God of War Ragnarok PC Review Bombed Over PSN Requirement

Literally the end of the world

by · Push Square

Horrified by the prospect of having to sign into PSN (among other, more tangible complaints), PC gamers are having a normal one over on Steam. There, Sony Santa Monica's sequel, God of War Ragnarok, is currently being review bombed, enduring a "mixed" user score as a result.

As reported by IGN, among more legitimate reports of lacklustre optimization and controller woes, unhappy customers frequently cited Sony's requirement that Steam users link their accounts to PSN as the cause of their discontent. Sony makes this quite clear on the game's Steam page, but it seems that the memory of Helldivers 2's own PSN/PC debacle is still too fresh in some minds, and a favourite tactic is being employed.

While Sony did back down in that instance, we can't see that happening here. This will probably mean Ragnarok will have to endure the "mixed" rating until things settle down and nature can take its rightful course. Released on PC on 20th September, Ragnarok managed a peak player count of 35,615 over the weekend, which is a significant drop from the 73,529 managed by its predecessor, God of War, when that game ventured to Steam.

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Did you pick up God of War Ragnarok on PC, and if so, what do you think? Did the PSN requirement send you into a rage that would make any pantheon of gods tremble in fear? Let us know in the comments section below.

[source ign.com]

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About Khayl Adam

Khayl Adam is Push Square's roving Australian correspondent, a reporter tasked with scouring the internet for the richest, most succulent PlayStation stories. With five years of experience as a freelance journalist and mercenary wordsmith, RPGs are his first great love, but strategy and tactics games are a close second, genres in which he is only too happy to specialize.

Comments 73

What’s the point of having to sign in? It has no online component, you can’t buy anything through the PS Store or something like that. Which means the only reason for this is to harvest your data. Review bombing is slightly laughable in any context but I can understand why there’s a backlash.

This "article" is so salty lol. It's being reviewed. Just because it's not the review you want doesn't mean it's being bombed. Personally, I'm not getting any Sony games on pc because of the PSN requirement, but that's a personal choice. I also hear there are technical issues, so it's not all the PSN

Sony wasted no time putting itself in that Ubisoft/Electronic Arts category of companies on PC.

Why not sign up for yet another online gaming account, especially one with a company known for hacks and leaks?
PC gamers are sick of making accounts and I don't blame them.

My heart breaks for PC gamers and things they have to endure. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

Looking at this, I'm not surprised why Nintendo still refused to port their games for PC.

But i'm curious was it Jimbo or Hermen idea to port 1st party games for PC?

Online DRM, PSN data. Um it's like Linux or Mac users and Microsoft accounts, they should they have to for companies pushing account systems?

It's like streaming services you want to sign up to 10+ game launchers or streaming services NO! XD PC gamers have multiple launchers. For business sure for customers who wants like 10 accounts? No one. XD They don't want to have to have a password manager or other things to keep track of unless it's important enough.

What for Sony to stop modding? For them to harvest people's data? I don't disagree with the PC community here. They can be particular but they aren't wrong for their choices when companies want data and to control it/breaches happen like 2011 or others can happen.

Or Sony can bypass this headache entirely by just keeping it's single player games exclusive like that other company does, what was their name Nintendon't 🤔

It's not a review bomb if it's a negative review based on criticism of the game as delivered. Mandatory data harvesting is legitimate serious criticism. Or does everyone forget why the Xbox One got destroyed before it launched?

Off the top of my head companies that make you do this for their games that are not inherently multiplayer are Ubisoft, EA, Sony, Rockstar, and Bethesda. All except Bethesda aren't exactly darlings of consumer confidence. Other companies including MS do require for online focused games.

Ubisoft uses it as DRM and ops out of family sharing. Sony at least doesn't, but that also means the data harvesting is the only purpose. Users criticizing that are genuine criticisms.

It's petty from Sony and the backlash is justified. Totally unnecessary for a single player game that you're already buying through a feature rich launcher like Steam.

Imagine if Microsoft required an Xbox account to play all the games they've brought over to Playstation. The same Sony fanboys who like to throw dirt at the PC community would also feel affronted.

It's a stupid complaint but it's also a stupid requirement. They should have seen this coming.

Not trying to justify the PSN requirement since it's stupid but it has been known for a while that it requires PSN + you can only review games you own on Steam.

That means people bought this game even though they could and should have known that it requires PSN just to complain about it

The double standards of PC gamers never cease to amaze me. There's nothing valid or genuine about these so-called "criticisms."

