https://steamhost.cn/app/1054090/TECHNOSPHERE_RELOAD/


Definitive review manipulation: about 29 reviews by accounts that own 0 games and mostly have 1 review

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970756931/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970826773/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198971105419/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198971138599/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970668911/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970825320/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970644375/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970426433/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970588657/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970515398/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970763029/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970437986/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970368855/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970393464/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970508807/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970088271/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970285707/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970515288/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970373145/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970410632/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970306038/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198969867866/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970218561/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970098421/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198964017352/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970007235/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970320092/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970068525/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198964465536/recommended/

Notice some of the profiles havent been active around the same number of days, some of them dont even have their community profiles set up yet.

Here is what the data looks like when using the steam query to fetch reviews

https://imgur.com/a/2SiGCpE


Edit: adding the one I added in a comment below


https://steamhost.cn/app/1049620/_/


Reviews:

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198839600037/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198839721201/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198839662102/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198839653831/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198839631878/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198839877908/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198839607976/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835332253/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835129172/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835131392/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835121768/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835279307/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835098183/recommended/



Summary Data
https://imgur.com/a/wJxHOoz


Credit to Steam user wind_candle for the following info (after looking at a few, I agree with his statements)

Originally posted by wind_candle:

https://steamhost.cn/curator/33885692

Turns out several of this publisher's games have suspicious review activity. These are some of the accounts with the usual hallmarks: similar number of reviews/games; nothing but games by the same publisher reviewed around launch; seemingly abandoned after writing a review.

https://steamhost.cn/app/820770/
https://steamhost.cn/app/895920/
https://steamhost.cn/app/962940/

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198839552690/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835121768/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835112733/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835177498/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835133506/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835332253/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835129172/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835189181/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198836302727/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198836282337/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835296449/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835156966/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835216589/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835085474/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835245196/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835131392/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835279307/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835098183/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198839607976/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198839655744/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198839553281/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198835332253/recommended/

You also have to look at the evidence and if the evidence points to one most likely answer then yeah. For example, take into account the difficulty that indie devs have on getting reviews. If an asset flip gets a ton of positive reviews from accounts that only have one review and own less than 10 games, that usually is a big indicator and is worth compiling evidence on.

https://steamhost.cn/app/1028830/Destiny_Hunter/

https://forums.unrealengine.com/community/community-content-tools-and-tutorials/111533-free-complex-rpg-quest-system

Personally, I always think its worth it if you are confident you have enough evidence to prove something. I find sometimes you have to pick and choose your battles with what is worth it and what isnt.

Honestly, I nicely ask Mellow if he can send it along to them. Although its possible that reporting it may or may not prompt Valve to look into it.

So as I stated at the end of my previous post I would describe how I find games that have review manipulation. Here is a quick guide (I can go into more detail if need be).

Tools I use:
https://steamdb.info/stats/gameratings/?all (Sort by the most recent appid)
https://json-csv.com/ (use the get reviews Json data)
store.steampowered(DOT)com/appreviews/AppID?json=1&filter=recent&day_range=&language=all&start_offset=0&review_type=positive&purchase_type=steam&num_per_page=100

(Replace the DOT with a proper period)
Here is my procedure:

1. Using SteamDB look at the ratio and the number of positive reviews on games that are not popular indies, AAAs or free to play titles

2. Copy the appid of games that have +10 positive reviews and paste it into the query posted above, then paste that query into the json-csv website. If done properly, the website should generate a preview of the data.

3. Look at the data preview, and pay attention to two specific columns, the reviews_author_num_games_owned and reviews_author_num_reviews

4. If there is a lot of reviews by people that own similar amounts of games and the similar amounts of reviews (like i mean its off by 1 or 2 games) Then at that point, it warrents a closer inspection.

5. If there is a pattern, take a look at each of the reviewers profiles, see if the profiles have even been set up, or if they reviewed the same games in the same order (or with little variation). If you find too many profiles where its too similar of a case. Then I would say at that point, there would be something fishy going on in the reviews.

What to do next?

It always helps to ask for a second or third opinion on the matter. Feel free to ask one of us about it. Or post it in the game sharing thread and tell us your concerns with it. One of us can take a look at it and see if there is any merit to what you claim.

Here is a game that looks to have review manipulation going on:

https://steamhost.cn/app/1064790/Instinct_Survival/

After seeing the data ( https://imgur.com/a/0eAkglr ), I took a closer look at the profiles with 0,1, or 2 products in account that have one review (for the game listed above)

Here are the reviews, see if you can spot some issues:

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198973947988/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198973256343/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198973110802/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198972516481/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198972509593/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/id/684481110/recommended
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970996690/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970594412/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970921701/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198970907837/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198867175277/recommended/
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198929311609/recommended/


Hint:A few of the accounts don't even have their profile set up.

So when it comes to review manipulation, there is a way to spot it, and something can be done about it. Will there be ones that slip through the cracks or ones where its hard to prove even though you see it? Absolutely, but its best to stick to ones that you can easily prove, that way you are less likely to make a false accusation.

My apologies for the lengthy post but I felt like there might be a few people interested in how its done.

Here we have a list of steam profiles that have reviewed (more or less) the same games in the same order (there's more which I may or may not add to the list):

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198843245307/recommended
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198857034740/recommended
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198799559021/recommended
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198865405308/recommended
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198323127547/recommended
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198372709480/recommended
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198093999609/recommended
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198823940118/recommended
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/id/Soleni/recommended
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/id/RNBmonoto/recommended
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198799172422/recommended
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198414782537/recommended
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198928509801/recommended
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198338654565/recommended
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198390360269/recommended
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/id/Ragiko/recommended

Also note the similar number of reviews and products in account. This observation (usually) tends to be a unique giveaway when spotting review manipulation.

The games in each reviewers's list that they have all (or most) positively reviewed are as follows: (theres more than just the ones listed here, will add more later to the list)

https://steamhost.cn/app/1106800/Infinitely_up_Skip_Figure/

https://steamhost.cn/app/1101690/Infinitely_up_Turn_the_Figure/

https://steamhost.cn/app/1080670/Infinitely_up_4/

https://steamhost.cn/app/1037920/Infinitely_up/

https://steamhost.cn/app/1025920/Manipulator_of_Figure_3/

https://steamhost.cn/app/1007480/Manipulator_of_Figure/

https://steamhost.cn/app/801510/Only_You/

https://steamhost.cn/app/757720/Evil_Come/

https://steamhost.cn/app/805780/The_Last_Hero/

Will follow up with another post explaining my process on finding things like this.

I'm looking at it too and yeah I agree. It definitely looks like review manipulation.

The game and the developer are now banned

My advice to people who want to help:

1. Keep an eye out on new releases. If the game looks super simple or to good to be true feel free to post it in the appropriate forum thread(s) (if it hasn't been curated yet).

2. When browsing through games new and old, check out the discussions page and reviews, if you see anything that you feel warrants attention post it in the appropriate forum thread.

3. We don't just keep a lookout for bad behaviour or bad actors, we also are on the look out for good devs, good behaviour, and good indie games. Feel free to post a game that you enjoy that you feel is overlooked in our Steam game sharing thread.

4. You may also share/promote the Steam group with your friends or on your social media outlets.