Is the entire game a mode or feature? If it’s not then you can fuck off with that argument that it doesn’t say you don’t need it. If you’re a Sony PR person you’re bad at it. And if you’re not, then you have a weird obsession with siding with shitty corporate behavior.
If it makes you feel any better, one of Arrowhead’s community managers specifically said to take the anger to steam. It makes it very public that people are unhappy, and it’s more likely to get Sony to change the policy. So the devs are aware of why this is happening, and it appears that to an extent at least, support the negative reviews