Starfield Bethesda’s most ambitious project to date. Its sheer scale makes it one of the biggest games in the past few years. Everyone was wondering whether it would deliver on the promise. It is a completely new thing for the studio. It is a space exploration game with its own world and lore. There are some flaws and in some places, it did not hit the heights that I personally hoped it would. It is not a completely different game for the studio as the glitches and all the other things associated with their previous games are back.
If you are the type of player who wants to feel the Bethesda vibe and scratch the itch for Fallout and Elder’s Scroll then you will be satisfied. It is kind of complicated to talk about and can be a divisive one. On the surface, it does not look good having weird NPCs and other quality-of-life things. Space exploration is not as good or grand as we thought it would be.
It has flaws but is an entertaining Bethesda game. The music is good and has some charm to it. There are factions, deep side quests, and weird quests to discover. Some cool lore is thrown in the mix that adds depth to it. All this makes you wonder, Is Starfield worth it? Let’s find out.
Premise (Spoiler Free)
Starfield is set in the universe where humanity has conquered space travel and has moved beyond the solar system. Humanity is spread to different systems known as settled systems. 20 years before the start of the game the two big factions United Colonies and Freestar Collective were engaged in a conflict known as the colony war. Today the two major factions have an uneasy peace but settled systems are still dangerous.
You will create a character, pick a back story, and traits to get going. Your character is a minor on some remote mining planet. While staying there, you stumble upon something that triggers a series of events. Eventually, you get conscripted into a group called Constellation. Constellation is a group of space explorers. It is a group that is focused on exploring the vast mysteries of space.
Explore to Unveil More
The main quest is good with decent characters. It looks weird but the good voice acting of some companions makes it better. Dealing with their personality and differences is fun. Some of them have a good charm to them. Characters look generic but some of them can surprise you. Your character doesn’t have a voice but still has a say in what’s happening on the screen. There is a good amount of mystery to unravel.
It takes a while for Starfield to get going since opening missions are bland and do not have that waoo effect from the get-go. The cities you visit are grand but feel bland and dull. As you work in the main questline that is when the game unfolds. You become more powerful as you progress. You get better ships and are with a faction. Progression will also let you learn more about the world.
Combat
There is as much combat as there is exploration. You are both a fighter and an explorer. There are options to talk your way out of the combat from time to time but most of the time there will be combat. Shooting feels good and sometimes, enemies can become bullet sponges but it’s not as bad. Guns are loud, aggressive, and have a punch to them. The feedback of bullets and hits of laser is also pretty nice.
Melee combat is almost missing due to the limited number of attacks and weapons. You can engage in stealth which becomes better as you level up. There is no 100% stealth location but when it’s available you can avail it. Stealth is a semi-viable playstyle as long as you can adapt to it when available. Starfield is not overly RPG since the focus is mostly on the game not numbers and stats.
Skill Tree and Weapons
Skill Tree is fairly simple and Starfield does not get overly RPG with numbers, stats, and stuff as it is mostly about the gameplay approach. You will spend points in one of the few categories to access benefits. Each category has its own tiers and levels that you can dump points into to get more out of it.
Getting to the next tier is not just about dumping points. You would need to complete little objectives and checkbox challenges. These challenges include shooting X number of enemies, carrying weight for miles to increase capacity, and stuff like that. Objectives become more complicated once you go further down the tree.
Weapon verity is really good. All weapons have their own use cases and manufacturers. You will find a wide variety of weapons from standard to futuristic. There are even some surprises in weapons. Some of the weapon choices are really satisfying. You will have access to weapon mods and, the crafting system similar to the Fallout series with some tweaks of course.
There is a decent amount of choice as you will be getting weapons, space suits, out-of-space clothing, and a lot of other resources for your journey. You have the option of sneaking into someone’s apartment, stealing stuff even ships. You usually get the best stuff while exploring.
