A hot potato: Well, it didn’t take long to see how PC gamers would react to needing a PlayStation Network account to play God of War Ragnarök. It only launched last Thursday and has already been review-bombed to “Mixed” reviews. Unsurprisingly, most negative reviews were rants and gripes about needing a PSN account to play the single-player title.
God of War Ragnarök is an excellent game; most honest Steam reviews indicate as much. It was also voted “Most Wanted Game” by the Golden Joystick Awards two years before Sony released it as a PlayStation exclusive. Post-launch, it earned the most nominations and awards of any other title at DICE 2023, winning seven of its 12 nominations. However, it lost the DICE GotY to stiff competition from Elden Ring.
The main problem is that some players felt burned by the PSN requirement, even though this prerequisite was well-known before the PC port launched. Sony clearly noted it in its PC announcement. Several outlets, including TechSpot, also publicized the requirement. So it wasn’t like Sony blindsided players with a post-release restriction like it did with Helldivers 2.
It’s also not anything new. Ghost of Tsushima’s multiplayer mode requires a linked PSN account. Granted, that game has a multiplayer aspect, unlike Ragnarök. However, Sony confirmed that Bloodborne and the Until Dawn remake will have this stipulation upon release, and both are single-player games.
Part of the problem is that at least a few people have conflated PSN with PlayStation Plus. To be clear, PlayStation Plus is Sony’s PlayStation subscription service, similar to Microsoft’s Game Pass. It offers perks and the ability to purchase games through the PS Store. The PlayStation Network (PSN) is Sony’s free online gaming platform.
“PSN requirement is ridiculous,” one reviewer says. “It’s a shame. I’m a big fan of the God of War series, but I’m not on board with this ransom approach.”
The user complains about signing up and having to enter “PII” (personally identifiable information) and upload ID photos for “age verification.” I don’t know where this user lives, but US accounts do not require any of that for a PSN account. I confirmed this by creating a dummy account.
Here is the only information Sony asks users for to create a PSN account:
- Country/Region
- State or Province
- Preferred language
- Date of Birth
- Valid email
- Password
That said, there are people with a legitimate gripe, mainly those who live in a region without access to PSN. I feel that it’s also a ridiculous ask for a single-player game. Helldivers 2 and Ghost of Tsushima multiplayer is somewhat understandable – at least there is a valid reason to sign in other than data collection.
Fortunately, it’s a PC build we are talking about, and what’s a PC game without mods? Modders were almost as quick to post a simple modification on Nexus that strips the PSN requirement out of the game. Users just copy a couple of DLLs into the game directory, launch it, and then click “No” when it asks to link PSN and Steam accounts. Problem solved, even for those in out-of-bounds regions.
Watch for our benchmark review, which is coming later this week.
