Other than the faces of people (and a few bugs which most games have today unfortunately), this game is absolutely incredible. I'm almost 100 hours in and really feel as i'm just getting into the thick of it. There's is literally so much to do in this game and all of the environments are beautiful. I was a little disappointed when I found out that there wouldn't be as much in space (or "In the Starfield" as they call it in game) but the rest of the game definitely makes up for it. Maybe it's because I have been waiting for a game exactly like this forever, but it's definitely my new favorite game.
32 Reviews
If you love Bethesdas work then you will enjoy Starfield
lgikl7 September 2023
If you enjoy games like Skyrim and Fallout then you will enjoy Starfield. This game is NOT a Space simulator so don't expect to play have the game piloting your ship. Personally I prefer this but I have seen people not happy that this is the case. There is countless quests to go through. The main quests feel like only a small percentage of stories to go through. You can enjoy playing through all the different faction missions (Sort of like guilds in Skyrim) and sidequests. Building a ship is fun but I am not the artistic type so I just use the one you get from completing a set of sidequests.
This game starts off fun but continues to get more fun as you play through.
Sadly the creation engine really does feel stretched to its limits in this game and I hope Bethesda does some serious work under the hood for Elder Scrolls VI. Its not a bad game to play but certain parts could be improved.
Like entering certain buildings requires a loading screen (Like in skyrim). If GTA V can make this seamless then I don't see why a game 10 years newer cant.
Hit boxes or aiming are frustrating at times. You clearly have your sites lined up for the bullet to not hit the enemy.
Sometimes youll reload but because the animation wasn't complete even thou it looked finished it will cancel your reload but not restart so youll be running with a gun with 0 bullets in the chamber. Would be nice if it atleast started the reload again.
Everything and I mean everything is locked behind skill points. Some stuff makes sense but others just felt like it was there to boast a bigger skill tree. Like why is a boost pack a skill point? Boost pack upgrades yh but to use one???
Other then this I have been enjoying the game. I hope Bethesda officially adds DLSS, I found an un-official way to use it but this should just be a feature. And hopefully they make some optimizations aswell. The game randomly stutters for no reason. I also had it crash a couple times or completely glitch out. A few bugs on PC but nothing that made you wanna stop playing. If anything watching an enemy sling across the map upon death never gets old.
This game starts off fun but continues to get more fun as you play through.
Sadly the creation engine really does feel stretched to its limits in this game and I hope Bethesda does some serious work under the hood for Elder Scrolls VI. Its not a bad game to play but certain parts could be improved.
Like entering certain buildings requires a loading screen (Like in skyrim). If GTA V can make this seamless then I don't see why a game 10 years newer cant.
Hit boxes or aiming are frustrating at times. You clearly have your sites lined up for the bullet to not hit the enemy.
Sometimes youll reload but because the animation wasn't complete even thou it looked finished it will cancel your reload but not restart so youll be running with a gun with 0 bullets in the chamber. Would be nice if it atleast started the reload again.
Everything and I mean everything is locked behind skill points. Some stuff makes sense but others just felt like it was there to boast a bigger skill tree. Like why is a boost pack a skill point? Boost pack upgrades yh but to use one???
Other then this I have been enjoying the game. I hope Bethesda officially adds DLSS, I found an un-official way to use it but this should just be a feature. And hopefully they make some optimizations aswell. The game randomly stutters for no reason. I also had it crash a couple times or completely glitch out. A few bugs on PC but nothing that made you wanna stop playing. If anything watching an enemy sling across the map upon death never gets old.
A Good Game Buried Under Many Flaws
moufedalkhawam30 October 2023
After five long years of waiting and rampant speculation, Starfield finally released this year on September 6th. Was it worth the wait?
Positives: Starfield has some of Bethesda's best cities out of all of their games, New Atlantis, Akila City, Neon, Paradiso, Cydonia and New Homestead are all extremely interesting areas with tons of side missions to do.
The combat in this game is very easy to get used to and is extremely fun.
The amount of content you get in this game is what you expect when you pay £70/$70. It's truly a testament of how much bethesda love making video games and their passion for them.
Faction quests are also fantastic in this game, the UC Vanguard quest line being my favourite had an incredible movie like story with great action set pieces. The Crimson Fleet storyline was so much fun playing as an undercover agent trying to damage them from within. The Freestar Collective quest line has this awesome mandolorian feel to it as you become a space ranger. The Ryujin Industries quest line is probably the weakest of the bunch but still has great moments as you climb the slippery corporate ladder to get to the top.
Negatives: Starfield feels extremely outdated. Facial animations and controls are very early 2010s and the game just doesn't flow very fluidly. The bethesda "jank" is just unacceptable these days.
The abundance of loading screens is ridiculous, it is so immersion breaking when you have to load everywhere.
Starfield unfortunately suffers from the typical bad bethesda main story. It is extremely uninteresting and the amount of missions that are just fetch quests is ridiculous and time wasting.
The companions in the game are just flat out boring, there are no companions with personalities (except Andreja) everyone is just objectively good and morally righteous, it's so annoying. If you had bad karma in fallout 3, you would attract companions that were also scum bags, why not bring this back?!?
Exploration outside of the main cities is really disappointing. There is absolutely nothing to see and do, no interesting planets or Easter eggs. It makes the game feel so small and artificial.
Lore in this game isn't that interesting either, it's not bad but nowhere near the level of elder scrolls and fallout. It is very generic.
Overall Starfield is a good game that is held down by Bethesda's outdated game design, mediocre writing and old engine. Here's hoping Bethesda listen to a lot of the criticisms for Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 5.
Positives: Starfield has some of Bethesda's best cities out of all of their games, New Atlantis, Akila City, Neon, Paradiso, Cydonia and New Homestead are all extremely interesting areas with tons of side missions to do.
The combat in this game is very easy to get used to and is extremely fun.
The amount of content you get in this game is what you expect when you pay £70/$70. It's truly a testament of how much bethesda love making video games and their passion for them.
Faction quests are also fantastic in this game, the UC Vanguard quest line being my favourite had an incredible movie like story with great action set pieces. The Crimson Fleet storyline was so much fun playing as an undercover agent trying to damage them from within. The Freestar Collective quest line has this awesome mandolorian feel to it as you become a space ranger. The Ryujin Industries quest line is probably the weakest of the bunch but still has great moments as you climb the slippery corporate ladder to get to the top.
Negatives: Starfield feels extremely outdated. Facial animations and controls are very early 2010s and the game just doesn't flow very fluidly. The bethesda "jank" is just unacceptable these days.
The abundance of loading screens is ridiculous, it is so immersion breaking when you have to load everywhere.
Starfield unfortunately suffers from the typical bad bethesda main story. It is extremely uninteresting and the amount of missions that are just fetch quests is ridiculous and time wasting.
The companions in the game are just flat out boring, there are no companions with personalities (except Andreja) everyone is just objectively good and morally righteous, it's so annoying. If you had bad karma in fallout 3, you would attract companions that were also scum bags, why not bring this back?!?
Exploration outside of the main cities is really disappointing. There is absolutely nothing to see and do, no interesting planets or Easter eggs. It makes the game feel so small and artificial.
Lore in this game isn't that interesting either, it's not bad but nowhere near the level of elder scrolls and fallout. It is very generic.
