In my opinion, the question comes down to “what is a valid criticism”. I think the bombing part, where a lot of people give a similar negative review at the same time is secondary.

If a game releases in a borderline unplayable state this warrants negative reviews. It shouldn’t matter how many of them there are and if they are all in a similar time frame. Same with an update that harms the game a lot. If this makes the game change the rating from positive to mixed or negative, I think that’s fair because if I buy the game now, I will get it in the most recent state and if this is shit I don’t care if it was better at some point in the past, I’m glad if I get a warning through the reviews.

If the game gets negative reviews because a person/group related to creating the game said or did something that a large group of people disagree with it’s more complicated. It boils down to if you can/want to separate the art from the artist and if you find that criticized thing bad in the first place. If you don’t think this is a valid criticism you probably think this “review bombing” is a bad thing.

I think the term “review bombing” is used to imply that the criticism has nothing to do with the game itself. But like with all terms, the usage becomes broader and broader until it changes or loses meaning completely.

Since Steam reviews contain written explanations it is easy to check why the game gets the negative attention. I never came across a game that had a lot of reviews for an unrelated thing where almost all the negative reviews lied and said it was bad for gameplay reasons.

Oh I didn’t realize it got released on PC!

My opinion of life is strange is kinda complicated I liked it as a “Summer Game” because it had the right vibes while I played it but after I was done I was disappointed. The game hypes it’s “your action have consequences” system up constantly but it’s usually just a different dialogue or short scene which doesn’t affect the story in a major way. Which is fine for a game in general but not when it pretends it’s different.

Never heard of it, looks amazing, I’ll check it out, thanks

Looks great! The Alps is where I spend a lot of my vacation days, why not add some nights as well haha

I played slay the princess earlier this year, amazing game! Detroit become human has been on my wishlist forever. Maybe now is a good time to finally buy it. Not sure about coffee talk but until then looks promising. I’ll check out the demo

It won’t be long till fall so it can go on the list. Might be perfect for summer-is-almost-over-sadness

I’ll take a closer look at Tchia. I don’t necessarily search only for no-pressure-at-all cozy games. I just don’t want a game that barely let’s you breathe and/or requires extreme precision. Like, I don’t want to be playing elden ring (right now and for the next few weeks).

The most important thing is the warm atmosphere and some moments that create lasting impressions

I think yakuza might fit. I have to check if the steamdeck can handle it. If not it’ll go on my list for when I am okay with my pc heating up my living room

I just can’t get into outer wilds, the ship controls drive me insane.

The big con looks promising

Looks super cute

Perfect, thanks!

Sadly no Playstation

It looks vaguely familiar. I think I watched one of the kids in my neighborhood play it

I’ll 100% play the looker

Ryza could be perfect!

I’m super afraid of the ocean dredge looks like a horror game to me

Wow eastshade looks amazing! The Amanita Design games might suit my Fall-mood better. Roadwardwen looks interesting too. I’ll look at the preview slides on my steamdeck and see if it’s still readable

I don’t know how many hours I already put into stardew valley haha. The latest update/free DLC was amazing as well

I’ll definitely put short hike on the list. Superflight looks amazing as well! I already played the Stanley parable and the other famous game from that developer. Totally forgot about that. I also played Edith Finch but didn’t like it

I don’t remember coming across TOEM, maybe I immediately ruled it out for being black and white. Lunacid looks a bit to dark and cold for me, judging by the screenshots. But I’ll take a closer look at both, short previews might not transport the vibes perfectly

I’ll check them out, thanks. I’ve heard positive things about manifold garden already. Mystery stuff might be perfect for fall

Oh spyro brings back very distant memories of my childhood. I think I played all the Playstation and Gameboy games. I will always remember the sound of collecting gems.

I’ll check out the other games you mentioned, thanks a lot. The sad one will probably go on my list for depression season haha

It’s a relief to hear from people who struggle with this game as well. It’s one of those games where I don’t seem to see anyone having a negative opinion about it whenever it gets brought up.

I still really want to give it more chances and love it. Maybe one day we will both beat it and put it in our Top 10 lists

It flew me right into some kind of Meteor or maybe small planet and then in flew me right into the center of the fucking sun 🥲

Tried both, controller was definitely less horrible for me