole mentality is based around the idea a good game needs to have a pristine, high numerical value displayed on the Steam store page specifically, just that.

It doesn't. That comes from a position that cares purely about optics.

Not optics, just about communicating information, about telling other potential buyers relevant information that allows them to make an informed decision on whether to buy the game. That information being a quantifiable consensus based on other people on if you'll like the game or not.

With this line of thinking the exact same thing could be said for people leaving one star. They arent leaving a one star review for the game, they are leaving a one star because they think the negative optics will get their grievance more prominently.

Im arguing for rhe opposite of both extremes.. a review that is both informational about the game but lists the drawbacks.
 
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Guilty_AI

Member
With this line of thinking the exact same thing could be said for people leaving one star. They arent leaving a one star review for the game, they are leaving a one star because they think the negative optics will get their grievance more prominently.
Steam review system is designed to get around this mentality. You either leave a positive or a negative review, on whether you want to bring the overall score up or down. If there is some widespread grievance, multiple people will leave negative reviews and bring the score down. The ones that don't care and want the game viewed positively, will leave positive reviews to bring the score up. So much so the current review of the game is "mixed", perfectly reasonable.
 

Three

Member
If the Dyson vacuum i bought forced me to make an online account to function, i would definitely be putting that in the review.
Dyson isn't an online game. Amazon is doing just that with its online products like Alexa, Ring, Kindle, etc. Who's review bombing those?
 
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Guilty_AI

Member
Dyson isn't an online game. Amazon is doing just that with its online products like Alexa, Ring, Kindle, etc. Who's review bombing those?
All that means is that the people buying Alexa, Ring and Kindle don't care en masse about needing an Amazon account. Can be completely different with other products or even different accounts. I certainly would never buy a vacuum cleaner that needed to sync with the cloud to work for some weird, likely unnecessary reason.

Either that or the Amazon review system is spoofed.
 
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Three

Member
All that means is that the people buying Alexa, Ring and Kindle don't care en masse about needing an Amazon account. Can be completely different with other products or even different accounts. I certainly would never buy a vacuum cleaner that needed to sync with the cloud to work for some weird, likely unnecessary reason.

Either that or the Amazon review system is spoofed.
It's an online game though and what's odd is that pretty much most negative reviews I've seen has some other online game in their reviews that they've given a thumbs up to that requires another online third party account that they don't have a problem with. Whether that's a Frontier account for warframe or an EA account for BF2042. Some even have single player games with an account requirement go figure.
 
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Guilty_AI

Member
It's an online game though and what's odd is that pretty much most negative reviews I've seen has some other online game in their reviews that they've given a thumbs up to that requires another online third party account that they don't have a problem with. Whether that's a Frontier account for warframe or an EA account for BF2042. Some even have single player games with an account requirement go figure.
They dislike having to make an Epic account, and again that is a 100% valid criticism to make of a product. There are tons of reasons to dislike specific third party apps.

Also worth mentioning there was no reason to believe this game would require an Epic Account before launch (and at first they didn't warm about it either), unlike with something like Battlefield where the people who buy these games are fully aware by now they need a EA account.
 

drotahorror

Member
I'll give you a touche on that one. But I still think its misleading to see a review score when the game itself can be fine or even good. Id sill like any review to include elements of both. "I like the game but this requires a sign up snd I would've liked to know that beforehand' is a much more informative review than simply leaving a one star and moving on

that's because EGS account is a deal breaker for some. if I was to buy a game, unexpectedly requires an EGS account to play, and I was to leave a review, I wouldn't have made it past the EGS login. so my only complaint would be EGS is shit and why tf do I need to make an account with these pieces of shit.
 

drotahorror

Member
It's an online game though and what's odd is that pretty much most negative reviews I've seen has some other online game in their reviews that they've given a thumbs up to that requires another online third party account that they don't have a problem with. Whether that's a Frontier account for warframe or an EA account for BF2042. Some even have single player games with an account requirement go figure.

EGS is bottom of the barrel. if I ever have to make an epic account to play a game, might as well have never made it.
 

Three

Member
They dislike having to make an Epic account, and again that is a 100% valid criticism to make of a product. There are tons of reasons to dislike specific third party apps.

Also worth mentioning there was no reason to believe this game would require an Epic Account before launch (and at first they didn't warm about it either), unlike with something like Battlefield where the people who buy these games are fully aware by now they need a EA account.
Which is fair enough but that is a little different to "why does this hoover require an account" when those people are happy to sign in to an EA one for their other hoovers or toaster. Clearly the grievance isn't with something unnecessary when they're happy with it elsewhere.