Overall Starfield is a good game that is held down by Bethesda's outdated game design, mediocre writing and old engine. Here's hoping Bethesda listen to a lot of the criticisms for Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 5.
Excellent Game!
matthewtaylor-0160619 September 2023
I'm a big fan of Bethesda! I've played a lot of their titles. Starfield has quickly become one of my top favorite right behind Fallout: New Vegas. The overall story is extremely well written and the graphics are captivating. Side missions don't feel cheap either. 10/10 experience! The pacing is very good as well. It doesn't feel rushed and you can go at your own pace. Tons of customization and options of build your own ship or outposts. The various planets don't feel extremely familiar. It genuinely feels like a different world each one you explore. I have throughly enjoyed the time I have spent playing this game. I can see myself revisiting it for years to come.
Todd Howard's Magnum Opus
cchenders406 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Note: I played from early access day one via the Premium Edition on Xbox Series X.
This game is a masterpiece. I have been with Bethesda since Skyrim, gone back and played their oldies, and I have to say this is their best game ever. Let me give you the positives.
This game is a masterpiece. There is nothing like it. Nothing as deep, and nothing that offers this much rich content. Do not miss this game!
This game is a masterpiece. I have been with Bethesda since Skyrim, gone back and played their oldies, and I have to say this is their best game ever. Let me give you the positives.
- Best Bethesda main story. The story had me, I cried at one point even. It is full of mystery, intrigue, great characters, and many fun twists and turns. It wears classic sci-fi inspiration on its sleeve which I love. It has elements of Bladerunner, Alien, 2001 A Space Odyssey and more. The ending is incredible and honestly heady.
- Amazing combat. ID (Doom Eternal) and Machine games (Wolfenstein helped with the combat and you can tell it is polished and feels good. The reload animations are awesome, the weapons feel weighty and unique. Hundreds of customization options are available. You can customize and mod each part of a weapon. Also the way that enemies react to being shot is very realistic. They stumble, blood sprays, and the way they fall and slump over after dying shows off the game's impressive physics system.
- Amazing faction quests. There are a lot of factions in this game. There are the big main factions like the Vanguard and the Crimson Fleet but you can also find smaller one's with shorter quest lines. For instance I joined a gang! The main faction quest lines are long, well written, and packed with good content.
- Deep side quests with lot's of choice and consequence and great writing. Every side quest I have done has been a blast.
- RPG mechanics: Bethesda returns to form here, this is the deepest their RPG systems have been since Oblivion. My character perks and background traits have come up in nearly every mission side and main. I have yet to stumble into even a side quest that didn't give me a dialogue option that let's me flex my background.
- The persuasion and lockpicking mini games are amazing. Most quests have multiple persuasion checks for those who like to talk their way through a mission.
- Performance is great. Stable 30FPS. Obviously I wish it were 60 but after seeing just how ambitious this game is and all the systems it has, it makes sense why that decision was made.
- Writing: this is the best written BGS game ever. Clever, funny, emotional, and at times philosophical.
- Characters: Great characters especially the constellation members. All memorable, they have fun personal questlines that flesh them out really well.
- Locations: Talking specifically about the cities, I beat the game after 35 hours and I am still discovering new entire cities on different planets that I did not know existed. My favorite city is Neon. Each feels lived in and unique. They are massive and packed with content!
- Ships: The ship combat is hard but very fun and very rewarding. Nothing beats disabling a ship's engine, boarding it, killing the grew in zero gravity then stealing the ship and selling it. The ship building is DEEP. I have spent hours just in that menu building new ships, making room for more crew that I can hire, and upping my weapon systems. The space combat is also very deep as you have to in real time divert power to various systems such as shields, engine, or weapons to maintain smart movement, defense, or offense. Really well done.
- NG+ is brilliant. That is all I will say.
- Procedural content. Completely optional but a ton of fun. I have yet to see the same thing twice. Each planet has so much to offer and the procedural dungeons so far have all been cool and unique. There is so much handcrafted content however, you will be 70+ hours in before you even would need to think about touching the procedural world's if they are not your thing.
- Base building: Far better than fallout 4, I actually love it in this game (did not in fallout). It is easier and helps you with resources and storage, also gives you a place to put companions you find and recruit.
- Impressive systems: Here is an example, each planet and each system in real time moves like real planets. If you sit on a moon for 5 hours and watch the sky you will be able to watch in real time your moon rotate around a planet and that planet rotate around the it's sun. This means that each of the 1,000 planets have their own day night cycle and own planetary time. You can see that planet's unique time/day night cycle when you go to wait or sleep on a planet. As it is contrasted against a Universal or standard time that is galaxy wide. I remember when I was blown away by Forza having a seasonal cycle, but this game literally has full unique day night cycles for each individual planet and moon. Another system that blew me away are the physics and object permanence. I have collected so many stuffed animals and laid them all over my ship. They just stay. I saw someone stored 2,000 potatoes on their ship and they move and stack like real potatoes. If you kill someone on a planet, leave and come back their body will be there. It is insane, I do not understand on a gameplay design level how Bethesda did this. It is SO immersive. This game is for real groundbreaking.
This game is a masterpiece. There is nothing like it. Nothing as deep, and nothing that offers this much rich content. Do not miss this game!
Besta rpg
marcelom-401006 September 2023
The worst start to the best rpg, rich in detail, things make sense after many hours in a fantastic way, definitely a must see, of course not perfect, but the best of Bethesda standard as there are problems with facial expressions and I imagine they removed many cool things to sell later as DLC that were missed. Also the NPCs are just passable. If it were perfect, maybe it wouldn't be as good as it is, unique environments give an immersion of a unique universe. The bouts seem to reflect different gravities as it feels weird at times, mad satisfying in the end. The fauna is very good as well as the flora which enriches the artistic concept behind the game. In addition to details and interactions that no other game brings, in addition to the power of choice with several different outcomes.
3 hours into the game! I'm hoping for a better ride
nrwautoelectrical8 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
So, I'm three hours into the game... I have to say, how boring so far.
The characters so far are boring, lifeless, main story I'm a miner for 2 mins, touch something and now I'm an explorer with a ship I have no idea how to use. That easy lol
The ship and travel mechanic is kinda annoying, feel like I can just skip it all and it won't matter.
I really do hope the side missions pick up. I need a space war, or something to get me excited, so far I can fall asleep.
It's graphics are not overly good either to be honest.
Bugs in it, what Bethesda game doesn't.
I feel like after 13 years since a elder scrolls title (proper one) this is what they produce? If it ment shaving a year off elders 6 release then it would be better.
The characters so far are boring, lifeless, main story I'm a miner for 2 mins, touch something and now I'm an explorer with a ship I have no idea how to use. That easy lol
The ship and travel mechanic is kinda annoying, feel like I can just skip it all and it won't matter.
I really do hope the side missions pick up. I need a space war, or something to get me excited, so far I can fall asleep.
It's graphics are not overly good either to be honest.
Bugs in it, what Bethesda game doesn't.
I feel like after 13 years since a elder scrolls title (proper one) this is what they produce? If it ment shaving a year off elders 6 release then it would be better.
