Even before the Epic deal nonsense their are people who not only dislike Shenmue but HATE Shenmue. They hates it's existence and bash it at all costs. Never quite understood the hate it gets from mostly the west. Jim Sterling made a video about how Shenmue HD (20 yr old port) was the worst game ever created and even after that he doubled down and mocked Shenmue fans with his "Commentocracy" video. The KS could be ran flawlessly and the guy would find a way to bash it anyways. I hope he's proud of bashing a unique IP while he plays his standard run of the mill recycled games.
I loved Shenmue 1+2, but I think the negative reactions some people have are understandable.
In the ~15 years between their original release on the Dreamcast and the recent re-releases, the games have been overhyped as near-flawless masterpieces. In some ways the games were masterpieces: for the time they were incredibly detailed, atmospheric, had an amazing soundtrack, offered an experience quite unlike anything else available, and for westerners offered a feeling of what Japan and Hong Kong might have been like in the '80s. They were always flawed though, significantly so, and were never universally loved. Shenmue has a special place in my heart due to its uniqueness, its atmosphere, and where I was in my life when the games were released. That being said, even to me the flaws have become more grating over time, and some of those flaws could have been avoided when the games were originally released.
Now imagine for a second that you're someone who's been told of these near-perfect games that most people didn't get to play. For years you've heard all the hype, and now you're finally getting to play them over a decade after their original release. The tech's no longer impressive so you have to judge the games on their own merits. You're met with clunky controls, a lot of waiting around killing time though there isn't much side content (compared to related modern games), repetition, not to mention the meme worthy dialogue and truly horrific voice acting in the English versions. Some gameplay elements that were praised at the time seem dated too; the detail that the game was lauded for is either commonplace now or feels a little superfluous (for example you can open every drawer but there's nothing in most of them).
Yes, I still love the games despite the flaws, and they will click with some new players too, but if they don't the obvious response to something so hyped turning out to be so flawed is going to be mockery.
Shenmue always was polarising, it just seems like a lot of fans have forgotten that over time.
