A problem I've personally run into is a lot of reviews focus entirely on MTX/monetization and this can turn into a fun game getting thrown through the floor because the corporate side decided to put in a bunch of optional purchases.

I'm not saying monetization doesn't matter ... but sometimes I really don't care ... like Lego 2K Drive has a bunch of MTX bricks I'm never going to use and the option to grind them out with a lot of play time (another thing I'm not going to bother with). Those reviews almost definitely really hurt the sales of the game (which I did end up getting and it's actually quite solid in terms of PC kart racing) and probably killed any chance of it ever living up to its potential.

Artifact Classic (the card game by Valve) also got review bombed to hell about monetization (and that one I get a little bit more because you had to buy card packs) ... but if you actually play the game (and you can for free now with all cards unlocked)... I found it to be a really fun card game. I and all my friend stopped playing when Valve announced they were just going to redo the whole thing... I suspect a lot of people did the same thing which caused the chain reaction of "nobody's playing our game... this looks hopeless..." and the eventual abandonment of both the original game and the rework Artifact Foundry (which I ... didn't particularly care for). The people I know that knew about the game that didn't get the game said the negative reviews basically immediately disqualified the game from consideration for them.