An absolute joy and fantasticly composed and rich game
lakshmiallan15 September 2023
This is an amazing game. I am 30+ hours in and I feel that I bearly scratched the surface. I have actually come to question what the main story line is as I am following at least two that could both qualify The detailed and believable live world and lore brings this world on par with
previous best games like Skyrim and Fallout 4. Also the simplicity of the skill tree and the options of not doing settlements, crafting and shipbuilding is amazing. The the game is playable regardless if you opt in or out of these options is amazing. Apart from a dialogue AI that quickly learns to autoskip for persons like me and that give a short summary and options I absolutely love the game. The fast travel is amazing cutting away so much potentially wasted time (and life - being 53 remaining time alive is important :-)
More of the same
nscoby931 November 2023
It has been 1 month and 26 days since the release of Starfield, and in that time, I have logged 6 days with a total of 144 hours, give or take.
Now after the debacle of Fallout 76 it was important that Bethesda had a win in a major way for this title, and with all the time I logged I can confidently say it's kinda better?... ya that's what I want to say better.
Oh, Bethesda, Bethesda. What happened to you? Why have you become so lazy and complacent?
I'll start with the good...
The game is pretty and has a lot of interesting things to look at and explore, good questlines (sometiems), and ya, you know there are guns and then space guns... and I can't keep up this charade.
Starfield is the biggest game with the most restrictions I have ever played! Soo many game mechanics and decisions are made in this game purely for the sake of wasting your time!
The story is boring, uninteresting, and dull, and the writing here is just as bad. Admittedly, some questlines were interesting, but everything always just led to "Is that it? Oh, ok." Then this games "ending" is the biggest slap in the face I've felt from a games conclusion. I would give details on it, but to avoid spoilers, all I'll say is completely unsatisfactory.
All this sucks because the game is actually fun. The gunplay, the guns, and the ships. I can't begin to describe how many hours I've spent building and customizing my ship.
But the games' starkingly surprising limitations hold back everything. Also please Bethesda PLEASE dump this engine! It's time to put it to rest.
Yet still, for some inexplicable reason, this game receives high praise and scores! How? Why? The game has the worst ui, maps, and downright stupid enemy npcs.
Character customization is good, but clothing is extremely limiting in variety. There's basically one style and almost no women's apparel. This leads to another complaint: Why is there like no fashion for women in this game? Even when I want to role-play going out with my companion wife, I can't dress her up because there's absolutely no style for women, and that lack of variety led into many of my other role-playing experiences.
Finally, I'll speak about characters. They are ok. They are all just not at all well written. Now if like me you choose to take on a female companion as a wife, then get ready to be criticized for almost every little thing you do or don't do! If you want to be a space pirate, then you'll be hated. Unless I was Mr. Perfect all the time, I would hear about it from Sarah. There is no companion who is like down for anything or everything. It's just another limitation and lack of variety in personalities.
I'm sure there are plenty of other mechanics and systems in this game I'm forgetting to mention, but honestly, I'm tired and a little disappointed to review this any further.
I really wanted to love this game being the massive Bethesda fan I am, but because of the games limitations, restrictions, lack of variety, and subpar writing, it detracts from the experience. Though even after all that, I can not deny the amount of fun I did have, and the game does contain that Bethesda charm, so for that, I can be a bit lenient. But Bethesda, you have used up the last of my good graces. You are better than this. You have done better, and you should do better. So please, please don't screw up Elder Scrolls VI.
Final score: 6/10 3/5
Played on Xbox Series X and PC.
Now after the debacle of Fallout 76 it was important that Bethesda had a win in a major way for this title, and with all the time I logged I can confidently say it's kinda better?... ya that's what I want to say better.
Oh, Bethesda, Bethesda. What happened to you? Why have you become so lazy and complacent?
I'll start with the good...
The game is pretty and has a lot of interesting things to look at and explore, good questlines (sometiems), and ya, you know there are guns and then space guns... and I can't keep up this charade.
Starfield is the biggest game with the most restrictions I have ever played! Soo many game mechanics and decisions are made in this game purely for the sake of wasting your time!
The story is boring, uninteresting, and dull, and the writing here is just as bad. Admittedly, some questlines were interesting, but everything always just led to "Is that it? Oh, ok." Then this games "ending" is the biggest slap in the face I've felt from a games conclusion. I would give details on it, but to avoid spoilers, all I'll say is completely unsatisfactory.
All this sucks because the game is actually fun. The gunplay, the guns, and the ships. I can't begin to describe how many hours I've spent building and customizing my ship.
But the games' starkingly surprising limitations hold back everything. Also please Bethesda PLEASE dump this engine! It's time to put it to rest.
Yet still, for some inexplicable reason, this game receives high praise and scores! How? Why? The game has the worst ui, maps, and downright stupid enemy npcs.
Character customization is good, but clothing is extremely limiting in variety. There's basically one style and almost no women's apparel. This leads to another complaint: Why is there like no fashion for women in this game? Even when I want to role-play going out with my companion wife, I can't dress her up because there's absolutely no style for women, and that lack of variety led into many of my other role-playing experiences.
Finally, I'll speak about characters. They are ok. They are all just not at all well written. Now if like me you choose to take on a female companion as a wife, then get ready to be criticized for almost every little thing you do or don't do! If you want to be a space pirate, then you'll be hated. Unless I was Mr. Perfect all the time, I would hear about it from Sarah. There is no companion who is like down for anything or everything. It's just another limitation and lack of variety in personalities.
I'm sure there are plenty of other mechanics and systems in this game I'm forgetting to mention, but honestly, I'm tired and a little disappointed to review this any further.
I really wanted to love this game being the massive Bethesda fan I am, but because of the games limitations, restrictions, lack of variety, and subpar writing, it detracts from the experience. Though even after all that, I can not deny the amount of fun I did have, and the game does contain that Bethesda charm, so for that, I can be a bit lenient. But Bethesda, you have used up the last of my good graces. You are better than this. You have done better, and you should do better. So please, please don't screw up Elder Scrolls VI.
Final score: 6/10 3/5
Played on Xbox Series X and PC.
A grand universe, bogged down by even grander hubris
Stskyshaker5 November 2023
The scope and vision cannot be grander. And Starfield indeed looks grand from the first minutes. The various mechanics and systems built into the game, from spaceship building to planetary exploration, are truly amazing, enough to fill multiple decent games.
But that's where the positives end. Starfield produces almost no gel, either in the form of a good story or cohesive world building, to hold its different parts together. The grand scope becomes pointless and bleak when there is no narrative to drive it. The various mechanics do not talk to each other and start to feel redundant very early. The saddest thing is when you push yourself to invest in some of them and they are proven to be redundant by the end of the game.
Bethesda seems to think that just because it's the first universe in 20 years for Bethesda (it's Bethesda!), players will just stick around for hundreds and hundreds of hours until they eventually truly appreciate all that's built within this grand scope. That's hubris. I felt a tinge of nostalgia I completed the game. Then I immediately deleted it and all my saves. What a disappointment.
But that's where the positives end. Starfield produces almost no gel, either in the form of a good story or cohesive world building, to hold its different parts together. The grand scope becomes pointless and bleak when there is no narrative to drive it. The various mechanics do not talk to each other and start to feel redundant very early. The saddest thing is when you push yourself to invest in some of them and they are proven to be redundant by the end of the game.
