MLB The Show 21 has finally arrived on next gen consoles for the first time ever, and one of the big additions this year was Stadium Creator.
The new ballpark customization game mode showed a lot of promise, but unfortunately Stadium Creator hasn't delivered in MLB The Show 21 like many had hoped.
Stadium Creator shows great potential in MLB The Show 21
Actually operating in Stadium Creator for MLB The Show 21 is not an intuitive experience, especially when compared to the ways other tutorials prep you for gameplay like hitting, pitching, and fielding.
However, that's not uncommon for a large creation suite like this, and some of the top creators have quickly overcome the imperfect system to breathe new life into legendary ballparks.
Sony San Diego stated during their Feature Premiere on Stadium Creator that this feature had been years in the making, and a few more years of work might actually be exactly what it needs.
Stadium Creator might be one of the most magnificent parts of MLB The Show 22 or MLB The Show 23, but right now it still feels like it hasn't quite lived up to that potential in MLB The Show 21.
Stadium Creator Vault and lack of search is a huge miss
If there's one glaring flaw with Stadium Creator, it's the Vault feature where you would normally search for community creations to download and use them yourself.
Logo Vault and Roster Vault already exist in MLB The Show 21, and they provide the kind of search and sort functions you'd expect so you can locate the most popular stadiums or ones with certain names.
Unfortunately, none of that exists in Stadium Creator just yet, and players are left to blindly browse thousands of pages of Community Stadiums in hopes they'll find the gem they're looking for.
Sony San Diego has expressed interest in adding this function, and hopefully it will come as early as the game's first title update, but right now it's a massive miss.
Community Stadiums will need better moderation standards
One of the unfortunate realities of operating an online community is that moderation will inevitably required, because any limits will be forcefully broken if users are allowed.
That's clear already in Stadium Creator, as a first attempt at browsing the vault stumbled upon the obviously named "9 11 Park" with several planes crashing into large buildings.
While this specific example is just insensitive, it shows that moderation will be needed as Community Stadiums continue to grow in MLB The Show 21.
It's just the price of operation as MLB The Show 21 continues to land in the hands of an even wider base with the debut on Xbox Game Pass.