Well, if it really is a bug, debugging can take some time. I know. I'd wait 1 or 2 days before drawing conclusions rather than hours.

Thank you very much for reaching out. I'll update the entry accordingly and then we'll wait what the programmer says.

I think Saints Row: The Third Remastered should be added to the list. Most game settings aren't saved without galaxy:
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/saints_row_3_remastered_not_working_properly_without_galaxy/page1
https://www.gog.com/forum/saints_row_series/bug_all_nongraphics_options_reset_to_default_on_game_launch_sr3_remastered

It's been almost 3 months and no fix is in sight.

Which are? (Since I use achievements sometimes I want to be sure that they won't harm me).

But I do agree that achievements should never break the game when played without the client and they should not change the compatibility of the game.

Again, this looks like a bug. But not replying is a tacit admission, that GOG doesn't care about accidental DRM any more than they care about intentional DRM.

I'll wait for a reply in those threads whether anyone actually contacted the devs and what they said. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

Oh, you are speaking GOG PR now? :D

Here's a thread I made on the topic before. Conversation should probably continue over there rather than here:
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/why_achivements_are_not_innocuous/page1

Nice. When I read your comment I was already thnking about creating such a thread since it still seems to be a topic that is interesting for quite some users. Will take a look. Thank you.

Yep. :-)

Is there a link to this statement or was it in a PM/Support ticket?

Sadly it was a support ticket reply, so is not sharable.

Sadly, indeed. Can you share what the context was?

That quote was in response to a support ticket I opened referring to this thread. This was in late March, 2021. The text of my initial ticket opening follows:

Thanks. It'd appear to explain the recent Hitman GOTY release.

Interesting so this is more of a problem in the overall then it is the with any one game.

This does bring up an interesting quandary I brought up in another thread, where is the line to what is DRM. some of these are indeed only cosmetic, are purely online concepts, or have distribution that was originally not free, or given out using the pay-for model without a price tag. some are just errors which I'll get to in a second. This does appear to be an error in the system with bits and pieces being let through using loopholes or honest mistakes, and GoG is unable to watch everything. and honestly, fair enough. I agree that developers shouldn't be denied online centered content, but that line can be crossed easily. This isn't even to mention the semantics in moderating it all.

you should also swap the order on the Hitman listing. The loss of special-release content and user-created work is a legitimate question mark, but losing all of your unlocks and all challenges is a huge drop in the games functionality, it should be listed first.

Sad to see Sythetik on here, I guess I won't be buying that one. But it does serve as a good case study. Deciding what classifies as "cosmetic" is a line of semantics that could do on forever. Hitman is the exception, since what was taken out is arguably part of the game, but it's very easy to loophole "well, the unlocks are only side-grades or re-skins and not important." And that can easily slip through GoGs sight.

The more I delve into this issue the more difficult it becomes to judge.

I've brought this up before. There's NO way to draw the line with any logic, reasoning, or rational thought [etc] other than absolutely no DRM. Once any is allowed, one [like GOG and developers] can blur it to allow anything they want to any degree short of total 100%.

It's a "straw that broke the camel's back" type analogy. Hide one feature behind DRM? You're OK? And another? And another? And another?... There's no way you can figure out where the back-breaking occurs with the latest DRM-straw through anything other than emotion and gut reaction.

Related: Check out my other thread I made here for some more thought pieces on the topic showing the absurdity of "it's not DRM" arguments for allowing DRM in single player games: https://www.gog.com/forum/general/make_your_own_drm_example

EDIT: And regarding "cosmetic", the "It's just cosmetic" thing has thoroughly been debunked many many people in many places. Here's one example video, so I needn't repeat arguments here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce5CDrq4dGg

(Yes, I know you've fallen on the "DRM-free, please" side. I'm just trying to help you to overcome some of your allowances you haven't quite been able to resolve yet.)