Bethesda seems to think that just because it's the first universe in 20 years for Bethesda (it's Bethesda!), players will just stick around for hundreds and hundreds of hours until they eventually truly appreciate all that's built within this grand scope. That's hubris. I felt a tinge of nostalgia I completed the game. Then I immediately deleted it and all my saves. What a disappointment.
An amazing game so far!
sonialoosli7 September 2023
Bought early access for this game, and got to say I am not disappointed with my experience so far! Great characters, main story line and supporting story lines as well. Surprisingly not a bad launch, like I was suspecting. There has been little to no glitches, with just a few cosmetic, funny ones. Everything so far has been an honor to play, feels like the outer worlds a little but more realistic and definitely more immense. You can definitely tell this is a Bethesda game, so many different worlds, so different from each other, like Akila City vs Neon, totally different, one representing Fallout style, the other cyberpunk a little bit. Been playing on Xbox Series X, and haven't had the game crash once, but my fiancé playing on pc, has had multiple issues, with crashing specifically, maybe they'll fix it, hopefully, but for me, a great experience so far, and can't wait to see where it takes me (25 hours into it so far) I am honestly surprised it doesn't carry better reviews, 10 out 10 would recommend, and deserves at least a 9/10 rating in my opinion, but because I'm having an amazing experience so far I'm giving it a 10 (: If you like fallout, Skyrim, you should give it a shot!
Starfield frustrates by being antithetical to the genre Bethesda once pioneered
phoenix-prjct5 January 2024
Starfield is a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none. It desperately needs an editor to cut through all the idealistic but useless features to remind the developers that quality always trumps quantity. A rich world and fantastic side quests clash with an uninspired main quest and a plethora of performance issues that render the game's push for exploration anything but. It's a mix of the studio's Skyrim with the genre-defining Mass Effect series, but never quite satisfies those itches and leaves the player thinking of stronger experiences. I ran into a plethora of issues from glitches to outright crashes, spent an inordinate amount of time troubleshooting issues I shouldn't be worried about on console, and doing my best to accept that Bethesda doesn't seem to care to learn from lessons that have hurt them for decades.
While Starfield seems stuck between generations and intentions, it's still fun (frustrating fun, sure, but fun nonetheless). Its side quests shine and its crisp combat only gets better the more skills you unlock. Character creation and crafting your journey are both solid in design and execution, and the game does reward your investment. With all my criticism, I am excited for the universe's future and the undoubted refinements to come, but quality control needs a firmer, more moderate hand.
While Starfield seems stuck between generations and intentions, it's still fun (frustrating fun, sure, but fun nonetheless). Its side quests shine and its crisp combat only gets better the more skills you unlock. Character creation and crafting your journey are both solid in design and execution, and the game does reward your investment. With all my criticism, I am excited for the universe's future and the undoubted refinements to come, but quality control needs a firmer, more moderate hand.
Exciting at times, vast scale, and mostly incomplete
rmmil12 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Starfield is the first RPG game I've played to completion in years, so the fact that it engaged me that much says something for it. This review is detailed, so thank you to any who actually take the time to read it all. To fully explain my rating this review contains some spoilers.
The Good:
-Although not easy to get used to from other space flight simulators, once I got the hang of space flight and combat it was very fun. I wish way more of the game took place in space (see below).
-Ground combat is also fun. There are a lot of weapons, weapon modding is cool, and the guns do what you expect them too. I enjoy combat in this game much more than all previous Bethesda games, easily the biggest win over Skyrim and others (although I miss the unique joy of VATS from Fallout 3).
-An impressive amount of voice dialogue and the acting is great.
-The Skill system is a carryover from previous Bethesda games although it's larger. More specialization available but kind of grindy.
-Once you get the hang of it ship customization is fun and being able to walk around and explore your own ships is just a great thing to do in this game.
-Parts of this game look amazing. Almost photorealistic. The best looking Bethesda game from a purely realism standpoint.
-New Game + (NG+) is handled by the main quest in an original way, and makes narrative sense in the storyline. The first Bethesda game to have a legitimated "explanation" for NG+.
-The music is great. Not varied, but it's pretty great in certain parts of the story. You'll feel like a bada** when you level up.
The not-so-great
-Ship building is fun but the game in vanilla form imposes lots of restrictions on what you can do early on. You won't make that ship you love until you are well into the game. There are also learn pains in building. Expect to spend a lot of time here, not all of it fun.
-Character facial animations are uncanny valley. Just not right.
-They got rid of gore. Boo! When you finish a hideout infiltration it feels like you just left a big slumber party because everyone is so sleepy. D'aww. This game didn't need to go to Fallout or Oblivion extremes but it's so so tame for a "Mature" rated game. It's "barely" MA. Space drugs are why it's MA. Lame.
The Bad
-The worst thing about Starfield by a country mile are the repeating points of interest. There are over 1000 planets you can lend on, but there are only 4-6 major city locations spread over all the systems, some minor city-ish locations, and then there's a set of 30-50 handcrafted points of interest used for enemy hideouts. That."30-50" figure is me being optimistic by the way.
Any time you land on one of those 1000 planets, you'll have the option on most to walk 300-1000 M (meters?) to one of those 30-50 locations . Where you'll encounter a repeating set of enemies, loot, and location lore.
"Wait...aren't planets big? If they are going for realism, wouldn't only having 30-50 points of interest (poi) for each entire planet mean that there's the potential for a lot of repetition?"
Yes.
About 1/3 of your way into the main story your game will really open up and allow you to explore. When this happens you can go on a lot of bounty hunter style quests, and that's where you'll begin to realize the repetitive nature of those places.
I can't oversell how repetitive it gets. You find the same enemies and lore bits in every single hideout of the same layout. Luckily there are other things to do besides loot hunting, but the game needs to fundamentally change how it handles hideouts.
-The story is very uneven at times. There are bits of incredibly engaging story, and a lot of meh or so-so. Too few dialogue options, and the final outcome to each quest only has limited variety, and only in 2 of the faction quest lines. True choice is somewhat an illusion in this game.
-The main quest involves "Multiverse" stuff and that's so Marvel 2019, I'm sort of over that sci-fi troupe. Here we are again. The storytelling feels lazy compared to Skyrim or Fallout, especially the main quest line.
-Way too many faction quests involve "take item or note to another person". There is nothing that happens along the way. You just go there. And since you can fast travel basically everywhere you can usually, after a load screen, just immediately arrive at your destination/delivery location, giving you the impression no time passed at all and you completed the quest in seconds,
-Some quests, too many, can be completed literally in seconds, especially once you know where you are going.
-No city maps. It's almost like Bethesda knew the story was too short so they introduced. / excluded game mechanics just to make the game take longer to complete. For example, getting lost is very possible, especially early on going. Cities are not easy to navigate, dungeons and mines far worse. I hated how a Series X gen game could launch so unfinished to not include an overhead map option or true world map, the ground world map is laughably bad. You use it for fast travel icons only, nothing else.
