10 Video Game Review Scores Fans Lost Their MINDS Over
9. Fans Couldn't Accept The Last Of Us Part II's 93 Metascore
There's perhaps no greater example in recent years - if ever, honestly - of review discourse getting so ugly that it actually makes the game in question tiresome to think about, let alone discuss.
The Last of Us Part II released to a predictably stellar 93 Metascore back in 2020, with many critics dubbing it a masterful follow-up to Naughty Dog's beloved original survival horror game.
Yet the player response was considerably more polarised, with many taking objection to the game's more surprising narrative and gameplay directions, and its almost unremittingly bleak tone.
While some reasonably-minded fans simply felt that critics as a whole had oversold the game, a loud army of players got decidedly more aggressive with their sentiments by accusing critics of being paid "shills" and even review-bombing the user scores on Metacritic.
It's likely not a coincidence that much of the most vocal online criticism about The Last of Us Part II and its high review scores also can't help but complain about the game's pronounced LGBTQ+ characters and themes.
Now to be clear, hating The Last of Us Part II doesn't make you a bigot, yet the loudest voices in the room also happened to be the most insufferably obnoxious, enough that it was tough to take their general critiques entirely in good faith.
Even more than three years removed from the game's release, The Last of Us Part II is a stinging reminder that some people care way, way too much about the aggregated number ascribed to interactive entertainment.