Very unfortunate turn of events, to use another example of a marketplace, imagine if Amazon, without notice, decided to remove written reviews, and only allow star ratings. At a very instinctual level, a buyer can gauge a potential purchase with a strong review, rather than a few stars, they are arbitrary in many cases. A five star for one person may not be the same for another as they may have differing expections.
Communication is a vital part of the Epic MP eco-system and without it, both sellers and buyers are blind.
Word-of-mouth is how many of our interactions as a society begin and to take that away in these very uncertain times is unfair at the moment.
I and many others hope these changes are temporary and a more streamlined Marketplace is in the works.