Starfield: A Big Game With Big Issues

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The Storyline
The game's story showcases a massive world, with a fairly deep history. It's a world we hear about a lot in the first few hours of gameplay and we're left wondering more and more about it, and finally, as we get into the game properly we uncover some of these mysteries and are left wanting just that little bit more in terms of lore, history, and - in general - the overall premise.

In all honesty, the game design feels dated, and when I first heard about the almost procedurally generated worlds of Starfield, I instantly thought, "Oh, no." For good reason.

Most of the world in Starfield feels empty, and really the only reason to land on any of them is the potentially create an outpost and gather some resources. Other than that I don't see much of a point to it.

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Empty Worlds
I have landed on many different worlds at this stage, and I have done some exploring on them.

You can scan the distant areas for structures and points of interest, and to be honest, most of them I've gone to haven't been worth it.

A Few Places I Explored -

1. One place had some loot, but robots were defending it, so there was a bit of a battle.
2. Another structure had some people present, who started attacking robots and I helped them in the fight, but after the battle, none of them made any remarks about me helping.
3. Yet another one was an old disused facility, but there were a few scientists roaming around - acting as though they were researching something but the structure was in bits so it didn't make any sense.

This is the kind of "fun" you can hope to find if you're planning on going on some hikes.

Because these places aren't crafted with care - or with the player in mind for that matter - they act as nothing more than filler, and something of a time waster.

A Spaceless Game... Set In Space
When you enter a solar system, you might want to take your ship out for a spin and fly to some worlds, sadly that essentially isn't possible.

Upon arrival, you have a choice of multiple planets to visit, but you need to go into the menu and select each one to enter a loading screen before getting there.

Each new world reached offers you a few instances, from an ongoing battle you can join, or a singing Irish guy, a school tour, or some people asking for help in the form of ship parts or money.

All of these interactions are mediocre, and present little in the way of gameplay, and instead act as nothing more than the player saying, "Huh, that's random," or "Okay, there's some baddies standing in the way of me scanning this planet."

The space battles feel a bit boring, there are two difficulties essentially. Either you sweep through the enemy easily, or you get destroyed instantly.

Speaking of Being Destroyed Instantly -
I've arrived at a planet, only to be spotted immediately by some raiders who blow my ship out of the sky, then I constantly reload to that autosave, desperately trying to get away from them.

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Will Starfield Stand The Test of Time?
Do I think Starfield will be around in 12 - 17 years - like previous Bethesda games like Skyrim, Oblivion, or Fallout 3?

Personally, I don't think it'll be around in a year's time unless, of course, they release some major DLC and completely change the game to a certain extent.

I have gotten to a point in the game where I don't really feel like continuing. Now, that doesn't mean that there aren't people out there who love it or will start a new playthrough the instant they finish their first one.

Why? -
I don't know if this is nostalgia talking, but sometimes I get in the mood to go back and play some of those older games. I've played each of them a couple of times, and can just get lost in those worlds.

Starfield, however, hasn't really made me feel lost or immersed. Really, I think one of the big issues with the immersion issue is the loading screens and the clunky menu system.

I'd be shocked if someone manages to 100% the game, and get every achievement the game has to offer. I just don't see players having the drive to go all out with Starfield the same way they did with things like Oblivion, Fallout, or Skyrim.

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Outposts
When I first discovered the outpost system I thought to myself, here we go, I'm going to get hooked now!

Then I started constructing a few bases and just had a terrible time trying to simply find worlds that had the resources I needed. By the time I did, setting up cargo links was a nightmare and I must have watched 5 or 6 videos on the process, and while I have some setup now, the struggle kind of took the fun out of it.

Compared To Fallouts Base System -
In Fallout 4 and 76, you can go around collecting rubbish to break down for their base components, but I've noticed that we don't seem to have that option in Starfield, which kind of makes all the junk items essentially pointless. In fact, when they introduced settlements in Fallout 4, I remember thinking, "Wow, they've created a reason to gather up all this junk." Now, they've pretty much gone back to the older era of games, where items serve no purpose other than selling them to vendors.

I don't like that I can barely carry anything, and have to constantly fast-travel back and forth to New Atlantis to buy the items I need to continue building my bases.

Am I A Hater?
No, I'm not a hater. I'm just a little bit disappointed in this game and can see a lot of cracks in Bethesda's game design.

Personally, I feel like the writing is on the wall for their company and I really hope they don't mess up the latest Elder Scrolls game because if they do, that could be it for them.

I've seen countless Starfield adverts, and usually, when a huge marketing campaign takes place it typically means that there haven't been a whole lot of sales.

See, the game industry has matured, and gamers are a lot more cautious with their purchases nowadays. There are so many options for games out there, especially free ones, and I think when we are offered mediocre games, that cost between 70 - 120 Euros, most people would rather stick to what they're currently playing and wait for a sale.

I personally watch reviews before making a purchase, but I didn't with Starfield because it was released on Gamepass. I'd be interested in seeing what the general consensus of the game is though because as far as I'm concerned, it's just not good enough to let Bethesda maintain their place at the top of the triple-A list.