Stars Reach, the new MMO from Raph Koster, known for his work on Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies, has launched into early access with a significant price tag and a host of issues that threaten to obscure its potential. Despite an ambitious vision for a socially driven galaxy where diverse playstyles are encouraged, the game currently stumbles with a rough user interface, incomplete systems, and a disjointed player experience.
The game's core design aims to echo Star Wars Galaxies by offering a wide array of skills that allow players to pursue careers beyond combat, such as dancers, journalists, and politicians. However, the early access period is marred by a tutorial that provides a basic introduction to tools like a terraformer, scanner, harvester, and grappling hook, most of which feel unpolished. The terraformer, which allows for dynamic terrain manipulation, stands out as a potentially interesting mechanic, but its utility is undermined by the immediate introduction of "Work in Progress" (WIP) tags on many skill trees, including crucial upgrades for digging and other core activities. This leaves players with only the most rudimentary systems to explore, failing to showcase the game's intended depth.
Navigation between planets is another area where Stars Reach falls short. The current implementation requires players to slowly traverse empty space, as spaceships are not yet a feature. This slow journey is often to planets that may have little to no content or player presence, as planets are dynamically spawned and culled based on ongoing maintenance.
This rough initial experience almost led to the game being dismissed entirely. However, an investigation into player-driven communities revealed the underlying promise of Stars Reach. By seeking out information on Discord and fan-made websites, players can discover organized groups like the Galactic Union of Natural Conservation (GUNC). This community is actively working to rebuild its society, ferrying supplies between planets and organizing tasks, including the election of a mayor for their chosen planet, despite the politics skill tree still being incomplete. Players within GUNC are engaging in activities such as training xenobiologists to find and protect wildlife spawns, demonstrating a commitment to the game's more complex systems.
This contrast highlights the central problem: the compelling community-driven aspects of Stars Reach are not organically presented to new players. Instead, the game directs users towards generic, randomly generated missions that fail to convey the rich social dynamics that players have managed to build. The game's $30 price point, combined with its unfinished state and the effort required to find these player-driven hubs, makes for a difficult first impression. While a detailed roadmap exists, Stars Reach requires substantial development to better guide players towards its most engaging elements and fulfill its ambitious social design.