Every Sony exclusive gets an 8 or 9 at GameSpot. Every. Single. One.
The Original Review
“The Last of Us Part II is a game that wrestles with the ugliness of human nature in a way that's both affecting and uncomfortable.”
Sony's embargo for The Last of Us Part II lifted on June 12, 2020 — precisely timed with the marketing push, not with giving reviewers adequate time. GameSpot's Kallie Plagge published her 8/10 the same morning. The review was written under Sony's strict spoiler NDA, which contractually limited what the reviewer could discuss. This is not speculation. Sony's spoiler guidelines for TLOU2 were leaked and widely reported. GameSpot agreed to these terms and published the review without disclosing these restrictions to readers.
The 8/10 is a textbook access-preservation score. Examine the math. GameSpot gave God of War a 9. Spider-Man a 9. Horizon Zero Dawn a 9. Every major Sony exclusive lands between 8 and 9 on GameSpot, a range narrow enough to keep Sony's PR team happy while maintaining a thin veneer of critical distance. The review hedges on every controversial element — calling story beats 'divisive' and pacing 'exhausting' without committing to whether these are flaws. That is not criticism. That is risk management.
Sony Interactive Entertainment is a consistent advertiser on GameSpot's parent network. Review units were provided free of charge. The reviewer attended a Sony-hosted review event. At no point does the review disclose the financial relationship between GameSpot and the publisher whose product is being evaluated. Readers deserved to know how much of this review was the critic's honest assessment and how much was shaped by access economics.
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