For online games that require access to PSN servers or crossplay co-op games it's justifiable to have log into a PSN account as long as it's clearly stated.

But for purely singel player games it's moronic.

@8bitOG people r buying to give it a bad review than refunding it that's a review bomb

@jrt87 Like Sea Of Thieves?

@Intr1n5ic That's multiplayer, is it not? Necessary for crossplay.

MS should require it for Indiana Jones. Then we'll see how reserved the Playstation audience is about the subject.

Reviews are positive: Totally above board.

Reviews are negative: Review bombing.

@jrt87 What about those who don't want to crossplay, they still had to create an account. Point is, I don't remember any tantrums from "affronted PlayStation fanboys".

So the pc version is getting review bombed? How is this relevant to PlayStation gamers? Exactly what are pushsquare trying to achieve by highlighting (gas lighting?) PC gamers woes and anxieties about having to sign into something they already knew was going to be in place? Good lord whatever next?

@PuppetMaster is it because it would be a death sentence for nintendo? the switch would be hurt from both sides 😂

portable = steamdeck
docked = PC

& forget about software and online

@PuppetMaster it was Shawn layden actually.

@LuXifer there is no psn servers needed for online, PSN is just a storefront. when you play online , you connect to the game developers servers. PS plus is literally just a long running scam that’s capitalizing off of peoples complacency with paying to use their own internet

All you need to play online is internet & the games server

The sheer crap people sign up for these days and the permissions we grant social media, and yet this is the line. Mad.

@Intr1n5ic Sea of Thieves is a shared world online server. Like FFXIV, and other MMOs. You have to have an account on the server to log in to be in the game. GoW is not. And yes, HiFi Rush also is not and people haven't been happy with Bethesda doing that stuff either. And EA, Ubisoft have been nemesis of the community forever.

That said, console players SHOULD be upset about these things. But by nature the console audience isn't necessarily technically inclined while the PC audience is much more aware of data rights and privacy issues and therefore much more likely to raise voices over it.

As for PSN security I can only say I've only had a credit card compromised once, and Sony was the culprit.........

@PuppetMaster wouldn’t be out of wack for either of them 😝

Pitiful people. Can’t believe there are so many. Many just buying the game to review bomb it then getting it refunded.

I don’t like the new God of Wars, I tried, but I just find them boring and generic, but I wouldn’t review bomb just because you have to connect to another account, any more than I have when I was made to connect to Ubisoft’s network. These people are just more fanboys who don’t do the same to other companies’ games that require exactly the same thing. If they did I’d respect them a bit more.

Whats more, I hear you don’t even need to connect to PSN to play it. It asks you to, but you can just skip it (I have no direct experience with this, just numerous indirect reports).

If I did get any Sony game on PC however, I wouldn’t even consider not connecting to PSN as I would lose all of the trophy challenges. I also like the fact Sony can boot someone’s account if they find them cheating in a single game, which would theoretically make any cross play much more console like rather than having to endure all of the PC cheaters…maybe that’s another reason these sad people review bomb thinking about it.

Thank god PC owners only probably have -

MS, steam, epic, battle net, Bethesda, SE, Ubisoft, EA, take2(r*) plus streaming subs, phone contracts.

But god forbid if Sony asks them to sign up, even says it before purchase.

This isn't being reviewed "bombed" as you put it. The consumer, who companies owe their existence to, are strongly sending a message that we don't want to be forced to sign up for another account. Game companies need to understand that customers are King.

What pc gamers complaining from their parents basement again? Im shocked

@NEStalgia

Sea of Thieves is a shared world online server. Like FFXIV, and other MMOs. You have to have an account on the server to log in to be in the game.

I understand, but you can disable crossplay in SoT and only play with people from the PlayStation network, so why is a MS account required. I don't actually mind this though, I was simply replying to someone who said imagine if Microsoft did this to one of their ported games and how PS fans would react. Well, they did, and there was absolutely no reaction.

I'm against what's happening here because I think you're a clown if you buy a game that specifically outlines its requirements beforehand, for the sole purpose of leaving a negative review and then refunding. These same people who care about data privacy probably rush to Twitter straight after to tell everyone what they did.

Isn’t this obviously just to pad Sony’s PSN monthly average user numbers and not something as nefarious as harvesting user data?

