Journalist Receives Death Threats Over God Of War Ragnarok Review
They say opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one. The problem is, the gaming industry is built around these and whether one person's opinion is enough to get you to stump up the cash for the latest AAA game. While the movie industry rests on a similar metric of listening to someone else's opinion before buying your ticket, it's largely less toxic than the world of video games.
We always knew Sony Santa Monica's next God of War would be under pressure to perform, but then again, isn't pressure how diamonds are formed? Ahead of the game's full release on November 9, the reviews trickled in, and there was a nearly unanimous consensus that Ragnarok could rival its bigger brother from 2018.
Why Is One Journalist Getting Death Threats?
The problem is, you can't please everyone. Journalists are supposed to be paid for their impartiality, and wouldn't it be boring if the entire industry was built on a bunch of yes-men that awarded every game the same score? There are already arguments that some sites are like this, but on the flip side of that, a journalist for IGN Korea has been strung up for their lukewarm Ragnarok review.
The main IGN site gave Ragnarok that coveted 10/10, but on the IGN Korea offshoot of the site, Bae Sang Hyun gave it a middling 6/10. Among Hyun's criticisms, he described Ragnarok as "a Lego tower assembled without thinking and planning," said the second half "felt like a massive homework," and concluded that it was "a machine made up of soulless modules." Sadly, the replies to Hyun's review quickly turned nasty - with a sea of racism being thrown his way.
Among the hate comments, Hyun was called a "Korean lowlife," while the commenter continued, "I'll beat your ass and humble you so good that you wouldn't even dare write this sh*t. Imma kill you." Despite the threats Hyun has to deal with, he vowed to continue writing from a different perspective and added, "Play your game and write your honest subjective review or opinion. We were not born to be forced to think the same way."
What's Everyone Else Saying About God Of War Ragnarok?
Although there are a few outliers, Ragnarok is soaring above the competition in 2022. It's currently the highest-rated first-party PlayStation 5 game but sits just behind the multi-platform Elden Ring. Obviously, that was before the general public got to wield the Leviathan Axe, so we'll have to wait and see what the masses have to say.
While Hyun's review is far from the dizzying heights of what everyone else felt, it was clearly a well-constructed review rather than one looking for hate clout. At least you can't accuse IGN Korea of being paid off by Sony to give a glowing review. At the end of the day, we're all entitled to our opinions, and as outraged as you are, it's never okay to send racist death threats someone's way. Do better, gamers.
