Why so many mediocre-review games suddenly have very high reviews?

[Turbo Nozomix]

Many games on Steam which were somewhat commercial flops and have had mixed reviews since they released suddenly have a huge influx of 90%+ or thereabouts reviews in the previous 30 days. In some cases, the influx of 90%+ positive reviews has suddenly lifted the game out of its Mixed review status.

I've been noticing this all over the place on Steam.


Here are some examples:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/637090/BATTLETECH/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/690790/DiRT_Rally_20/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/421020/DiRT_4/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/272270/Torment_Tides_of_Numenera/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1017900/Age_of_Empires_Definitive_Edition/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/640820/Pathfinder_Kingmaker__Enhanced_Edition/



What's going on? These games haven't all received new patches and nothing has changed about their basic experience.

They could all be legitimate, but at face value, and right before the Steam Autumn sale, it's suspicious, IMO. It sort of looks like titles are being massaged ahead of the sale.



Edit:

The cause is expected to be from Steam prompting people who have been actively playing a game to leave a review.

A problem I see with that approach is that, just as people who keep going to a restaurant obviously like the experience of that restaurant, people who actively play a game are also likely to be playing it because they like it.

Discussion of the issues of that type of system start around here:

https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/0/1744512174759305803/?ctp=7#c1744512496198191837

[Turbo Nozomix]

引用自 Crashed：

引用自 Turbo Nozomix：

The influx of 90%+ positive reviews for a large number of poorly-received Steam games started before the Autumn sale began, and for all the games started at the same time: around October 27th, 28th.

It looks like there has been systematic manipulation of Steam reviews.

What's to say the negative reviews were not review bombs that were since detected and mitigated?

If they were removed, their numbers wouldn't appear in the tallies for the games at the top of the page. The games' review ratings would also be Very Positive instead of Mostly Positive. The Mostly Positive is because all the previous negative reviews are still being counted and offsetting the last month's influx of 90%+ positive reviews.

The review system shown the date at which reviews were made and the review score can be looked at for a specific range of dates using the drop-down graph and dragging on a section of it to highlight a specific date-range:

Here's an example for DiRT 2's review history:

https://i.imgur.com/5xU1oxz.jpg

The previous negative reviews are not removed and are still there and are being counted into the games' review scores. They aren't review-bombs. They've only been offset by a surge in new positive reviews which started for all games at the same time: October 27 - 29.

[Erebus]

引用自 Turbo Nozomix：

引用自 Crashed：

What's to say the negative reviews were not review bombs that were since detected and mitigated?

If they were removed, their numbers wouldn't appear in the tallies for the games at the top of the page. The games' review ratings would also be Very Positive instead of Mostly Positive. The Mostly Positive is because all the previous negative reviews are still being counted and offsetting the last month's influx of 90%+ positive reviews.

The review system shown the date at which reviews were made and the review score can be looked at for a specific range of dates using the drop-down graph and dragging on a section of it to highlight a specific date-range:

Here's an example for DiRT 2's review history:

https://i.imgur.com/5xU1oxz.jpg

The previous negative reviews are not removed and are still there and are being counted into the games' review scores. They aren't review-bombs. They've only been offset by a surge in new positive reviews which started for all games at the same time: October 27 - 29.

Dirt Rally 2.0 literally has patchnotes at the end of Oct and beginning of November.

https://steamcommunity.com/games/690790/announcements/detail/1647681478301296246

Dirt Rally 2.0 also has seen more sales more frequent as the year has progressed:

https://steamdb.info/app/690790/ (scroll down on that page)

--------------------------

And Steam Library update rolled out around that time giving people a prompt to review games and or update their reviews if they've played a lot since they reviewed it last.

[Turbo Nozomix]

引用自 Erebus：

Dirt Rally 2.0 literally has patchnotes at the end of Oct and beginning of November.

https://steamcommunity.com/games/690790/announcements/detail/1647681478301296246

DiRT 2 has received an update every few weeks or so since it released. But no previous patch resulted in improved reviews. To go from 45% to 92% positive reviews, a patch would have to do something pretty spectacular. But there's nothing spectacular announced in the patchnotes, and no comments on any significant improvement in the reviews or forum posts.

Dirt Rally 2.0 also has seen more sales more frequent as the year has progressed:

https://steamdb.info/app/690790/ (scroll down on that page)

But, as is shown in the image I included in my previous comment, DiRT 2's new reviews were terrible right up until October 29. So, more sales hasn't meant better reviews over time.


It isn't just DiRT 2, but all the games in the OP - which didn't all receive patches recently.

Here's Pathfinder's history showing the same thing:

https://i.imgur.com/HOiDd05.jpg

And Steam Library update rolled out around that time giving people a prompt to review games and or update their reviews if they've played a lot since they reviewed it last.

There could be something with that. The new Steam library went live for everyone on September 17, though. And the influx of 90%+ positive reviews for games started all of a sudden at October 27 - 29.