@Buckster666 so throwing a tantrum until they get their own way then

What a pain in the arse. You may never have had a playstation, why make an account for it when you bought on Steam. But then, ubisoft, ea, rockstar and on. Big brother demands his pound.

@Buckster666 That's what they think they're doing, and they're attempting it by review-bombing, yes.

In reality all they're doing is being immature and showing their bias.

@nomither6
You're probably right, I'm not versed in the infrastructure of multiplayer and crossplay when it comes to servers.

But when it comes to public perception, people are more accepting to "pay-the-login-fee" for online games.

It seems like most publishers are aggressively chasing sign-ups. It comes of as greedy and anti consumer. EA, Ubislop, Xbox, Sony etc not only wants top dollars for their games but also our data.

There's no doubt that there's turmoil in the gaming industry. I guess they all want to future proof themselves in case the industry pivots to the subscription model that they all seem to be salivating over.

All guesses and opinions of course, but it'll be interesting to see how thing will turn out. In either case I have a backlog and retro games to last me a decade if things turn to *****. 🎮

@Intr1n5ic wrote:

These same people who care about data privacy probably rush to Twitter straight after to tell everyone what they did.

Couldn’t have put it better myself. There’s a lot of hypocrisy here.

tbh much of society has feely been giving their underwear drawer to google, Meta and Microsoft for the last 20 years. The horse has bolted. If people dont think goods and services are subsidised by the sale of your data by now then it's them that need to wake up not the providers.

No one is suggesting the obvious reason Sony would do this: it wants to know whether the people buying its games on PC are customers who have a PlayStation already, or whether those PC players eventually buy a PlayStation console (e.g. to play the next instalment in a series).

If I don't sign up to my local supermarkets savers club they can't collect my data directly, but for that I don't get bananas with a 40% discount, and that's okay, because I can still shop there!
PSN accounts should enable perks like trophies and cross saves, but shouldn't be a gatekeeper to who gets to play.

Just sucks that another first party studio has to suffer due to Sony's poor decision making and the whims of the internet mob that always needs something to be outraged over in a disproportionate manner.

These must be the same people who give their phone number to play Overwatch 2

@LifeGirl

"Reviews are positive: Totally above board.

Reviews are negative: Review bombing."

As usual, not that simple.
Giving such a celebrated game by critics and fans alike a 10/9/8/7 out of 10 makes sense. Giving it 1/10 does not and it is most certainly review bombing. You're not judging a game on its merits. You just want to send a message by giving it the lowest score possible to hurt its average.

@StrickenBiged good point. I never thought about that.

Do you need a phone number now or something? if anything that required me to create account in past I'd just use tempmail email address and fake details yeah its inconvenience but takes like 2 mins.

Sony has lost all the goodwill from the players and gaming community and from now on they have an uphill battle to prove that they make good games and a good ecosystem to invest.It's very easy to hate on sony nowdays and they are to blame. They are becoming a gaming public enemy.

Already bought the game digitally on ps5 but I also play on pc/steam, there are a lot of games on steam, most didn't make me sign to another service, I rather not play the games/refund the games and play other games rather than login to another service.

@Buckster666 "Game companies need to understand that customers are King"

People make that mistake all the time and we end up with games, movies, tv shows that are terrible, because the creators are not free to see their vision through; they're forced to adjust to the demands of certain people. Which is why in TV shows, for example, popular characters come back from the dead and the show jumps the shark.

Hence the full expression isn't "the customer is always right", but "The customer is always right, in matters of taste".

While it should not even be a requirement, as I understand it's also blown out of proportion in some countries, requesting an ID, or a mug picture etc...
Not to mention preventing the game from being bought digitally in countries without PSN service...
It's stupidly implemented!

For myself it's no biggie, I have 3 PSN accounts made over the years on my PS consoles, one in US, one in UK and one in my own European country, to benefit from multiple offers and currency differences (especially euro->$$ ).
I can use the US account to log in on Steam when required, without any problems or unusual requests ( works flawlessly even in God of War Ragnarok )

EDIT: btw, the PC port of GoW Ragnarok is top notch! Played for 6-7 hours and encountered no bugs or other issues, framerate is perfectly stable, 4k@60fps everything on Ultra, even without DLSS on my RTX 3090 SuprimX. Graphics are sharp and everything runs smooth. Very well executed by SMS and Jetpack Interactive, bravo!

