Developer of Mecha Break acknowledges potential harm in Steam review bombs but found a positive outcome: Excessive critiques from Chinese players during beta testing sparked understanding of player enthusiasm towards game access.
Mecha Mayhem saw a rough start during its open beta earlier this year. The mecha battler's online testing dropped in late February, causing numerous Chinese gamers to miss out due to server troubles. In retaliation, a barrage of negative Steam reviews, also known as a "review bomb," was unleashed.
Hundreds of disgruntled players panned developer Amazing Seasun for lacking preparation for the global launch. The stream of negative feedback made it challenging to discern constructive criticism, but Amazing Seasun CEO Kris Kwok saw it as a sign of intense interest in Mecha Mayhem from the Chinese playerbase.
"Review bombs are a regular occurrence for Chinese gamers," Kwok mentioned during an interview with PC Gamer from his office in Zhuhai, China. "But while we appreciate the passion, these types of reviews can be repetitive without providing substantive feedback. They can obscure other comments offering genuine insights."
The primary focus of these reviews wasn't the game's content, but rather complaints about the initial barrier to entry—a common tactic of review bombs, originating from any location, to express distress about a developer over a single issue, be it a technical glitch or political stance by hammering the game with numerous brief negative reviews.
Kwok acknowledged the insights offered in the barrage of negative reviews, stating, "We underestimated players' enthusiasm to join our game. They helped us ensure there were enough servers ready for launch."
In other instances, a torrent of negative Steam reviews could have dire consequences for a game like Mecha Mayhem. Unfamiliar players might avoid the game due to the overwhelming negative response, even if it's free-to-play. Traffic from other parts of Steam could also plummet, reducing organic discovery of the game.
Luckily for Amazing Seasun, Steam implemented numerous demo features over the course of 2024, including the ability to separate the demo and open beta pages from the main Mecha Mayhem page. Post-beta, all those negative reviews are a thing of the past. A newcomer to the Mecha Mayhem Steam page would have no idea about the initial wave of negativity.
Had the public beta occurred in 2023 or any other stage of Mecha Mayhem's decade-long development, those negative reviews could have haunted the game for its entire lifespan. It's unclear whether they would have hindered success, but a negative rating on Steam certainly wouldn't have helped.
Amazing Seasun views the initial launch scores and impressions as inconsequential to the overall game's success, regardless of what happens in July when Mecha Mayhem officially releases.
"Steam rating or score during the first month of launch doesn't define a game," Kwok stated. "The game evolves alongside the players."
Kwok previously expressed his belief that online service games can stay online indefinitely, a view he still holds close with the launch of Mecha Mayhem just around the corner.
"We aim to create a unique gaming experience, one that stands out from other games," Kwok declared. "When we compare ourselves to other developers, we see some generic gameplay. We must create a distinct experience for Mecha Mayhem."
The team behind Mecha Mayhem has been open to feedback, especially with feedback from their tightly-knit community. One common concern raised by players was the inability to instantly jump into games with any Break Striker. Amazing Seasun plans to address this issue at launch by making all but one Break Striker available for free.
Let's hope Amazing Seasun has a more stable server situation when Mecha Mayhem launches next month, or frustrated fans may resort to the same review bombing tactic to vent their dissatisfaction with the Chinese studio and publisher.
- Despite the negative review bomb during the open beta, Amazing Seasun CEO Kwok saw it as a sign of intense interest from Chinese players.
- Kwok acknowledges that the barrage of negative reviews helped the team ensure there were enough servers ready for the game's launch.
- The negative reviews could have had dire consequences for Mecha Mayhem, such as discouraging unfamiliar players and reducing organic discovery on Steam.
- Amazing Seasun aims to create a unique gaming experience with Mecha Mayhem, standing out from other games in the market, and has been open to feedback from their community.
