Early Steam reviews paint Blue Protocol Star Resonance as just another generic gacha grind. It “represents the culmination of the cancer that has killed the MMO genre”

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Blue Protocol was an online multiplayer game created by Bandai Namco. It first came out in Japan in June 2023, but plans to release it worldwide with Amazon Games fell through. The original game’s servers eventually closed in January 2025. A follow-up, Blue Protocol: Star Resonance, just launched on PC and mobile, developed by Shanghai Bokura Network Technology with Bandai Namco’s permission and published by Tencent Games. While it has improved combat, more character customization, and a new game engine, initial player reviews are negative – it currently has less than 50% positive ratings on Steam after being out for less than a day.

Another disappointment for MMORPG fans

Blue Protocol: Star Resonance aimed to be an improvement over the first game, with features like enhanced social interaction, a larger, more explorable world, more fluid combat, and additional story elements. However, the global release of this updated version hasn’t been well-received, despite a lack of official reviews from Japanese players. Let’s examine what players are saying in their Steam reviews.

This absolute slop represents the culmination of the cancer that has killed the MMO genre.

The combat and movement in this action game feel sluggish and don’t react quickly to player input. While the auto-combat system can help, it defeats the purpose of having an action-based game. The automove feature is unreliable too – it frequently fails to start, misses the target, or bizarrely teleports you instead of smoothly guiding you.

– Generic

This game feels dull and slow, lacking any real excitement. It’s basically just a story reader with very few enemies – maybe only five – during the first three hours of gameplay.

– Felixmausi

At its core, this is a mobile game where characters move and fight on their own. It heavily restricts how quickly you can progress unless you spend real money to become more powerful.

– Sixsoul

While some players are enjoying the game, particularly those who know you can disable the automatic features, the biggest problem seems to be the server. There’s currently only one server, and it’s located in the US, causing significant lag for players in regions like Australia, making the game difficult to play. This single server also creates a chaotic and overwhelming chat experience for everyone.

Plus, the game only has Chinese voice acting and the English translation isn’t very good, which is especially noticeable when interacting with all the characters. It briefly had nearly 100,000 players online after release, but that number quickly dropped, and most reviews suggest players aren’t planning on returning.

Complaints about repetitive gameplay aren’t surprising – MMOs have always involved some level of grinding. However, it used to be enjoyable because players teamed up with friends for dungeons and raids, which is what kept the genre popular for so long. These days, many MMOs are burdened by microtransactions and random-chance reward systems. It often feels like developers prioritize making money over creating satisfying combat or interesting challenges. Ultimately, *Blue Protocol: Star Resonance* falls into this pattern.

I saw someone compare it to Star Citizen, and honestly, that’s a bold statement! But thinking about it, they actually have a lot in common. Both games just feel like they’re constantly trying to get more money out of you, and neither of them feels fully finished or polished. With Star Citizen, it’s been years and it’s *still* not done, and this new game is heading down a similar path, sadly.

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2025-10-10 13:02