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Expect hundreds of hours of gameplay, well beyond the main story | Full Review - Starfield

6K View2023-09-03

Starfield

9.2

CinematicSci-fiAction RPGActionFirst-PersonRealisticRPGCharacter Customization

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Starfield is an action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks, marking their first new intellectual property in several years. The game is set in the 24th century and promises an expansive open-world gameplay, space exploration, and role-playing elements.

🟩Pros

+Amazing graphics, the world feels alive
+Majestic, awe-inspiring soundtrack
+Actually playable in third person mode
+Gunplay is surprisingly good
+Compelling main story
+Plenty of things to do: side-quests, space exploration, outpost building, etc

🟥Cons

-The menu system is a bit of a mess
-Unpleasant performance even for high end systems

In Starfield, players take on the role of a character in a futuristic science fiction universe. They can explore various planets, space stations, and engage in a wide range of activities, including branching dialogues with NPCs, skill checks, side quests, looting items, and more. The game allows players to customize their characters and their own ships, which serve as a central element of the game's customization.

Graphics and Overall Art

I wasn't initially impressed by the pre-release gameplay footage I watched on YouTube, but the graphics turned out to be actually amazing when I played the game myself. The world feels incredibly alive, not just in terms of being populated or lively, but even in the case of desolate, barren planets, it feels alive. It's alive because it's believable, creating a sense that you're a person living in a real universe. Bethesda's ability to transport players into another world remains intact, barring the borderline cartoonish character looks, as it seems that Bethesda still hasn’t gotten characters to look even close to being realistic, almost as if it's done on purpose. Lastly, the orchestral soundtrack is nothing short of magnificent, radiating glory and awe, which is just about as grandiose as the setting of Starfield.

Story

Story-wise, there is the ever compelling main quest that basically says your character is a chosen one special type of dude, but again it isn’t a requirement to go through it.

In Starfield's main story, players take on the role of a new miner at a facility who accidentally extracts a mysterious object from a cave. Upon touching it, a surreal vision is triggered, propelling the character on a quest to unearth additional Artifacts and unravel their mysteries. I have to say though, the pacing is a bit slower than most games, and it's not surprising if some players get bored in the first few hours of play, not to worry though, as the game gets better the longer you play it.

After the initial introduction sequence, you have the option to skip the main campaign and explore freely. This approach is executed better overall compared to previous Bethesda titles, as the game acknowledges it as a valid alternative and gives the players an actual option instead of the main character just “forgetting” the main quest exists and putting it on hiatus.

Gameplay

Bethesda RPG games have always been the quintessential open-world RPGs, and Starfield is no exception. Except, the world is just much, much bigger now. It’s not even just a world, it's numerous worlds. We're not just dealing with an expansive region as our playground; we're now venturing into outer space, exploring multiple planets.

Players can traverse on foot, visiting cities, planetary surfaces, and the interiors of spaceships in a predominantly role-playing fashion. This includes branching dialogues with other NPCs, skill checks like persuasion, a plethora of side quests, and the opportunity to loot items from the environment and fallen NPCs. All of these elements are playable in either the first or third person perspective, and we can seamlessly switch between one another on the fly.

Coming from Oblivion, Skyrim and Fallout 4, This is the first time that a Bethesda game actually has a good third person mode implementation. As opposed to being just a glorified Photo mode for character cosmetics, the animations in here are fluid and mesh well with how the controls work. However, it's worth noting that camera framing still needs work — especially in tight, cramped spaces — as there are some cases where switching to a first person view is much more suitable to see things easily.

Players can also enter their owned ship, launch to orbit, and pilot it around there like a legit Space flight sim. Interstellar travel and space to surface travel is indeed a bit simplified, with just the click of a fast travel button — But when you are given controls to the ship while in orbit, they definitely took notes from established space flight sims out there like Elite Dangerous, Star Citizen, and even No Man’s Sky. Players can finely adjust throttle levels, allocate power to ship systems, and deploy various types of weaponry to fend off adversaries such as pirates and bounty hunters.