-Speaking of fast travel, it's way too much of what you do in this game, Almost no travel is seamless. Typical travel in this game, this is 100% real: In New Atlantis, a city walking around, I decide to "travel" to an outpost on the other side of the galaxy. Load game menu, star map, fast travel to my ship, load menu, star map, fast travel to the outpost, load menu, I'm there. There "was" travel to my ship, travel into orbit, warping to other system, system travel to planet orbit, land at outpost, get out of ship, but all of that just became 2 menu loads and 2 loading screens.
-Complete lack of ship travel planet to planet.
-Many other systems that feel very incomplete. Unique ship habitats that have no purpose. Ability to assign companions to outposts who do absolutely nothing. Many instances of fast travel, but you fast travel to just outside the location you wanted to go to, rather than just in it, forcing you to endure yet another load screen. For example, traveling to your main outpost early in the game is 2 load screens for absolutely no reason.
-Load screens! The game loads very fast on Xbox X and about the same on a good PC but there are so many load screens between areas and common places you travel to. But which location has a load screen and which does not is weirdly arbitrary. It really feels like a game engine on its last legs. The worst was a big space battle that included 4 load screens in the middle of it,
Is this game worth buying? Sure. But it feels like 60% of a game.
The Good:
-Although not easy to get used to from other space flight simulators, once I got the hang of space flight and combat it was very fun. I wish way more of the game took place in space (see below).
-Ground combat is also fun. There are a lot of weapons, weapon modding is cool, and the guns do what you expect them too. I enjoy combat in this game much more than all previous Bethesda games, easily the biggest win over Skyrim and others (although I miss the unique joy of VATS from Fallout 3).
-An impressive amount of voice dialogue and the acting is great.
-The Skill system is a carryover from previous Bethesda games although it's larger. More specialization available but kind of grindy.
-Once you get the hang of it ship customization is fun and being able to walk around and explore your own ships is just a great thing to do in this game.
-Parts of this game look amazing. Almost photorealistic. The best looking Bethesda game from a purely realism standpoint.
-New Game + (NG+) is handled by the main quest in an original way, and makes narrative sense in the storyline. The first Bethesda game to have a legitimated "explanation" for NG+.
-The music is great. Not varied, but it's pretty great in certain parts of the story. You'll feel like a bada** when you level up.
The not-so-great
-Ship building is fun but the game in vanilla form imposes lots of restrictions on what you can do early on. You won't make that ship you love until you are well into the game. There are also learn pains in building. Expect to spend a lot of time here, not all of it fun.
-Character facial animations are uncanny valley. Just not right.
-They got rid of gore. Boo! When you finish a hideout infiltration it feels like you just left a big slumber party because everyone is so sleepy. D'aww. This game didn't need to go to Fallout or Oblivion extremes but it's so so tame for a "Mature" rated game. It's "barely" MA. Space drugs are why it's MA. Lame.
The Bad
-The worst thing about Starfield by a country mile are the repeating points of interest. There are over 1000 planets you can lend on, but there are only 4-6 major city locations spread over all the systems, some minor city-ish locations, and then there's a set of 30-50 handcrafted points of interest used for enemy hideouts. That."30-50" figure is me being optimistic by the way.
Any time you land on one of those 1000 planets, you'll have the option on most to walk 300-1000 M (meters?) to one of those 30-50 locations . Where you'll encounter a repeating set of enemies, loot, and location lore.
"Wait...aren't planets big? If they are going for realism, wouldn't only having 30-50 points of interest (poi) for each entire planet mean that there's the potential for a lot of repetition?"
Yes.
About 1/3 of your way into the main story your game will really open up and allow you to explore. When this happens you can go on a lot of bounty hunter style quests, and that's where you'll begin to realize the repetitive nature of those places.
I can't oversell how repetitive it gets. You find the same enemies and lore bits in every single hideout of the same layout. Luckily there are other things to do besides loot hunting, but the game needs to fundamentally change how it handles hideouts.
-The story is very uneven at times. There are bits of incredibly engaging story, and a lot of meh or so-so. Too few dialogue options, and the final outcome to each quest only has limited variety, and only in 2 of the faction quest lines. True choice is somewhat an illusion in this game.
-The main quest involves "Multiverse" stuff and that's so Marvel 2019, I'm sort of over that sci-fi troupe. Here we are again. The storytelling feels lazy compared to Skyrim or Fallout, especially the main quest line.
-Way too many faction quests involve "take item or note to another person". There is nothing that happens along the way. You just go there. And since you can fast travel basically everywhere you can usually, after a load screen, just immediately arrive at your destination/delivery location, giving you the impression no time passed at all and you completed the quest in seconds,
-Some quests, too many, can be completed literally in seconds, especially once you know where you are going.
-No city maps. It's almost like Bethesda knew the story was too short so they introduced. / excluded game mechanics just to make the game take longer to complete. For example, getting lost is very possible, especially early on going. Cities are not easy to navigate, dungeons and mines far worse. I hated how a Series X gen game could launch so unfinished to not include an overhead map option or true world map, the ground world map is laughably bad. You use it for fast travel icons only, nothing else.
-Speaking of fast travel, it's way too much of what you do in this game, Almost no travel is seamless. Typical travel in this game, this is 100% real: In New Atlantis, a city walking around, I decide to "travel" to an outpost on the other side of the galaxy. Load game menu, star map, fast travel to my ship, load menu, star map, fast travel to the outpost, load menu, I'm there. There "was" travel to my ship, travel into orbit, warping to other system, system travel to planet orbit, land at outpost, get out of ship, but all of that just became 2 menu loads and 2 loading screens.
-Complete lack of ship travel planet to planet.
-Many other systems that feel very incomplete. Unique ship habitats that have no purpose. Ability to assign companions to outposts who do absolutely nothing. Many instances of fast travel, but you fast travel to just outside the location you wanted to go to, rather than just in it, forcing you to endure yet another load screen. For example, traveling to your main outpost early in the game is 2 load screens for absolutely no reason.
-Load screens! The game loads very fast on Xbox X and about the same on a good PC but there are so many load screens between areas and common places you travel to. But which location has a load screen and which does not is weirdly arbitrary. It really feels like a game engine on its last legs. The worst was a big space battle that included 4 load screens in the middle of it,
Is this game worth buying? Sure. But it feels like 60% of a game.
Best game I played in years!
JaapRuurd13 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Admittedly it takes a while before it really gets going -but that's by design. The game paces out amazingly.
In short, Starfield is game like no other. The (new) idea they added for New Game+ is amazing and really something else. It's incredibly immersive.
Sure, there still are some bugs and glitches, but nothing game breaking and Bethesda is already doing updates. This is a game they'll be supporting for years and years to come (like they do with Skyrim).
In short, Starfield is like the movie 'Interstellar' had a baby with the books and the TV show of 'The Expanse' and together they created the best baby the universe(s) has ever seen.
Highly recommend this game :)
In short, Starfield is game like no other. The (new) idea they added for New Game+ is amazing and really something else. It's incredibly immersive.
Sure, there still are some bugs and glitches, but nothing game breaking and Bethesda is already doing updates. This is a game they'll be supporting for years and years to come (like they do with Skyrim).
In short, Starfield is like the movie 'Interstellar' had a baby with the books and the TV show of 'The Expanse' and together they created the best baby the universe(s) has ever seen.
