The end result is a system that was probably much more feasible to run on an Xbox 360 eight years ago, but playing it today it feels like the shadow of what a modern MMO like this could accomplish. Supposedly, ARKS Operatives explore entire planets to eradicate the Falspawn, but you only see a handful of procedurally generated arenas each mission. It’s a very objective-focused format that keeps things moving quickly at all times, but it loses a lot of the discovery and sense of scale that usually goes hand-in-hand with MMOs. Once you’ve accepted a mission you’ll only see people in your party and a handful of others that may be doing the same mission. Rather than have you explore a sprawling open world of interconnected zones, PSO2 uses a lobby and instance system to congregate players and allow everyone to chat and team up. The conversations that move the story forward are self-contained as story quests from the main quest-giver NPC, which prevents them from slowing down the pace of missions. All of the missions you go on have a few bits of voice over sprinkled in but otherwise it’s just about plowing through enemies and having a lot more fun as a result. “And so in an unusual but much-appreciated move, PSO2 almost completely removes its exposition from the actual game.