“Just more proof Wukong doesn’t deserve GOTY”: Hilarious Reason Black Myth: Wukong Fans Are Allegedly Review-Bombing Baldur’s Gate 3

The gaming community is no stranger to drama, but sometimes things get so absurd that you can’t help but laugh. In a bizarre turn of events, Baldur’s Gate 3 has become the target of an unexpected review-bombing campaign on Steam, and the reason behind it is both hilarious and face-palm worthy.

What makes this situation particularly interesting is that it stems from a speech at The Game Awards 2024 that was actually criticizing corporate greed in the gaming industry. However, thanks to some unfortunate circumstances and a dash of misplaced anger, we’ve ended up with one of the most peculiar gaming controversies of the year.

Sour grapes, sore losers, or is there more to this story? | Image Credit: Larian Studios

The whole debacle centers around Swen Vincke’s powerful speech before announcing the Game of the Year winner, but as we’re about to discover, there’s more to this story than meets the eye. And yes, it involves Black Myth: Wukong fans, some serious misunderstandings, and a healthy dose of internet outrage.

A speech, a misunderstanding, and an unexpected backlash

The gaming industry has seen its fair share of review bombing incidents, but this one takes the cake for being particularly bizarre. Just days after The Game Awards 2024 ceremony, where Astro Bot surprisingly claimed the Game of the Year title over Chinese developer Game Science’s massively successful Black Myth: Wukong, something strange started happening on Steam.

Baldur’s Gate 3, last year’s GOTY winner, suddenly found itself under attack from an unexpected quarter:

The gaming community’s reaction to this situation has been a mix of bewilderment and frustration. Some players have been quick to call out the apparent absurdity of the situation:

The backlash against Baldur’s Gate 3 seems particularly misplaced, as one player pointedly observed:

The whole situation has gotten so ridiculous that some gamers have started comparing it to schoolyard drama:

The irony here is particularly striking. Vincke’s speech was actually addressing broader industry issues about corporate greed and the importance of respecting both developers and players. If anything, his message aligned perfectly with the kind of passionate game development that produced both Baldur’s Gate 3 and Black Myth: Wukong.

The surprising truth behind the controversy

Really makes one think. | Image Credit: Larian Studios

Here’s where things get interesting—and slightly hilarious. What appeared to be a simple case of salty gamers turned out to be more of a “lost in translation” comedy of errors. According to a Chinese BG3 player, a real-time translation mishap during The Game Awards broadcast turned Vincke’s humble “I will be the first to know the result” into what Chinese viewers heard as “I already know the result.”

Moreover, his passionate speech about prioritizing game quality over market share somehow morphed into “game sales are not important”—which, as you can imagine, didn’t exactly win him any fans among Chinese players who had just watched their beloved “Monke” lose to a game with significantly lower sales.

The silver lining? The Chinese gaming community proved they’re quicker at fact-checking than most X users. The Black Myth: Wukong community didn’t just acknowledge the error—they went full damage control, even pinning a post titled “TGA Larian producer’s speech was wronged.”

To put things in perspective, we’re talking about an enormous gaming community in China, with Wukong being one of the country’s most successful releases. The fact that only a small fraction got caught up in the review-bombing spree—and that many more rushed to correct the record—speaks volumes about the community’s overall maturity.

In fact, Baldur’s Gate 3‘s “Overwhelmingly Positive” status on Steam hasn’t budged an inch, thanks to the flood of positive reviews from Chinese players trying to right the wrong. It’s almost poetic—a misunderstanding about respecting players led to players showing the ultimate respect.

The whole incident serves as a reminder that maybe we should all wait for the official subtitles before grabbing our pitchforks. Or at the very least, double-check Google Translate’s work before starting an international gaming incident.

What do you think about this whole situation? Was it just a case of lost in translation, or is there more to the story? Share your thoughts in the comments below!