Highly recommend this game :)
Brilliant
gstrongheart-2215815 September 2023
I love this game as an older player it is a nice paced game no rushing all over the place you can take your time looking around. A game that alot to do and with a great story. Love the side missions and the over all feel of this game. I love exploring the whole of the planets. Best game this year with out a doubt!
The visuals are amazing the movement is smooth and easy to control.
It does remind me of Mass effect which I've played and throughly enjoyed.
That's why I know this game is gonna be a hit and I'm already addicted to completing this game as it is wonderful. Well done to all at Bethesda for a great game.
The visuals are amazing the movement is smooth and easy to control.
It does remind me of Mass effect which I've played and throughly enjoyed.
That's why I know this game is gonna be a hit and I'm already addicted to completing this game as it is wonderful. Well done to all at Bethesda for a great game.
The boundless space...
M4XB0X13 November 2023
Never before has a video game been able to give that sense of depth that space as a starfield can give. I'll say it right away for the most demanding, this is not a game that is worth its high expectations but it is so vast, complex and original that it is still worth a high rating and a purchase. Unfortunately, a fluctuating frame rate and 30fps resolution have weakened Starfield to the point of making some define it as a big disappointment, but that's not the case. Bethesda certainly promised something unattainable which was not achieved but the production remains solid, original and well studied, with an exaggerated amount of things to do and secondary missions to discover. Not excellent but certainly excellent, worth trying!
2 Step forwards, 3 step backwards
SuperCurry306 December 2023
(Based on Patch 1.8.86)
Pros
Cons
Conclusion The game that sparked doubts about the future of Xbox.
- Art design suitable for the concept of space exploration.
- Exceptional soundtrack quality.
- Large volume of game.
- Fresh new type of new game plus mode.
- Large selections of weapons.
- Significantly improved game engine.
- A procedural generation system that operates more naturally than other games.
Cons
- Boring main quests
- Not a good AI
- An uncertain game concept that is neither a space opera with a rich story nor an adventure where exploration is the main goal.
- Awkward character animation.
- Still bad optimization and frequent stuttering.
Conclusion The game that sparked doubts about the future of Xbox.
Best game I have played in a while
liamcisg8 September 2023
This game is amazing so much to do, so much depth, I have played for 20 hours and it feels like i've played for four. I cannot reccomend it enough. There are so many quests, the planets don't have to much to do on them but they are very interesting nonetheless, if you don't have an active quest the planets are fun to explore. The traits make the game so much more interesting. The characters feel alive and real. The combat feels great with many different ways to take on a group of enemies. And I love the space combat, it feels slow and powerful like theses ships are old naval vessels, struggling to turn fast but packing a punch when their weapons are fired. It feels different and unique when compared to the fast paced starfighter combat of something like star wars battlefront.
So much promise, So many flaws
stevenrshort16 January 2024
Lots of NASA lore, but not fully implemented. Great Zero Gravity battles. Great concept, Great characters, moderate quests.
Flaws, limited repetitive dialogue, still buggy, they say there are over a 100 uninhabited planets, but trust me they are all inhabited. When you land there are always 4 bases within one mile of you.
You should be dead from the get go, because the spacesuit has no gloves, and just how can you breath in toxic gases in a hermetically sealed space suit.
As you advance, the vendors still have the same credits.
It hard to sell a 200k+ spaceship when the vendors only have 72k. Of sell a 12k plus gun to a vendor with only 11k (Trade Authority)
Other than that it is fun to play (played for 3 months Lvl 113)
Flaws, limited repetitive dialogue, still buggy, they say there are over a 100 uninhabited planets, but trust me they are all inhabited. When you land there are always 4 bases within one mile of you.
You should be dead from the get go, because the spacesuit has no gloves, and just how can you breath in toxic gases in a hermetically sealed space suit.
As you advance, the vendors still have the same credits.
It hard to sell a 200k+ spaceship when the vendors only have 72k. Of sell a 12k plus gun to a vendor with only 11k (Trade Authority)
Other than that it is fun to play (played for 3 months Lvl 113)
Bethesda at its best!
Broontoon22 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Bethesda have cracked it again! Absolute better of an opening where I got to pretend to be a miner for 10 minutes before touching a magic leaf spring and seeing a vision of an elaborate screen saver before being thrown into some fantastic mediocre gunplay against space pirates of all things! (where do they get their ideas??)
Follow this up with a rip-roaring adventure across the vastness of space and dozens of aesthetically different but functionally similar systems, all of which are accessible through a truly seminal fast travel system (don't want to get over excited and find something interesting like you would in No Man's Sky or Elite Dangerous as this might distract you from the base building or terribly interesting plot) and you've got yourself a Bethesda game!
Make sure you have plenty of memory available so you don't have to sacrifice too much of your gameplay when it eventually Bethesdas and drops a game breaking glitch for no reason. Having played around 40 or so hours I can safely say this is the worse Bethesda game I have played in terms of jank and I was a there day 1 for Skyrim. The only saving grace is I've played this on Gamepass so in real terms it's cost me nothing which somehow still seems to high a price.
Make sure you have plenty of memory available so you don't have to sacrifice too much of your gameplay when it eventually Bethesdas and drops a game breaking glitch for no reason. Having played around 40 or so hours I can safely say this is the worse Bethesda game I have played in terms of jank and I was a there day 1 for Skyrim. The only saving grace is I've played this on Gamepass so in real terms it's cost me nothing which somehow still seems to high a price.
In Todd we trust
josh-243-78504810 September 2023
Jist what I wanted from Bethesda. Back on form. A few small criticisms but nothing they can't fix in a patch. Map fixes, inventory fixes, etc.
I'm 10 hours in in one sitting and can't wait to jump back in tomorrow! I haven't played more than an hour or two of a game at a time for years. Last time I sank such a solid amount of time in one playtime was Skyrim. With this I'm excited to get up at the crack of dawn on the weekend before the wife wakes up to sink some time in. This is a slow burn. Take your time. Don't rush it. That's not what Bethesda games are. They are meant to be worlds you get lost in for years!!
I'm 10 hours in in one sitting and can't wait to jump back in tomorrow! I haven't played more than an hour or two of a game at a time for years. Last time I sank such a solid amount of time in one playtime was Skyrim. With this I'm excited to get up at the crack of dawn on the weekend before the wife wakes up to sink some time in. This is a slow burn. Take your time. Don't rush it. That's not what Bethesda games are. They are meant to be worlds you get lost in for years!!
The good, the bad and the ugly.
Marduke_0364 October 2023
Starfield, the "final frontier" where no developer dared to finish, in other terms, Starfield is a rush job project that needs one year to bake in the oven in which ends up being an average game. I don't know how to tell you if you're going to like it or not, some people likes it and others don't, if you like it, cool. In my case i will tell you my point where ever since i was a kid i followed all sorts of media containing SciFi stuff, and im sometimes biased on it, but i will tell you what is good about the game first in which im around 100 hours.
Graphics and sound are great, not the best but like other space games you will receive your share of eye candy exploring the cosmos. The game at least gives you a lot of stuff to do even so half of the quests can be somewhat repetitive or just average but one thing for sure some side quests are way better than most of the main quest of the campaign. And combat mechanics meaning as in you, you will find it familiar like in other first \ third person shooter from bethesda.
Now to the somewhat bad part, yes... the game is riddled with bugs, as each player have seen its share and most of them have different scenarios in what bugs they have witnessed, more or less.