Leaving a review is that person's perogative they can leave it for whatever reason they like, does not necessarily make it valid or useful in somebody else's eyes though. I'm just agreeing with the person who you replied to. Some people don't consider "I hate Epic for whatever reason therefore this game is bad" as a 'legitimate' review of a game. By legitimate I don't mean they don't have the right to leave such a review, I mean that minor grievance doesn't actually tell you much about the product. His example was

I mean if you saw a review on a Dyson vaccuum about dysons working conditions or business practices would you consider that a legitimate review of the vacuum? Because i wouldn't.

Equally if en mass a bunch of people started review bombing Dragons Crown because of the depiction of women would that be legitimate reviews of a game?
People dont agree that people's hatred for Epic should mean the game gets a poor review. If people actually hated games with sign-ins equally that would at least add some more legitimacy to an opinion and standard too but there is a lot of veiled platform bullshit mixed in.
 
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Guilty_AI

Member
Which is fair enough but that is a little different to "why does this hoover require an account" when those people are happy to sign in to an EA one for their other hoovers or toaster. Clearly the grievance isn't with something unnecessary when they're happy with it elsewhere.

Leaving a review is that person's perogative they can leave it for whatever reason they like, does not necessarily make it valid or useful in somebody else's eyes though. I'm just agreeing with the person who you replied to. Some people don't consider "I hate Epic for whatever reason therefore this game is bad" as a 'legitimate' review of a game. By legitimate I don't mean they don't have the right to leave such a review, I mean that minor grievance doesn't actually tell you much about the product. His example was



Equally if en mass a bunch of people started review bombing Dragons Crown because of the depiction of women would that be legitimate reviews of a game?
People dont agree that people's hatred for Epic should mean the game gets a poor review. If people actually hated games with sign-ins equally that would at least add some more legitimacy to an opinion and standard too but there is a lot of veiled platform bullshit mixed in.
and there comes the fact none of these reviews can stop anyone from buying the game, which is what i said to the previous person. Same way negative journalist reviews of Dragon's Crown for having boobs too large didn't stop the people who wanted it from buying it.

What matters is that there exists a system that warns players of any potential grievances, and that having it is infinitely better than not.
 

Three

Member
and there comes the fact none of these reviews can stop anyone from buying the game, which is what i said to the previous person. Same way negative journalist reviews of Dragon's Crown for having boobs too large didn't stop the people who wanted it from buying it.

What matters is that there exists a system that warns players of any potential grievances, and that having it is infinitely better than not.
Nobody was really saying people can't buy it though. They were just questioning the usefulness of such reviews to other people.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
and there comes the fact none of these reviews can stop anyone from buying the game, which is what i said to the previous person. Same way negative journalist reviews of Dragon's Crown for having boobs too large didn't stop the people who wanted it from buying it.

What matters is that there exists a system that warns players of any potential grievances, and that having it is infinitely better than not.
That’s fine but also my reason why I no longer take these so called “reviews” seriously because they are no longer reviews.

Honestly these days I feel like I can no longer trust any reviews, either from so called professionals, user reviews or Steam reviews…all them have some kind of “agenda” behind it, either it’s “problematic” BS or “anti-wok” crap or this whole EGS/Steam launcher drama…….none of them wants to be honest about the actual game.

These days I mostly rely on my own judgment, there is no other choice.
 

Guilty_AI

Member
That’s fine but also my reason why I no longer take these so called “reviews” seriously because they are no longer reviews.
If you're going to buy a game and a huge amount of reviews is saying "this game is broken, doesn't work and bricked my console/PC", you can bet your ass you'll be taking them seriously.
 

Silver Wattle

Gold Member
I support this.

I've been slowly making my way through mass effect legendary edition on my steam deck and it's gotten so bad with the EA launcher that the game doesn't launch half the time, sometimes it takes several attempts and I've even had to give up a couple times, and this game is entirely a single player game too.

It wasn't this bad at the start of the year but the subsequent updates to the launcher have made it progressively worse.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
If you're going to buy a game and a huge amount of reviews is saying "this game is broken, doesn't work and bricked my console/PC", you can bet your ass you'll be taking them seriously.
Yes if the game was CP2077 level broken which effects actual game, that’s definitely should be taken seriously.

I’m not PC gamer so maybe I’m ignorant about all this but does whole EGS launcher/anccount effects the actual game? Does it somehow effects performance or something?
 
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Dr.Morris79

Member
I've bought every EDF since the bog standard Xbox 360 version. I'm currently away at the moment and I'd pre ordered this like the mong I am because it's one of my favourite franchises. I was looking forward to this like you wouldn't belive but here I am reading reviews, saying that for even offline you need an EGS account and blah blah blah, mixed messages etc etc

Well fuck this. I refunded it.

If they remove anything EGS I'll buy it, until then, no.

Sorry. I don't care. Stop trying to force this shit upon us.
 

Three

Member
Crossplay?
So is there an Xbox version, too? If there isn't, we can safely conclude that the review bombing is justified.
It's on PC, PS4 and PS5. Just because they didn't release on xbox doesn't mean they don't have crossplay you numpty.
 
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