No sympathy. Sony literally states "a PlayStation network account required", so if any consumer reads that, chooses to disregard it, and buys God of War anyway, that's on you! Just make a PSN account, Jesus. You'll live.

I hope all these PC gamers have thrown their computers and mobile phones in the bin because guess what? They are harvesting your data.

If you are so concerned about this then perhaps you should go and live in a cave.

Cry babies.

Winging entitled PC gamers again.

And the PC 'master race' babies are at it again. Boohoo we have to take a few additional seconds to sign into another service.

@Retron This is a poor and weak arugment. The PSN hack happened well over a decade ago. You make accounts on other sites that get hacked daily.

Heck, you even made an account for this site and the world didnt end. Why did you not complain about that?

The bandwagon hopping is real and quite amusing. Plus, it's likely you already have a PSN account anyway if you're browsing this site.

The no lifers strike again

@Shinnok789 The ID section is not on Sony though, that is the local laws of the country.

Once they log into a PSN account PC to play this game, are users able to unlock PlayStation trophies on their PSN account? Or are the trophies/achievements apart of steam? Or both

I mean, I would review bomb this game for its awful pacing and repetitive gameplay, but that's just me.

Multiplayer should have PSN requirement to allow Sony to suspend and ban cheats and toxic players, single player games should not.

That said, i played it where it should have stayed... on PS5.

Honestly. How many times do you update your stupid computers every week for stupid requirements 😂🤦‍♂️

@Mikey856 you shall update yours in 5 minutes from now mate dont ask me how I know 🫣

They're crying about PSN again? I guess this is going to happen every time Sony port something over. Hopefully they stop doing it then. Not like the game is selling amazing anyway. Just focus on your own console Sony!

I wish Sony would just abandon PC and go back to focusing on the console

These are permanently offended people

I can understand it being annoying... But jeez...

@nessisonett Why else do you think Sony are releasing these games on PC?

It's to get people into the PS eco-system

A PSN account isn’t required to play the single player component of Ghost of Tsushima, so why is it necessary for Ragnarok? Sony only have themselves to blame if they’re not consistent with implementing their own policies.

@Intr1n5ic It's not just crossplay though, SoT is still on the same world servers at MS, just filtered for PS only if so inclined. I totally understand accounts for shared world games. Helldivers not so much because it's just match making, not a world server. And obviously not single player games. There's a big difference there.

I get your point about refunding just to post the review,I wouldn't do that either, but I also get it. It's a form of protest. Like sit down strikes and burning draft cards, civil disobedience is the only way the masses can get messages to the powers that rule over them in ways that make them have to react. The alternative is doing nothing, bending over and accepting the status quo. It may not work or it may, but if a plurality decides the line can be drawn here while Sony is fresh in the pool they may force change. and if they can force Sony to change that puts blood in the water to push ea, Ubisoft and others after. I get your point. But if people didn't push to change things for the better, we'd still be living in fiefdoms. Sadly people stopped for too long and were close to corporate fiefdoms already.

Console customers like steam customers already have an account for the drm of their choice. Unless it's a server login for a shared world, console customers should also be up in arms about secondary accounts in games. It's less common on console but it's there too and should not be.

So PC players are ok with Microsoft sign up, EA sign up, Rock star. The double standards here are wild. also remember when they were crying about this for Hell divers and steam charts literally showed it changed nothing....

@Buckster666 a King will take the high road and vote with his wallet, I'm not sure I would call a King someone who go out of their way to harm those who don't bend to their will... that sounds more like "I'm not getting what I want, so I throw a tantrum" aka Karen ^_^

PC cry baby race at it again.

I have to say it is a weird decision from Sony, theyre really pushing their luck these days.

Idk if any of us would like having to create a microsoft account to play Hi-Fi Rush.

@Oram77 Theyre not. I still remember people hating on mandatory microsoft account or Origin. In recent memory its the fail of Alan Wake 2 due to being on Epic.

@species pc players do have an MS account and many many more.

I haven´t tried it but I read in some of the steam review comments that the sign in is actually optional.

As a PC player myself, I think these extra sign ins are really annoying. Especially for games that don´t have a multiplayer component (?), I just don´t see the need for it. Feels like one of those ***** DRMs like Denuvo, that just tanks the performance of your game, without providing anyone any benefit. Like, what´s the point?
Can a game like this even release on GOG? (if it requires a seperate log-in?)

Sucks that the game is catching flak for stupid publisher decisions, but that´s a story that has been repeating itself over and over lately

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