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News video games 14 March 2022, 12:58

author: Adrian Werner

Anti-mask Message in Domina Patch Notes Enrages Players on Steam

The patch notes of the latest update for Domina included controversial anti-mask content. As a result, the game's profile on Steam was flooded with negative reviews.

Domina, a strategy game about the management of a gladiatorial school in the glory days of the Roman Empire, received a new update. It sparked rage among players on Steam, but not because of the content of the patch, but because of the content contained in the patch notes.

Domina review bombing on Steam

After the release of the patch, the game's profile on Steam was flooded with negative reviews. The reason is the content found in the patch notes. In them, the developers (and most likely one particular, Bignic, who is the game's main designer and composer) urge players to ignore the order to wear masks, claiming that it will get them laid:

"TAKE OFF THE FCKN MASKS - Next time you're at the grocery store, try showing a woman your face. Be confident, unafraid of the LIES -- you might get a girlfriend. Women like confidence. Women don't like dudes who cover their faces in fear. What are you afraid of? Getting laid? Grow up."

This message is only included in the patch notes. It cannot be found in the game itself, but nevertheless players on Steam have made their displeasure known.

  1. Among the ratings given to the game over the past 30 days, only 23% are positive, which is categorized as "mostly negative" reception.
  2. It is a classic review bombing, because of all the ratings given since the release of Domina in 2017, 80% praise this production, which would categorize it as a "very positive" reception.
  3. A wave of negative reviews began flooding Steam the day after the patch was released. They were relatively few in number at first, but quickly began to increase after the issue became known on social media.

The update itself introduces quite a few bug fixes and visual improvements. It also adds the ability to use minions in standard gameplay mode, not just endless. So overall it's a nice patch, which, if it weren't for the controversial patch note, would probably enjoy a warm reception.

It is worth adding that in the case of Domina review bombing was quite easy, as the game was available in several popular cheap packages. This means many players have it in their Steam libraries, even if they have never played it. This is well reflected by the numbers - only this weekend the game received 621 negative reviews, while the activity record during those days amounted to a mere 86 concurrent users.

  1. Domina on Steam

Adrian Werner

Adrian Werner

A true veteran of the Gamepressure newsroom, writing continuously since 2009 and still not having enough. He caught the gaming bug thanks to playing on his friend's ZX Spectrum. Then he switched to his own Commodore 64, and after a short adventure with 16-bit consoles, he forever entrusted his heart to PC games. A fan of niche productions, especially adventure games, RPGs and games of the immersive sim genre, as well as a mod enthusiast. Apart from games, he devourers stories in every form - books, series, movies, and comics.

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Domina

Domina