For several years, Genshin Impact has been the go-to free-to-play anime game. However, plenty of new options continue to pop up, capturing the attention of fans looking for more beautifully rendered anime-inspired worlds. Back in 2023, gamers got a chance to experience a beta test for Blue Protocol, a popular Japanese RPG that was slated to release in the West. Ultimately, this never came to fruition, but a new game in the Blue Protocol universe has finally arrived. Blue Protocol: Star Resonance releases today, October 9th, bringing a new MMORPG experience to PC and mobile.
Those who played the original Blue Protocol playtest and fans of games like Genshin Impact have had their eyes on Star Resonance for a while. The game certainly caught my eye with its stunning anime graphics and free-to-play model. Gacha games might have a bad rep, but as my Umamusume: Pretty Derby login streak proves, I’m a sucker for anything I can try out for free. So, I was excited to see this one climbing the Steam charts upon release (over 86,700 concurrents and counting, as I write this). But then I noticed it’s already hit a Mostly Negative review average on Steam. So, I decided to check it out for myself and see whether this free-to-play anime MMORPG is worth your time (and mine).
On Steam, gamers will give a game a negative review simply for having a gacha mechanic at all, or for seeming too much like a mobile game. So, it can be hard to rely on Steam reviews for games like Blue Protocol: Star Resonance. As I scrolled through early reactions from players with less than 1 hour of gameplay on the record, I definitely saw some of that. Early negative reviews complain about “gacha noise” and “gacha mobile game slop.” Many games that release for mobile and PC simultaneously get this kind of commentary on Steam, so that alone wouldn’t leave me deterred.
But a few of the other criticisms do look like issues that Shanghai Bokura Network Technology might need to address. Many gamers are frustrated that the game doesn’t feature region-specific servers. Others are disappointed by auto-battling mechanics and the fact that Steam achievements are currently bugged, along with some FPS issues.
Despite an influx of negative reviews, some players are enjoying the game. A few negative reviews even note that the game’s beautiful style has them planning to come back if other issues, like server speed and achievement bugs, are addressed. Positive reviews promise that fans of Genshin Impact will like this game, early negativity notwithstanding. Naturally, that settled it for me. I would be logging in to Blue Protocol: Star Resonance to form my own opinion.
After spending some time with Blue Protocol: Star Resonance, I can see where some of the negative reviews are coming from. But I also agree with the players who’ve said that people who like games like Genshin Impact will enjoy it. I found myself wanting to keep playing, which is one of the most important marks of a new game in my opinion. I can easily see myself sinking quite a few hours into the game, though the current Level 21 cap might limit that until new content arrives.
The story throws you right into the action, and though there is a bit too much talking to random NPCs at the start, you get to check out combat pretty early on. I’m not sure where the auto-shooting complaints come from, because you definitely do have to fire your weapon and attack yourself, and you have various abilities to choose from as well. For me, the combat felt pretty similar to playing something like Throne and Liberty, another free-to-play MMORPG. That said, I definitely did see a few areas for improvement.
The frame rate for characters’ talking animation is definitely a bit off, which leads to them having a weird, blurred effect when speaking. And there is no English voiceover acting, so you’ll be reading subtitles if you don’t speak Japanese. Not every scene is voice-acted anyway, however, so it’s not a big issue – similar to something like Umamusume: Pretty Derby, where you can largely ignore the spoken dialogue if you don’t speak the language.
In terms of those server complaints? I didn’t notice any major server stability issues. My PC didn’t have a fun time launching the game the first time, but it ran well enough once I hopped in. The only real way that I noticed the lack of separate servers was the mix of different languages in the chat. I could see that being a bit frustrating if you’re really into the social elements of an MMORPG, as it’s a bit harder to weed through the messages to find people to party up with. But joining a guild and focusing on the in-guild chat would likely solve that problem. Or, if you’re a bit of a loner gamer like me, just tune out the chat altogether and focus on exploring the world and completing quests.
I really enjoyed the art style of the game, odd frame rate issues aside. The world you’re exploring is beautiful, and it does remind me of other anime-inspired games like Genshin or Honkai. The character creator is a nice change of pace here, though. I love creating a custom character, and many of the gacha games I’ve played focus on character pulls as mechanics. In Blue Protocol: Star Resonance, you craft your own hero, and there’s a pretty decent variety in the options for a free-to-play game. We could use some more skin tone options, and that body slider sure doesn’t let you truly craft a plus-size character, but those are sadly pretty common issues. Despite these limitations, I spent a good bit of time building my character, choosing different hairstyles and playing with the color sliders for hair and eyes.
Speaking of the gacha complaints… I have to admit, I don’t see it. While some games force the gacha pulls on you when you hit a certain point, the monetization in Star Resonance is present, but not mandatory in early levels. The shop mostly features cosmetic items for your avatar, and I’m sure some of the gear would be useful for strengthening yourself in combat. But in terms of constantly wanting you to go pull on a random chance, that’s pretty limited. There are mystery boxes and random items, but most in-game currency sales are for specific items, not pulls. So yes, there is monetization, but it’s not quite the gambling-style gacha where you need to pull for new characters or weapons to advance.
It’s early days, and there are definitely some rough edges with Blue Protocol: Star Resonance. As reviewers noted, I was getting random Steam achievements left and right for things I didn’t actually do, and I do hope they smooth out the frame rate a bit. And the leveling feels a bit too easy to be rewarding, making that Level 21 cap arrive all too quickly. But for the price of free with pretty non-invasive monetization options, at least for now, I think this one is well worth giving a try if you like anime graphics or are looking for a new MMORPG to play. Don’t let the early negative reviews scare you. If you know you don’t mind the monetization of a free-to-play title, Blue Protocol may well be a great next game for you.
Blue Protocol: Star Resonance is available for PC via Steam, as well as on mobile for iOS and Android devices. It is free-to-play with optional in-game purchases, including a monthly Battle Pass.
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