In April, The Last of Us Part II‘s critical scenes were leaked and they caused quite a stir, to put it mildly. Angry social media users resorted to posting the game’s spoilers everywhere, spared no one, and prompted Sony and Naughty Dog to lock down Twitter replies and disable YouTube comments to prevent the spoilers from spreading.
When Part II‘s critical consensus went live last week, this angry subset of “hardcore” gamers picked out the rare middling reviews to make the case that Sony “paid off” reviewers (Chandler’s still awaiting his $5,000 reward /s). It prompted at least one of the reviewers who didn’t exactly enjoy the game to ask their followers to stop using their review to legitimize asinine conspiracy theories, but that wasn’t enough. The trolls waited with bated breath for their big moment: the Metacritic user reviews.
We saw this coming, but we probably underestimated the scale of it.
As expected, Part II is being review bombed into oblivion. Miraculously, everyone who promised to boycott the game actually decided to buy it and review it by midnight, and they all had the same exact things to say. And by that I mean they copy/pasted the same few lines. That’ll teach Naughty Dog a lesson!
But that’s not all.
So upset are the “fans” that they’re actively harassing Part II‘s cast on social media, prompting some of them to respond (thanks, noobfeed).
“I can’t believe this even needs to be clarified, but at no point in the game did I film any scene with Neil,” Bailey said in response to the cesspool that is her Twitter replies. “Everything I did was alongside phenomenally talented and professional actors. Play the game. THEN give your opinions. And if you still don’t like it, that’s fine. Love you.”
Druckmann himself made light of the Metacritic review bombing.
“Oh man…in just a few hours we have almost DOUBLE the number of user reviews for The Last of Us Part II than the first game received in seven years,” he tweeted. “Love that passion!”
Now comes the real battle: the sales reports! If preorders are any indication, Part II is on track to set sales records. Over on ResetEra, users posted photos of the game’s midnight launch in Sweden and Russia, and let’s just say, the lines are long. Like, really long.
#TheLastofUsPartII time! Longest queue for a midnight opening I move seen! 🙂 pic.twitter.com/4eqK0FtSvG
— Craig Wotherspoon (@craigw1701) June 18, 2020
I’m sure this is an upsetting sight for the boycott brigade but don’t say we didn’t warn you when The Last of Us Part II does end up selling like hot cakes. But in the meantime, consider self reflecting before indulging in toxic behavior and harassment. There are things far more devastating in the world than not getting a game that you wanted.