It’s a highly ambitious game that falls short with respect to being a proper flight sim, but it’s not trying to be that game. At its core, it’s still a Bethesda RPG, and it does its part well. I feel that Elder Scrolls remains the superior IP and series for now, but that’s something that can easily change in time.

The ship in Starfield is highly customizable and serves as an extension of your character's customization options. You can modify various aspects, including the cockpit, engines, cargo bays, and reactors.

On the other hand, your character's customization is extensive, with choices ranging from its initial conception of different backgrounds with up to three traits. For example, you can choose to start the game as a Wanted character, leading to occasional encounters with bounty hunters. You can begin as an Introvert, enjoying a minor bonus when alone but facing penalties when traveling with companions. Or perhaps, you can start the game owning a massive dream house, but with an equally massive debt to pay at the start of the game. The choices are up to the player.

As your character levels up in Starfield, you earn skill points to unlock new abilities, such as lockpicking or weapon proficiency. Each of these unlocked skills comes with its own set of “To-do” challenges that you can complete to further improve their ranks. This progression system represents a significant evolution from the unique 'use a skill to improve it' system found in Oblivion and Skyrim.

Taking a page from Fallout’s Settlement’s system and infusing it with No Man’s Sky style of planetary exploration: Here in Starfield, players have the freedom to land anywhere on a planet, and the game will generate a procedural instance of the planet's surface on the specific spot you picked.

Players can also establish outposts on these planets, scan for lifeforms and points of interest, extract resources for crafting advanced equipment, and even connect multiple outposts to create trade routes.

Both ships and outposts can be staffed, allowing players to recruit and assign crew members. Hazardous planets pose environmental challenges, and the O2/CO2 system functions as a stamina mechanic, requiring careful monitoring to keep your character in top condition.

The overall menu system in Starfield, particularly in inventories and handling different types of ammunition, is somewhat messy. It shares some of the clutter seen in Fallout's menu system. However, the additional complexity introduced by space exploration, ship/crew management, and survival/outpost elements can make it overwhelming. It often feels like there's an unnecessary extra step in many of the actions. The hotkey system (D-pad or Q button) definitely helps a lot in managing your gear, utilizing it to the fullest is key.

Despite initial doubts from pre-release gameplay footage, the gunplay in Starfield pleasantly surprised me. It offers a gameplay experience closer to Call of Duty than Fallout 3/4. The weapons feel powerful and responsive, making combat more satisfying compared to earlier Bethesda titles like Fallout 3, they definitely have come a long way. When in third person mode, the game feels like I’m playing Resident Evil with its over the shoulder camera.

Performance

Here comes the worst offender of all. This is the first time a game actually had a consistent sub 60FPS performance in my system (in various in-game locations). Granted, an i7-8700k CPU might be old in today’s standards, but it still is a decent workhorse for all the other games I’ve played, Cyberpunk 2077 included. My RTX 3080 handled it pretty well in the graphics department, with the CPU in general proving to be the limiting factor — Even players equipped with Ryzen 3D CPUs are reportedly having problems.

Lastly, It wouldn’t be Bethesda without some occasional clunkiness, I’ve experienced wonky physics throwing world items randomly, some quests not triggering as expected, and other relatively minor stuff, although it's probably the smoothest Bethesda launch as of date. No game breaking bugs or hard crashes in my experience so far.

Conclusion:

Starfield offers an expansive and immersive RPG experience. Its captivating graphics, awe-inspiring soundtrack, and dual first / third-person gameplay contribute to a sense of being in a living, believable universe. The game's vast open worlds, space exploration, and outpost building provide numerous activities to engage in. The game itself is already wide and massive, and players can expect hundreds of hours of gaming even well beyond the main story. With more than a thousand planets to explore — albeit many of them barren and empty — there’s plenty of room for growth in both via modding and future expansions. Is it worth playing at release? as long as you can get decent frame rates, absolutely.

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Starfield

9.2

CinematicSci-fiAction RPGActionFirst-PersonRealisticRPGCharacter Customization

Get

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