Video Games

Weird things are happening on the Silent Hill 2 remake Wikipedia page, as folks sabotage review scores for… reasons

The Silent Hill 2 remake Wikipedia page is having a moment, as administrators have had to lock the page to stop bad faith actors from altering the review score section

Josh Broadwell

Konami/Bloober

The Silent Hill 2 remake Wikipedia page is having a moment, as administrators have had to lock the page to stop bad-faith actors from altering the survival horror game’s review score section. Silent Hill 2 remake scores were largely positive. It’s sitting at 87 on Metacaritic, and our Silent Hill 2 remake review praised how well it balances faithfulness with new creative flourishes.

Apparently, a small section of people didn’t like that. They altered the SH2 remake Wikipedia page to show that Eurogamer, VG 24/7, and PCGamesN gave it zero stars out of five, while GameSpot gave it a two out of 10, and IGN settled on a six. The edited review section said that it “received the worst reviews imaginable,” which it definitely didn’t (thanks, Eurogamer).

There’s little logic in these decisions, and it disregards the very-clearly-stated review guidelines on each publication that explain how critics arrive at scores. Games that get under a five on a 10-point scale usually have severe performance problems or bugs that impede progress. In the rare cases where they warrant a lower score by just being that bad, the score stems from logic flaws, poorly executed ideas, and atrocious storytelling – none of which you’re likely to get from a faithful remake of a popular game.

Consumers generally get a bit sensitive over review scores – a strange habit, considering their performance bonuses don’t rely on Metacritic scores, unlike the people who actually make the games. A group of people altering a Wikipedia page, with links that take users to the publications with correct information, is a different kind of sensitive, though, and by different, I mean really weird. 

Why this happened is anyone’s guess. Some Silent Hill fans were upset over Bloober’s involvement with the remake, which is understandable to an extent. Bloober’s The Medium handled sensitive topics poorly, and Silent Hill 2 is built around a lot of sensitive topics. Another segment of fans was angry over perceived changes to certain characters’ outfits and model designs, which they called “woke” and censored. That’s despite the fact that these altered outfits were featured in the original game’s concept art, a tidbit these would-be dedicated fans apparently overlooked in their zeal for… whatever’s going on in their minds.

Whatever the case, the antics have stopped, for now. The page’s administrators have temporarily locked it to prevent further editing.

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Josh Broadwell
JOSH BROADWELL

Josh is a freelance writer and reporter who specializes in guides, reviews, and whatever else he can convince someone to commission. You may have seen him on NPR, IGN, Polygon, or Rolling Stone shouting about RPGs. When he isn’t working, you’ll likely find him outside with his Belgian Malinois and Australian Shepherd or leveling yet another job in FFXIV.

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