Why mixed reviews?

[goblin 08]

I have never played the game, but I read some of the reviews and I though people were in LOVE with this game. Why are there mixed reviews? I see some people say "pay to win" or "feels like a ripoff" or "they want to make this a mobile game", but I haven't seen anything really about the game. Are these true?

[Jonathan J. O'Neill]

Pay 2 Win comes from the DLCs giving you slightly larger inventory space and a bunch of weapons. 99% of them can be found in the first town, aside from the Mk18.

Coming from someone without any of the DLC, it's paid convenience, not Pay 2 Win.

[ArmedGhost-]

Rule #1 of gaming: Never take review seriously. People don't understand it's an EA game, but review it as if it's a full release version. Plus forums are usually fuled with hate and negativity anyways.

My friends and myself absolutely love the game and have very little negatives to say about it. Game takes about 10 hours of gameplay to really get into the depths of what the game has to offer in which those who say the game is a rip off didn't give it the proper time the game takes or are going into the game with a loaded bias.

[Thorstorm]

Tarkov fanboys, Tinfoil hat lovers, 1080 homeboys, Dusty PC gang, take your pick.

[ArmedGhost-]

Originally posted by Jonathan J. O'Neill:

Pay 2 Win comes from the DLCs giving you slightly larger inventory space and a bunch of weapons. 99% of them can be found in the first town, aside from the Mk18.

Coming from someone without any of the DLC, it's paid convenience, not Pay 2 Win.

Plus players can upgrade their stash through tasks. Don't see the different DLCs being pay-to-win like you mentioned. A larger stash doesn't benefit players when they are out in a raid.

[Ysondoa]

Originally posted by goblin 08:

I have never played the game, but I read some of the reviews and I though people were in LOVE with this game. Why are there mixed reviews? I see some people say "pay to win" or "feels like a ripoff" or "they want to make this a mobile game", but I haven't seen anything really about the game. Are these true?

There is no P2W in this game. Everyone that cry about it has no idea what P2W really is. The only problems i have with this game right now are, Performance, Server performance, AI and some stupid quests.

[Jonathan J. O'Neill]

Originally posted by Uncle_Festus:

Originally posted by Jonathan J. O'Neill:

Pay 2 Win comes from the DLCs giving you slightly larger inventory space and a bunch of weapons. 99% of them can be found in the first town, aside from the Mk18.

Coming from someone without any of the DLC, it's paid convenience, not Pay 2 Win.

Plus players can upgrade their stash through tasks. Don't see the different DLCs being pay-to-win like you mentioned. A larger stash doesn't benefit players when they are out in a raid.

I didn't say they were pay to win. I said that's where people claim the game is Pay 2 Win. My last sentence specifically says it's paid convenience, not Pay 2 Win.

[FEZ]

The dlc are not anything too game breaking in terms of pay to win a good inventory management is all you need and if it means a few scav runs to town to pick up gear to sell then so be it. I got the base gane and you just have to organised its like getting a bigger wardrobe the bigger the space the more crap you will but what can you do with 5 bags and 5 vests just okay if you make it back good if not you play with what you got and then scab runs. If the dlc and and paid items gave you skills xp boost etc then that's a different matter

[ArmyWolve]

Everything you get in the DLC you can get in the game, there's nothing blocked behind pay walls like most AAA titles. I mainly bought DLC for the storage space "that's the only exception you get with pay compared to not" and i'd like to support this beautiful engine they've made. Majority of people can't comprehend what early access stands for, I've played some terrible early access in which felt like alpha builds of said game, while this feels like a legitimate beta, yes there's crashes with some people yes, some item's you can't pick up because they aren't positioned correctly, but all of what I've stated can be easily fixed in time. the game feels good when there's no hiccups. if you want to see more just go to twitch and listen to like i dunno shroud's input while he's playing it. or you can wait till its not so rough around the edges. either way ill keep on coming back to this game. I only play PVE till they find a new way on dealing with landing zone camper's.

[pipe]

because most people dont want to be Alpha testers and want a full game but they still get the games they dont wanna play... I dont wanna be alpha tester so i didnt get it.

[kukroach]

Originally posted by ArmedGhost-:

Rule #1 of gaming: Never take review seriously. People don't understand it's an EA game, but review it as if it's a full release version. Plus forums are usually fuled with hate and negativity anyways.