Exploration
Exploration is a major part of the game and it is complicated. There are a lot of cool planets, big cities and towns. Along with fixed places, there are also randomly generated planets as well. The randomly generated planets don’t feel good. They don’t feel quite right compared to the premade planets. While exploring you will face a lot of loading screens and menus.
Just look at the big map of Starfield and wrap to a new section and you will be there after a loading screen. Once you are in the new section float around and look for the planet to land. While in a system you can talk to nearby ships as well. Select a planet then look for a landing, see what it has to offer, and land on it. The lading sequence will trigger a loading screen and then leaving the ship will also trigger a loading screen. So like a traditional Bethesda style, there are a lot of loading screens.
The Randomly Generated Planets
There is presentation and there is boringness in just clicking on the map. It does not feel as good as the first presentation but fuel consumption and a bunch of other numbers make it better. The randomly generated planets are mostly about clicking on stuff. The fun is way less when you land and scan the surface in Starfield.
Once you are out on the randomly generated planet you will be in an ugly biome. You will be sprinting until you run out of stamina. There will be abandoned factories and caves with a door and you guessed it a loading screen. Inside, it is pretty generic as you blast your way through the area. There is not much complexity to the layout. It feels like you can do endless dungeon runs. These areas are not high quality and you will see reputable stuff which makes it feel dull.
Quests and Activities
There is a focus on towns, quests, and activities that become better the more you get in the game. From expeditions where you look for the stuff to joining factions, everything has a charm to it. There are some long-running quests that you get from shops in Starfield. You can also get quests from a shop or job posting and some of these quests can be pretty complex. Basically, there is a lot of stuff to do in the game.
You also have the option of piracy. While in orbit you can engage other ships to chat with them or get into combat. Combat is fairly simple but it is really good. There are slow-motion shots and a zoom option to take down different parts of the ship such as thrusters, shield generation parts, and stuff like that. The capability of your ship’s shield depends on how you have built your ship. You can distribute power to defense, attacks, or even the warp drive. The build of your ship has a major impact on the performance of your ship.
General Gameplay
The entire map is basically a big space arena that is separated by loading screens. While it is fun to take down the ship, the better fun is on the ground in Starfield. Encounters are different each time, sometimes, it works out as expected, and other times, not so much.
The details in some areas are dense with large amounts of NPCs while others feel hollow and out of life. It is not the cleanest or the newest-looking game. When in space asteroid effects look great, seeing stuff in the sky is pretty awesome and the rest of it leaves much to be desired.
Crafting and Ships
Starfield also has a mod crafting system. There is also the option of researching to get special crafting components or cooking recipes. Suite mods and weapon mod systems are the same. Different planets can be visited to set up mining operations and generate resources that are used in crafting.
Shipbuilding is a real treat. It is easy to grasp and fun to go all out on it. The game will clearly show what can be done with a ship and what cannot be. All of the upgrades are done in real-time. There are a lot of options that range from upgrading small spaceships to customizing big battleships. The big battleships feel good and it’s fun to add stuff.
It feels good to see all that you have added to your ship while it is on the landing pad and then go in to see how the interior has changed. Seeing all the changes you made firsthand improves the overall experience. It feels good to see your ship in action or on the landing pad.
Verdict
There is a lot of stuff to be seen in Starfield even when you spend a lot of time exploring. The random generation and huge map of the game make sure that there is always something to be done. There are a lot of secrets that can be uncovered.
Despite all that it offers, Starfield is somewhat flawed with some aspects not reaching the heights it should have. However, when it does manage to hit that high, it absolutely dominates. The more time you spend with the game the more it opens up and shows flavors.
At its core, it is a Bethesda game as expected with lots of stuff to offer. If you like traditional Bethesda games such as Fallout and Elder Scrolls then you will definitely like this one. It did not do all that it promised to deliver but the characters, world, civilization, and everything else that it offers is quite good. If you had expectations from the game and have been following then you will definitely like it.
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