Why does Blue Protocol Star Resonance have "Mostly Negative" reviews on Steam?

Blue Protocol Star Resonance just had its global release, and at the time of writing, the reception is sitting on "Mostly Negative" Steam reviews. Whether we should call it getting 'review-bombed' is a matter of contention, as one of the talking points is that the release isn't global enough for anyone living outside the NA server region.

It can't be pinned on one specific thing either, so rather than review-bombing for one touchy subject, it's more of a cold reception from the eager anime-MMO enthusiasts.

Blue Protocol Star Resonance's single-server rollout may significantly restrict its success

The state of BPSR launch is troubling even if these accounts were exaggerated (Image via A Plus)

In many ways, today was the second chance at the Blue Protocol global launch we never got from Bandai Namco. However, having it limited to just the NA megaserver on launch significantly hampers the day-one experience of many players. Most notably, the game is not even made available on Asia and Oceania, so you'd have to use a VPN to even get in.

Even if you did, the closest server would hit you with anything from 200-300ms ping, if not more. This is an action combat MMO, too, so the ping is actually a big factor. Classes like the Beat Performer (excuse the quirky translation here) and Wind Knight will get it especially bad because their kit is more complex than your usual straightforward bard or swordsman.

The original Blue Protocol was shuttered earlier this year, and Star Resonance is the Chinese revival at the hands of Bokura, a Shanghai-based Tencent-backed studio. This is supposed to be a more polished version that addresses some of the reasons the original failed in Japan. However, many reviewers are lamenting the state of the game's global release beyond just server ping woes.

For one, there is an aggressive level of monetization through non-cosmetic means of MTX being spliced into the core of the game. Plus, some players are also put off by the game's mobile-integration-friendly UI/UX, as well as convenience features like auto-combat.

In reality, some of these issues are not egregious, and perhaps the negative reception magnifies the flaws. For one, the game is not strictly pay-to-win, despite jingling the premium currency and cosmetics at you every turn of the way.

Auto-battling is a very sensitive mechanic for the broader health of any MMO on PC, but in Blue Protocol Star Resonance, it can actually be written off as a pure convenience feature for tedious world-boss grinding rather than an inevitable vehicle of progression.

On the other hand, the game has other thorns in the way that gacha gamers may find familiar. Your day-one progression as a beginner will be truncated by several time-gated avenues of content.

In any case, though, having less than 40% positive reviews out of over 3,000 impressions at launch is a bad look. Bokura certainly has their work cut out for the global launch, regardless of how well Blue Protocol Star Resonance may (or may not) be doing in the domestic market.

Check out our other guides on the game:

About the author

Sambit Pal is an esports Journalist on Gaming and MMO at Sportskeeda. He has Master's degree in English Literature. In his spare time, he is an amateur sleuth trying to trace the Riven Mafia in Warframe, and a recovering Bethesda modding addict. He also secretly enjoys action Roguelites, a severe lack of gitting gud notwithstanding.

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Edited by Sambit Pal