Bethesda’s long-awaited space epic Starfield has finally arrived. The developer’s first new IP in over two decades carries lofty expectations.
Does it soar among the stars or crash land? Right from the start, Starfield establishes an immense sense of scale.
Players start as an ordinary miner who finds an alien artifact. This fateful discovery sets off the primary quest to find the truth behind these reality-benders.
However, the central narrative often takes a backseat to open-ended exploration.
Vast Galaxy, Disjointed Experience
With over 1,000 procedurally generated planets to visit, Starfield promises unparalleled freedom. Players can touch down on any celestial body and wander at their leisure.
The game excels at conjuring a palpable sense of cosmic awe. Vistas ranging from frozen tundras to lush alien jungles await. Moreover, each planet features distinct traits, wildlife, and environmental hazards to catalog. Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of a disjointed overall experience.
Transitioning between different areas requires slogging through layers of menus and loading screens. It frequently breaks the immersion and makes the galaxy feel fragmented. Likewise, interior locations like abandoned facilities suffer from egregious asset repetition.
Satisfying Gameplay Loop
Despite these shortcomings, Starfield nails its core gameplay loop. Exploring uncharted worlds for resources, treasures, and secrets proves deeply addictive.
An intricate outpost-building system also allows players to establish functioning colonies. Managing trade routes and supply chains adds an engrossing economic layer.
Thrilling Combat, Uneven Narrative
Combat represents another high point thanks to tight first-person shooter controls. Firefights remain thrilling, especially when leveraging jetpacks in low-gravity environments. However, repetitive enemy types and unimpressive AI occasionally undermine these action-packed encounters. Intense spaceship battles help compensate for this occasional shallowness.
The main story quests deliver a mixed bag narratively. While the overarching cosmic mystery proves thought-provoking, side quests often devolve into mindless busy work.
Player choice also feels lacking, with many situations railroaded toward specific outcomes. This lack of reactivity hinders meaningful roleplaying and replayability.
Memorable Crew
On the other hand, the companion cast helps elevate the experience. Each crewmate offers a distinct personality and fully voiced storylines to uncover.
Developing relationships and tackling loyalty missions add welcome dramatic stakes. It creates relatable character dynamics amid the game’s grand, existential themes.
Technical Tradeoffs
From a technical perspective, Starfield demonstrates both strengths and weaknesses. While environments look stunning, character models and animations feel dated by modern standards.
The performance also suffers from frequent stuttering during graphically intensive sequences. However, these issues likely stemmed from the game’s protracted development cycle.
The Quintessential Bethesda Experience
Ultimately, Starfield proves a quintessential Bethesda experience – for better and worse. It revels in systemic depth while struggling to cohere into a masterfully crafted whole.
Yet, the sheer freedom to carve your own path results in deeply memorable adventures. For fans of the studio’s brand of open-world role-playing, it delivers exactly that.
Just be prepared for some rough edges amidst the boundless cosmos.
