Metacritic to Eliminate ‘Abusive’ Reviews for Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Metacritic Takes Action Against Review Bombing of Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Metacritic has recently responded to the issue of review bombing affecting Dragon Age: The Veilguard, specifically targeting ratings described as “racist, sexist, and homophobic.” This situation underscores the ongoing discussion surrounding the game’s reception and the challenges faced by its developer, BioWare.

A Rocky Comeback for BioWare

Dragon Age: The Veilguard marks BioWare’s return to the beloved universe of Thedas after a decade-long hiatus. However, the game encountered skepticism from potential players due to previous disappointments with titles like Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem. Compounding these concerns was the game’s marketing, which raised eyebrows among its fanbase.

Despite these challenges, Dragon Age: The Veilguard launched to a wave of positive reviews, including our own. Remarkably, it has since surpassed all previous BioWare and EA single-player titles on Steam. The game has sustained a robust player base, with fans actively exploring its content in hopes of hints for a sequel.

Controversy and Criticism

Amid the celebration, a vocal segment of gamers has critiqued Dragon Age: The Veilguard, especially targeting the game’s perceived “wokeness.” Almost immediately after its release, the title faced a barrage of low user reviews on Metacritic, prompting the aggregation site to intervene.

Dragon Age The Veilguard Taash — BioWare

A notable point of contention among critics is the non-binary gender identity of the Qunari companion, Tassh, which has sparked negative reactions from some sections of the gaming community.

Current Review Landscape

As it stands, Dragon Age: The Veilguard holds a user score of 3.8 on Metacritic, driven largely by numerous zero out of ten ratings. Many of these negative assessments were recorded on the game’s launch day, despite the fact that a direct playthrough lasts upwards of 40 hours.

Significantly, many of the harsh reviews focus on the game’s political themes rather than its gameplay mechanics. One disgruntled user expressed disdain, stating, “We don’t want sanitized dialogue, gender ideologies, or any real-world politics shoved down our throats.” Another mentioned, “Awful dialogue and obviously some woke agenda psyop. This is censorship at its worst,” echoing common themes within the critique.

Metacritic’s Response

In light of rampant review bombing, Metacritic issued a statement to Eurogamer, noting their commitment to maintaining the integrity of reviews on their platform. A spokesperson clarified, “We take online trust and safety very seriously… Our team reviews each and every report of abuse… and if violations occur, the reviews are removed.”

Dragon Age Veilguard Ogre battle — Dexerto / BioWare

Additionally, complaints have emerged regarding the game’s shift in tone, indicative of broader changes within the franchise.

Steam Ratings Tell a Different Story

In contrast to Metacritic, Dragon Age: The Veilguard boasts a ‘Mostly Positive’ rating on Steam, driven by more than 13,000 player reviews. This discrepancy arises from the different review policies each platform employs; Steam requires users to have purchased and played the game to leave feedback.

On Steam, the game currently holds a user rating of 7/10, which aligns more closely with Metacritic’s critic score of 8.3/10, suggesting a significant divide in player sentiment between the two platforms.

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