Players of Genshin Impact have begun review bombing the free-to-play game following controversy over the title's first-anniversary rewards. Fans were expecting exciting new rewards to claim in celebration of the game's first year, but have been left disappointed with Genshin Impact community events held across the developer's social channels, as opposed to being in-game.
Earlier this month, Genshin developer miHoYo announced several anniversary celebrations for players, leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of fans. Community events held across the company's social media channels include cosplay contests, a photography raffle, a Story Submission challenge, and artwork competitions. Prizes range from in-game goodies like Primogems to physical rewards such as iPads, Apple AirPods, and gift cards. Naturally, not every submission will be a winner, which many feel is unfair when it comes to recognizing the game's dedicated community during an event as important as its first anniversary. The Genshin Impact giveaways and web events have been met with backlash from the community, with many fans feeling the events are lackluster, especially for paying players.
Redditor Dwayne_Dantes has drawn attention to recent Genshin Impact review bombing (via TheGamer) due to what the Reddit user describes as the "1st anniversary fiasco." The screenshot shared to Reddit reveals a Google Play Store rating of 3.7 out of five stars, though at the time of writing, this has now dropped to just two stars. Multiple recent reviews call out miHoYo for being "greedy," with countless users condemning the anniversary rewards as being insufficient. The review bombing is mostly confined to the Google Play Store at this stage, though the review score on the App Store is also dropping and the game's official Discord is also taking a hit.
See the post on Reddit here.
Whether or not Genshin Impact will listen to fan feedback remains to be seen. Many Google Play Store reviews of the title have claimed that miHoYo has removed their previous negative reviews, which could suggest the company is trying to stop the review bombing from happening. It's possible that new anniversary rewards could be announced in the coming weeks if the developer takes note of players' wishes. Until miHoYo responds to the controversy, the review bombing is likely to continue.
Despite the review bombing, the first-anniversary events may be worth taking part in, especially for newer players. The "Unforgettable Journey" theater event, taking place from today, September 28, until October 12, will earn users Mora, Mystic Enhancement Ore, Primogems, and Hero's Wit by watching their own Genshin Impact experiences since launch. From September 29 to October 7, players can create anniversary cards with a 10% chance to score a Blessing of the Welkin Moon, or a 90% chance to get 100,000 Mora through the "Message in Time" event. Lots of Genshin Impact fans would have preferred dedicated anniversary rewards, and it's hoped miHoYo won't include events similar to these in the future.
Source: Reddit/Dwayne_Dantes (via TheGamer)