My friends and myself absolutely love the game and have very little negatives to say about it. Game takes about 10 hours of gameplay to really get into the depths of what the game has to offer in which those who say the game is a rip off didn't give it the proper time the game takes or are going into the game with a loaded bias.

It's almost like people are buying an early access game at full retail price , and then start judging the game based of what they paid to access said content

[patrick68794]

Server performance, client performance, and people not understanding what early access is mainly. Some people are complaining about "pay to win" even though that's not really a thing.

[Unforseen_Queefer]

the fact that unreal engine and intel/nvidia problems cause mass frequent unplayable crashes and mass loss of gear is why i cant give the game a positive review. it took me 3 days to figure out i had to F with my BIOS files which is scary for a non tech savy person like me which can brick a 4000$ plus PC and since the new update after i fixed it the crashes are back......

[A TIN OF JAR]

Originally posted by goblin 08:

Why are there mixed reviews?

Some are genuine issues like constant crashes to the point some people are actually unable to play.

Some people have a potato PC and expect Unreal engine 5 to run as if it was Unreal engine 1.

[カミナ]

Pay to win. Buggy game. Unrealistic damage and time to kill. Poor performance. Many issues like having your character and progress get deleted from bugs.

[⛧ $P00KY DA $CARY ⛧]

Originally posted by goblin 08:

I have never played the game, but I read some of the reviews and I though people were in LOVE with this game. Why are there mixed reviews? I see some people say "pay to win" or "feels like a rip-off" or "they want to make this a mobile game", but I haven't seen anything really about the game. Are these true?

Because the game is in a difficult situation, as of right now. Even for early access given the price tag in my opinion. I still play it from time to time, and avoid just complaining on the forums. I try my best to have civil and productive debates, that provide actual feedback to devs and community. Let's dig deeper if you are interested:

The prices

Given the price-tags of all the editions, the sad truth is: people usually expect the higher the price, the better the game, therefore it is judged harsher.

I do not say I subscribe to this train of thought, but i can see it affect my rationality as well as others that are either over-invested, or outraged.

In my opinion, the review score is justified, as the products stands right now. Here is why:

There are a lot of fantastic foundations here, like following

• Feel of the guns - They feel heavy, punchy and despite the sound: Definitely not a toy.
  
• The movement system (on stable servers). You have a good variety of control, and you feel like there is weight to your character, without it being overly cumbersome.
  
• The open world nature, which has not been done like this before.
  
• The awesome visual design, with a fresh take on a new landscape for the tactical shooter market.
  
• The depth of an authentic tactical shooter (ammo types, guns, customization etc.)
  
• The list goes on...

However, there are core, foundational issues too, that to be honest do pull the overall game-score down heavily. Such as:

• The now (hopefully) patched headless-gear loss bug, requiring full account wipe
  
• Poor net-code/server stability resulting in big hit registration issues, rubber banding and stuttering.
  
• poor save-structure of player profile, resulting in gear loss, in a gear based game when a disconnect or server/client crash occurs (not in every occasion, but often).
  
• The unoptimised nature of the game, requiring AI upscaling and frame generation to run at an acceptable frame-rate.
  
• And more, less critical issues...

The fresh memories of E.A. failures

Given the recent history of Early Access games in the market, it is also reasonable to assume, that the situations where players have lost investment and/or flat out have been scammed, I believe this provides additional pressure.

The release of "Early Access Release Date Announcement" Trailer

It also did not help the situation, that devs released this trailer, which currently has 257k views (more then the launch trailer!), which showcases the game as "flawless".

Please bare with me: They have clipped numerous streamers out of context (and I do not blame them for it. This is obviously NOT a malicious act, as they seemed simply exited about this feedback). Here streamers only said positive things about the game, however the context of nuance has been cut, and presented the game from a flawless perspective, which does not provide a full picture. Obviously this was simply a mistake from inexperienced studio, however it still had created a ripple effect, when the game released.

Here is a link to it if you want to watch it yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8DyVR3bPG8

Final thoughts

As I think I summed this up, the potential is undoubtedly there, however the community here seems to have settled on a similar review score as you see described here. Mixed.

Don't just assume people are stupid, and jump to conclusions. The game has a foundation with a few cracks, and I am sure if the devs continue trucking on, this review rating will be a lot more positive in no time. Have faith and patience in both the devs and your fellow community members.