The Combat AI for the NPC's specially in ground combat are bad and way to easy, along the game you have to set the difficulty up to very hard to even recieve some challenge but at least space is more challenging until you get the hang of it in which space battles are ok, not much to say in that part... but returning to the ground combat aspect, as in my play-through , when i had the means to travel, i was traveling systems and combating NPC's 30 or more levels higher than me and i always managed to get the upper-hand in which the only good part of me being level 15 and the NPC level 50 or beyond was good to farm them for better items and i manage to get better weapons in which made easier to kill hostiles through out the main quest, and up to a point where being a low level i managed to go to the planet where the last mission is at, fun but the best way to get out of it was that, to ramdom stuff and finish the game whenever you wanted.
Now, lets talks about the Scifi elements of the game, yes, there is, cant complain, but is mostly generic, yes there is space exploration to the limits of the game, space battles, and Dragonborn slash Spaceborn powers, yeah, its a reskin of the temples where you get super powers in skyrim. But overall, another game falls in to the generic, uninspired scifi writing that is plaguing many games in which the slap some artifacts and wala, you got a "grand" secrets of the universe. The powers are useless in which I only gathered three of them since they don't really help you and later on I finished the game, and acquiring them just falls flat, you get to this temple, activate the rings by touching to energy particles, repeat until you acquire them and you're spawned back outside, and done.
And now to the ugly, the story but at least the story is average in which the scifi elements do suffer like i described before, but what brings it down is the dialogues, they are bad, they are awful and this is Bethesda once again setting one dude according to the credits to write the entire game but there are moments where it doesn't fit to the current situation, sometimes you are just a child, stupid , flirting/romance is all over the place, and there is this part when you meet for the first time one of the main antagonist, the hunter, and escape to the lodge, you literally become a little kid, when you arrive to the base, your dialogue sounds like you're running to your parents crying because some other kid in the neighborhood hit you.
Bethesda standards are in the ground in this one, to think and it looks like many of the old staff don't work with them any more, in which puts the next elder scrolls at risk to receive mediocre content specially in the story department, we saw quality drop in fallout 4 even so is still famous on things you can do outside of the main content of the game in which they tried to exploit the sand box part and do a bad job with fallout 76 in which they tried to do the cash grab at first with the "sandbox" experience in an empty map until they had to actually gather everyone and finish the game and once more they do that in starfield.
Graphics and sound are great, not the best but like other space games you will receive your share of eye candy exploring the cosmos. The game at least gives you a lot of stuff to do even so half of the quests can be somewhat repetitive or just average but one thing for sure some side quests are way better than most of the main quest of the campaign. And combat mechanics meaning as in you, you will find it familiar like in other first \ third person shooter from bethesda.
Now to the somewhat bad part, yes... the game is riddled with bugs, as each player have seen its share and most of them have different scenarios in what bugs they have witnessed, more or less.
The Combat AI for the NPC's specially in ground combat are bad and way to easy, along the game you have to set the difficulty up to very hard to even recieve some challenge but at least space is more challenging until you get the hang of it in which space battles are ok, not much to say in that part... but returning to the ground combat aspect, as in my play-through , when i had the means to travel, i was traveling systems and combating NPC's 30 or more levels higher than me and i always managed to get the upper-hand in which the only good part of me being level 15 and the NPC level 50 or beyond was good to farm them for better items and i manage to get better weapons in which made easier to kill hostiles through out the main quest, and up to a point where being a low level i managed to go to the planet where the last mission is at, fun but the best way to get out of it was that, to ramdom stuff and finish the game whenever you wanted.
Now, lets talks about the Scifi elements of the game, yes, there is, cant complain, but is mostly generic, yes there is space exploration to the limits of the game, space battles, and Dragonborn slash Spaceborn powers, yeah, its a reskin of the temples where you get super powers in skyrim. But overall, another game falls in to the generic, uninspired scifi writing that is plaguing many games in which the slap some artifacts and wala, you got a "grand" secrets of the universe. The powers are useless in which I only gathered three of them since they don't really help you and later on I finished the game, and acquiring them just falls flat, you get to this temple, activate the rings by touching to energy particles, repeat until you acquire them and you're spawned back outside, and done.
And now to the ugly, the story but at least the story is average in which the scifi elements do suffer like i described before, but what brings it down is the dialogues, they are bad, they are awful and this is Bethesda once again setting one dude according to the credits to write the entire game but there are moments where it doesn't fit to the current situation, sometimes you are just a child, stupid , flirting/romance is all over the place, and there is this part when you meet for the first time one of the main antagonist, the hunter, and escape to the lodge, you literally become a little kid, when you arrive to the base, your dialogue sounds like you're running to your parents crying because some other kid in the neighborhood hit you.
Bethesda standards are in the ground in this one, to think and it looks like many of the old staff don't work with them any more, in which puts the next elder scrolls at risk to receive mediocre content specially in the story department, we saw quality drop in fallout 4 even so is still famous on things you can do outside of the main content of the game in which they tried to exploit the sand box part and do a bad job with fallout 76 in which they tried to do the cash grab at first with the "sandbox" experience in an empty map until they had to actually gather everyone and finish the game and once more they do that in starfield.
Skyrim in Space.
HowlingSnail8 December 2023
Starfield is everything I was hoping for. I've got about 100 hours in it right now, and I'm sure I'll get many more in. The game is essentially Skyrim in space, which is exactly what I wanted. Some people seem to be disappointed by that fact, and I honestly don't know why. They seem to have gone in expecting something else, without any indication why.
Bugs wise, I've only had one major one, and even then it wasn't really "major". Certainly compared to Elder Scrolls games, it's bug-free.
If you like Skyrim, you'll probably like this. But if you go into it expecting GTA 6, as some people seem to have done, you'll be disappointed.
Bugs wise, I've only had one major one, and even then it wasn't really "major". Certainly compared to Elder Scrolls games, it's bug-free.
If you like Skyrim, you'll probably like this. But if you go into it expecting GTA 6, as some people seem to have done, you'll be disappointed.
Take aways: boring and load screen
absolutelozer1 November 2023
Starfield is a typical Bethesda game which is fine for 10+ years ago. I wanted to like it... I still want to like it but I can't. I can't entirely place my finger on all the issues. I can tell you several of them. The world is large and empty... really empty. Like I know you were "trying for boring" so we could experience what space is like. Well... let me say it is a video game! It isn't real life. It isn't supposed to be. May be try for quality over quantity in the next game.
The game starts slow. I would love to say it gets better but for the most part it doesn't. When you finally get to the part that starts explaining everything, the game is pretty much over. Not to forget to mention (at least for me) that the game got super buggy. Like crash on load screens (and there are way to many of those) and frame rate issues. Oh my ship didn't render properly for half the game so every cut scene showed me floating through space or hovering down to the planet. Once again many many many many many load screens. (I under exaggerate.) Like I play the game while doing other thing there are so many load screens.
When it does come down to the action, it is ok as a first person shooter aside from the AI ammo passing through solid objects and I really like the dogfighting but good luck trying to dogfight on the regular. As a RPG I didn't feel it. I just kept getting the feeling that I'm not improving my character as much as I am being less punished if I can just get the next level and then the next level comes and you are still bored.
