China's Top Slay The Spire 2 Players Explain Their Review Bombs

Beta Patch v0.100.0 introduced balance changes that led many players in China to object, with the Act 3 boss Doormaker receiving a heavy rework. The rework caused immediate review-bombing. A second review-bombing occurred on April 17 after the first major update moved most Beta Patch changes, including the reworked Doormaker fight, onto the main branch. Chinese players protested that the changes had not been reverted, using review-bombing as a primary feedback method because many social platforms are unavailable in the country. Players outside China were confused because Doormaker was described as the easiest Act 3 boss based on player metrics, leaving the specific reasons for the backlash unclear until later coverage.

"In late March, developer Mega Crit announced Beta Patch v0.100.0 . For a number of reasons, many players in China took issue with the balance changes introduced in this patch. However, their main problem concerned the Act 3 boss Doormaker, who was heavily reworked in Beta Patch v0.100.0, leading to Slay the Spire 2 being immediately review-bombed."

"The game was then review-bombed a second time by players in China on April 17, following the release of Slay the Spire 2's first "Major Update," which moved the majority of Beta Patch v0.100.0's changes, including the reworked Doormaker fight, over to the game's main branch. The argument from the Chinese player base was largely the same this time around, and they were simply protesting that the changes had not been reverted."

"That being said, it's important to note that China has a very different outlook on review-bombing. As the likes of Discord, X, and even the majority of Steam's own social features are banned in the country, many players in China believe that review-bombing is their only method of getting feedback to developers on the platform."

"For players outside of China, the reaction was somewhat confusing, especially since Mega Crit outright stated that Doormaker was, based on player metrics, the easiest Act 3 boss in the game . That being said, it's important to note that China has a very different outlook on review-bombing."

Read at Kotaku