[Erebus]

引用自 Turbo Nozomix：

引用自 Erebus：

Dirt Rally 2.0 literally has patchnotes at the end of Oct and beginning of November.

https://steamcommunity.com/games/690790/announcements/detail/1647681478301296246

DiRT 2 has received an update every few weeks or so since it released. But no previous patch resulted in improved reviews. To go from 45% to 92% positive reviews, a patch would have to do something pretty spectacular. But there's nothing spectacular announced in the patchnotes, and no comments on any significant improvement in the reviews or forum posts.

Dirt Rally 2.0 also has seen more sales more frequent as the year has progressed:

https://steamdb.info/app/690790/ (scroll down on that page)

But, as is shown in the image I included in my previous comment, DiRT 2's new reviews were terrible right up until October 29. So, more sales hasn't meant better reviews over time.


It isn't just DiRT 2, but all the games in the OP - which didn't all receive patches recently.

Here's Pathfinder's history showing the same thing:

https://i.imgur.com/HOiDd05.jpg

And Steam Library update rolled out around that time giving people a prompt to review games and or update their reviews if they've played a lot since they reviewed it last.

There could be something with that. The new Steam library went live for everyone on September 17, though. And the influx of 90%+ positive reviews for games started all of a sudden at October 27 - 29.

It was beta in Sept. It didn't roll out to everyone at that point.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/30/20940817/valve-steam-library-update-launch-release-date-out-of-beta

https://steamcommunity.com/games/593110/announcements/detail/1666821776739358716

[Radene]

I don't see why this is an issue.

[Turbo Nozomix]

引用自 Radene：

I don't see why this is an issue.

Misleading information and the manipulation of people especially to get their money are issues.

[RedLightning]

Ha.. perhaps they should institute something new...

The RRB.. or Reverse review bomb.. and start filtering out those spikes in positives just like they do with the spikes in negative reviews.

This all does seem odd .

[Crazy Tiger]

引用自 Turbo Nozomix：

引用自 Radene：

I don't see why this is an issue.

Misleading information and the manipulation of people especially to get their money are issues.

Except it's not. If people publish reviews more often because of the library prompts, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I looked at the Dirt 2.0 reviews and filtered them on recent. Many reviews are from people who have a playtime in double or triple figures and are actual reviews with useful information. There are also negative reviews. I went back till early november in the reviews.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same on the other games.

It seems more that you're creating an issue because you don't agree with the rating.

[secuda]

引用自 Turbo Nozomix：

引用自 Radene：

I don't see why this is an issue.

Misleading information and the manipulation of people especially to get their money are issues.

Like some one ellse said the more copies being sold the more it get reviewed and therefore overall may score/view on the product change.

[Count_Dandyman]

引用自 secuda：

引用自 Turbo Nozomix：

Misleading information and the manipulation of people especially to get their money are issues.

Like some one ellse said the more copies being sold the more it get reviewed and therefore overall may score/view on the product change.

Not to mention most of those games have been trending upwards for a while after heavy negative spikes from early buyers having the wrong idea about what the game would be, launch bugs, updates they didn't like or people railing against a publisher for something unrelated to the game.

[Sorceress]

Pathfinder's many bugs were resolved long before current steam sale.

[Crazy Tiger]

引用自 RosabelleSaga：

Pathfinder's many bugs were resolved long before current steam sale.

Aye, I;ve been following progress and it seems the shaky release has been long forgotten (sort of). Looks interesting, might pick it up in the Winter sale.

[Realigo Actual]

I noticed this as well. I had noticed before that some games have a bunch of shady looking reviews from low-level accounts with low playtime that say something generic and very excited in the positive review.

I don't think this is that though.

Before we cry foul we need to make sure this isn't just the result of the new Library asking people on the game page if they liked and would recommend the game. It might just be people who don't normally review adding to the review space.

Which is fine, honestly. Before this happened, there was a another phenomenon of people being too hard on games and bandwagoning resentment to them. Whatever the cause of that was, however much related to pubby doings in the industry or no, it wouldn't lead anywhere good.

If the games have high scores and people buy and feel ripped off then the score will correct, or future sales will get harder to make. The public would respond to lower than deserved scores eventually as well, and that did start a bit a couple months ago, but so would the publishers, whereas they wouldn't do anything about higher than deserved scores, and nothing the publishers would do is good or healthy. Higher score than deserved is better than lower score than deserved IMO.

[Tito Shivan]

引用自 Actual Sprinkle Taters：

Before we cry foul we need to make sure this isn't just the result of the new Library asking people on the game page if they liked and would recommend the game. It might just be people who don't normally review adding to the review space.

Looking at the graphs that seems to be the case. The new Library UI just seems to be organically bringing more reviews into the system.

[Radene]

引用自 Turbo Nozomix：

引用自 Radene：

I don't see why this is an issue.

Misleading information and the manipulation of people especially to get their money are issues.

You not agreeing with what people are saying does not make it misleading.