Gran Turismo 7 Just Set An Unfortunate Record

After years and years of hype, "Gran Turismo 7" was finally released to the public in early March. Upon its release, the game was subject to critical acclaim due to its lifelike visuals, mechanics, and being true to its sim racing roots. Even if it isn't as close to perfect as the first "Gran Turismo" title, the critical reception was exceptional. Unfortunately, most gamers don't seem to be nearly as enthused about the title. Outside of the game requiring an internet connection to play, much of the criticism towards the game stems from the inclusion of microtransactions, a routinely controversial aspect of modern gaming in which video game developers and publishers offer exclusive incentives to players in exchange for extra cash outside of game'sinitial  retail cost.

For instance, in "Gran Turismo 7", there is a mode called Gran Café that has players grind for in-game currency in order to unlock more vehicles. However, for players willing to fork over real money, those same cars can be bought outright. To make matters worse, the game's most recent update reduced player payouts from races (per The Driver), providing more of an incentive for people to spend actual money for the cars they want. In response, gamers have review bombed "Gran Turismo 7" on Metacritic, leading the Sony-exclusive game to achieve a rather unfortunate milestone in the process.

In addition to Metacritic aggregating the opinions of professional game critics and journalists, the site also gives regular players the option of rating and reviewing the games themselves. This function is sometimes used in a form of protest known as "review bombing", in which people purposefully give products negative reviews, either out of mob mentality or out of a feeling of being slighted. In the case of "Gran Turismo 7," it appears to be the latter.

As of right now, "Gran Turismo 7" stands at a lowly 1.8 user rating on Metacritic. As noted by VGC, this is a record-low for any game on the website. Along with scores as low as 0, players have condemned "Gran Turismo 7" and Sony for its microtransactions, which many players have perceived as being predatory in nature. 

"I paid £70 for this, and they treat it like a free to play [game]," said user Clarkey01." Other players have called out the devs for what feel like "the most obvious cash grabs," particularly in light of the changes made to payouts. The game may be technically impressive, but its divisive business model may be causing a large section of its fanbase to hit the brakes.