Hitman – Game of the Year Edition launched on GOG this week but has already been review-bombed to a single star after early adopters realized that the game features online DRM. This is obviously a major no-no for a retailer that prides itself on serving PC games without any sort of DRM. While review-bombing is arguably childish, GOG’s Hitman listing explicitly states that the game is “DRM FREE” and features no activation or online connection required to play. This seems to be false advertising, as Escalation missions, Elusive Targets, and user-created Contracts reportedly require an online connection.
“This game has online DRM,” reads the most upvoted review. “You can play though the game with the basic options, but many features, such as unlocking weapons, items, outfits, starting locations and more are locked behind an online requirement. The GOG page does not made this clear and is extremely misleading.”
“The only worthwhile AAA stealth game in years (so long as you disable hints and X-ray vision) but over five years later, IO still refuse to implement a proper offline mode so bare minimum, you don’t need to be online to unlock new equipment, starting locations, outfits, etc.,” reads another. “In other words, playing the game offline means you never unlock new content and you’ll have to start with a default loadout of a regular suit and silenced pistol always.”
“This system was disgusting on it’s own, but to still have it years later and on goddamn GOG of all places shows how utterly lazy IO are at this point. Fix your shit.”
While the complaints from frustrated Hitman players seem warranted to some extent, GOG has offered a statement warning that it doesn’t tolerate review bombing and will act accordingly (i.e., deleting posts). The retailer will, however, provide refunds for owners who believe they’ve been misled.
Thank you for bringing this topic to our attention. We’re looking into it and will be updating you in the coming weeks. In case you have purchased HITMAN and are not satisfied with the released version, you can use your right to refund the game. At the same time, while we’re open for meritful discussion and feedback, we will not tolerate review bombing and will be removing posts that do not follow our review guidelines.
Hitman: Game of the Year Edition includes all of the missions and locations from the first season of Hitman, as well as a “Patient Zero” bonus campaign, three new Escalation Contracts, three new outfits, and three new weapons. The PC version of the latest installment, Hitman 3, remains exclusive to the Epic Games Store but is expected to hit Steam and other platforms by Q1 2022.
Source: GOG