Dozens of user-generated reviews this week gave 1-star to dueling shooter Blaston to critique Facebook’s upcoming virtual reality advertising test.
The title from Resolution Games is a bit like a cross between Ironlights and Wands with the player restricted to a small platform in which they need to dodge slow-moving projectiles sent by the other player. Later this month it is due for a single-player campaign update. Earlier this week, Blaston was the only specific title mentioned as being part of the upcoming advertising in VR test, though Facebook did say it would also be testing with “a couple other developers.”
The game sells for $9.99 and reviewers are taking to the game’s pages on both the Oculus Store and Steam to protest the planned test of ads in a paid VR gaming product. Overall reviews are still very positive over on Steam and 83% of reviews on Oculus rated the game 5-stars, but most recent reviews on both platforms are negative and mention the ad test. One review, voted by nearly 150 people as being “helpful”, said “Paid titles should not introduce advertising. It is wildly unacceptable to do so months after purchase.”
“We have seen the negative reviews, and while no one likes to see one of their games in this light, these responses are bigger than Blaston and something that the games industry has been seeing for years. At Resolution Games, any integration we do first and foremost takes into account the players and their gameplay experiences. This is all valuable information that will be taken into consideration when the small test begins later this summer,” said Tommy Palm, CEO and co-founder of Resolution Games, in an email.
The developers responded to many reviewers saying this is “temporary test to see how we can develop the game moving forward. Currently this is not planned as a permanent feature, but rather research for future initiatives. We will update both the players and community with more information as we approach the test. We appreciate your feedback, and if you feel strongly about this or would like a refund – you can reach out to Oculus directly about it: https://support.oculus.com/“
