Post Script
Confronting the challenges of ‘release now, patch later’ culture
Two games we’ve reviewed this issue arrived with us in a very different state to that in which they’ll be received by most players. That’s nothing new, but Beyond A Steel Sky and Deadly Premonition 2 have given us pause, as we consider how to cover games with the kind of issues that are likely to result in significant discrepancies between our play experience and that of our readership.
Beyond A Steel Sky is the more straightforward of the two. Its technical issues were plain and frequent enough to affect our playthrough and warrant mention in our appraisal. A patch from Revolution arrived just prior to our issue deadline, and would seem to have addressed the more glaring problems. Our criticisms of the game aren’t invalid, not least since many players will have encountered similar issues pre-patch, though it’s worth noting that these issues are less likely to affect those who haven’t yet played it.
Deadly Premonition 2’ s situation is more complex. The game’s technical issues have been addressed somewhat, though the changes don’t go far enough. The framerate during exploration is still poor, while those brief but annoying freezes are even more common in our experience. Yet these were made less of a priority than a patch to the story. As we mentioned, the game’s treatment of its transgender antagonist is troubling. Yet soon after we’d finished the game we believed we’d have cause to revisit it, with Swery tweeting an apology in which he promised a rewrite.
The scene to which he referred involves protagonist Francis York Morgan meeting the enigmatic Lena Dauman, before pointedly using her deadname to let her know he’s aware of her blood tie to the Clarkson family that controls Le Carré. In one sense, it’s surprising given his earlier denouncement of the town’s treatment of Dauman. Yet this could easily be read as an example of performative wokeness, a would-be ally showing their true colours. Such insensitivity would be true to this most capricious of characters, and few would argue that Morgan is presented as unambiguously heroic. Yet if Swery’s acknowledgement suggested a sensitivity to the game’s trans players, the patch fails to address further problems with the treatment of Dauman – not least the multiple times she’s misgendered outside her confrontation with Morgan.
The response to this highlights the challenges publications face when covering post-launch content. Swery’s apology and the existence of the patch were widely reported, with sites quoting the creator’s claim that “the scenario… has been fixed.” Some, however, failed to subsequently note that the problem had not been fully addressed, while others were forced to rely on second-hand reports from those in positions to investigate the changes. That’s unfortunate but understandable: few publications have the time nor means to keep returning to games to critically reevaluate them. Besides, to do so is potentially to channel resources away from coverage of other games – including the majority that are complete enough upon release not to require significant post-launch attention.
That developers might submit a game to certification needing extra work is understandable. Likewise, that they might spend the often months-long process making improvements that are ultimately to the player’s benefit – even if large patches around launch day risk alienating those with slow internet speeds. But is it fair to the developers that ensure their games reach us in flawless condition to give others the benefit of the (often considerable) doubt? We’re not averse to revisiting games – The Long Game and Time Extend are testament to that – but to review something is to evaluate it as it exists at a point in time. In other words, we’re not convinced our current approach should change. As we said in our Star Wars Battlefront II review in E314: “Whatever happens next, we’re afraid we don’t patch review scores.”