Hitman was met with huge criticism from users after being released on GOG last week. The game’s rating dropped to 1.4 stars out of 5, as some of its parts required an online connection. The store has officially responded to the backlash, saying it has a zero-tolerance policy towards review bombing.
Hitman
GOG positions itsself as the DRM free store. And Hitman’s page also included a note, reading, “No activation or online connection required to play.”
The game’s description, however, had the following disclaimer: “Internet connection is required to access Escalation missions, Elusive Targets or user-created Contracts. Story and bonus missions can be played offline.”
So a lot of users got angry, dropping the rating to 1.4/5 stars. One of them, for example, called the description “extremely misleading” (via Eurogamer).
GOG later issued an official response on the store’s forum.
“We’re looking into it and will be updating you in the coming weeks,” the store’s representative wrote. “In case you have purchased HITMAN and are not satisfied with the released version, you can use your right to refund the game. At the same time, while we’re open for meritful discussion and feedback, we will not tolerate review bombing and will be removing posts that do not follow our review guidelines.”
This statement also received a negative reaction from gamers, who said that they only tried to express their disappointment with online features. The store’s representative went on to say that GOG will only delete reviews that are “against our review guidelines.”