While the vast majority of reviews have lavished The Last of Us Part 2 with all sorts of praise, a handful of outlets — Polygon included — have been slightly more critical of the blockbuster game. According to Zacny, Vice's review prompted a Sony representative to reach out on behalf of Naughty Dog.
"They felt some of the conclusions I reached in my review were unfair and dismissed some meaningful changes or improvements," Zacny told Polygon over Twitter messages.
Zacny clarified that the exchange wasn't "confrontational," but that it was nonetheless "unusual," as the site doesn't typically have big publishers asking in an official capacity why a review reads the way it does. Such things can happen, of course, though often with smaller developers, or from publishers who have spotted a factual error in a piece that they want corrected.
"I was happy to unpack a bit of my reasoning, however, and received a perfectly cordial message in response," Zacny said. Naughty Dog's PR team declined to comment on Polygon's inquiry about its exchange with Vice
The Last of Us Part 2 has become a minefield
Devs, critics, and fans butt heads over one of the year’s biggest games
www.polygon.com