Like seriously who played the game to be a space pirate. That was sure on my list of things to do and then came the bounties. Steal a ship worth 14k (3k after registration... why yes I'm sorry let me register my my pirate ship) and then 45k in bounties for stealing it. Aww I see Bethesda make sure you drain all the fun out of it.
Then there is their morality standards... not sure what they are since I accrued fines for nothing multiple times through the game. Bounty system broken. Sneak system... is there a real one? Morality harping from story line character. (Hint Bethesda this is a role playing game. I play with different morality laws based on my role and you pulled me right out of role playing with your game.)
Don't get me wrong I put hours into the game with hopes that I would like it more but every time I started to think it was getting better the game just stopped me and was like 'NO'.
If you are a hardcore Bethesda fan then play the game. You might like it. If you didn't care for their previous work, run cause this is one of their worst so far considering how far technology and gaming have come. I played the game on game pass. I bought it for a month. I am glad I didn't buy the game. Don't. It is worth 1 month of game pass. Play it. Push through it if you can and drop it and forget about it like so many other are doing.
Oh Bethesda how far you have fallen or is it your Microsoft overlords? We may never know now.
The game starts slow. I would love to say it gets better but for the most part it doesn't. When you finally get to the part that starts explaining everything, the game is pretty much over. Not to forget to mention (at least for me) that the game got super buggy. Like crash on load screens (and there are way to many of those) and frame rate issues. Oh my ship didn't render properly for half the game so every cut scene showed me floating through space or hovering down to the planet. Once again many many many many many load screens. (I under exaggerate.) Like I play the game while doing other thing there are so many load screens.
When it does come down to the action, it is ok as a first person shooter aside from the AI ammo passing through solid objects and I really like the dogfighting but good luck trying to dogfight on the regular. As a RPG I didn't feel it. I just kept getting the feeling that I'm not improving my character as much as I am being less punished if I can just get the next level and then the next level comes and you are still bored.
Like seriously who played the game to be a space pirate. That was sure on my list of things to do and then came the bounties. Steal a ship worth 14k (3k after registration... why yes I'm sorry let me register my my pirate ship) and then 45k in bounties for stealing it. Aww I see Bethesda make sure you drain all the fun out of it.
Then there is their morality standards... not sure what they are since I accrued fines for nothing multiple times through the game. Bounty system broken. Sneak system... is there a real one? Morality harping from story line character. (Hint Bethesda this is a role playing game. I play with different morality laws based on my role and you pulled me right out of role playing with your game.)
Don't get me wrong I put hours into the game with hopes that I would like it more but every time I started to think it was getting better the game just stopped me and was like 'NO'.
If you are a hardcore Bethesda fan then play the game. You might like it. If you didn't care for their previous work, run cause this is one of their worst so far considering how far technology and gaming have come. I played the game on game pass. I bought it for a month. I am glad I didn't buy the game. Don't. It is worth 1 month of game pass. Play it. Push through it if you can and drop it and forget about it like so many other are doing.
Oh Bethesda how far you have fallen or is it your Microsoft overlords? We may never know now.
Urgh. More familiar jank and loading screens galore
benjmiles14 October 2023
I'll start by pointing an accusatory finger at the reviewers giving gigantic reviews with 10/10. You are clearly shills so your "review" was clearly paid for. You are the filth oof the world. Go find a real job.
My experience of this game has been VERY negative. The level of jank is something we have come to expect from Bugthesda. But given Todd have his usual hollow brag about how much they had refined the game then how many more years did they need to fix the rest of the jank that remained. On to my next comment ...
Travel ...
Loading ...
Yeah, loading screens. That's basically all this game is most of the time. It is a incredibly UNrefined experience. You literally fast travel almost everywhere, especially in space. This has been such a disconnect for the experience. You can literally do most of your travel from the Map menu and don't even need to board your ship, take off, or fly from system to system. Just find your destination, hit Travel and arrove. Wow Todd, WOW!! SMH.
Loading screen ...
I'm sure many people have heard about the absolutely infuriating NPCs. Not only do they fall out of your ship sometimes but they also disappear through walls, floors and vanish completely. But, the most infuriating thing they do, is interior you DURING COMBAT to discuss their feelings or something that happened in their past. OMG Sarah just STFU and shoot!
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Space combat is infantile. If you have played Elite Dangerous and play this you'll probably throw up in your mouth. It's pathetic, it really is.
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Travel on a planet is so damn boring! Everything is so far away and so generic or boring when you get there. Probably my favourite thing to do when I land on a planet is wait for the obligatory ship that lands nearby and go and steal t. It literally happens every time.
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I got the Mantis early on and several Eclipse and Crimson fleet ships. But it combat just feels so childish and inelegant that I'd rather not bother. There's no tactical finesse to it at all. Plus shields never seem to recharge. It's just dumb.
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One of the first things I did was remove the carrying limit, something I do with all Bethesda games. So I can now carry 1 million tonnes of items. Haha.
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Mods. I have installed so many already. You need to. It's basically essential to get the game to work well. Space UI, Inventory, texture packs, etc. This just feels like the hassle I had to go through with Skyrim and the Fallout games to make them look and work better. Bethesda should just give up. They suck at games. They just don't realise it.
Loading screen ... OMG loading screens!!!!!
My experience of this game has been VERY negative. The level of jank is something we have come to expect from Bugthesda. But given Todd have his usual hollow brag about how much they had refined the game then how many more years did they need to fix the rest of the jank that remained. On to my next comment ...
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Yeah, loading screens. That's basically all this game is most of the time. It is a incredibly UNrefined experience. You literally fast travel almost everywhere, especially in space. This has been such a disconnect for the experience. You can literally do most of your travel from the Map menu and don't even need to board your ship, take off, or fly from system to system. Just find your destination, hit Travel and arrove. Wow Todd, WOW!! SMH.
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I'm sure many people have heard about the absolutely infuriating NPCs. Not only do they fall out of your ship sometimes but they also disappear through walls, floors and vanish completely. But, the most infuriating thing they do, is interior you DURING COMBAT to discuss their feelings or something that happened in their past. OMG Sarah just STFU and shoot!
Loading screen ...
Space combat is infantile. If you have played Elite Dangerous and play this you'll probably throw up in your mouth. It's pathetic, it really is.
Loading screen ...
Travel on a planet is so damn boring! Everything is so far away and so generic or boring when you get there. Probably my favourite thing to do when I land on a planet is wait for the obligatory ship that lands nearby and go and steal t. It literally happens every time.
Loading screen ...
I got the Mantis early on and several Eclipse and Crimson fleet ships. But it combat just feels so childish and inelegant that I'd rather not bother. There's no tactical finesse to it at all. Plus shields never seem to recharge. It's just dumb.
Loading screen ...
One of the first things I did was remove the carrying limit, something I do with all Bethesda games. So I can now carry 1 million tonnes of items. Haha.
Loading screen ...
Mods. I have installed so many already. You need to. It's basically essential to get the game to work well. Space UI, Inventory, texture packs, etc. This just feels like the hassle I had to go through with Skyrim and the Fallout games to make them look and work better. Bethesda should just give up. They suck at games. They just don't realise it.
Loading screen ... OMG loading screens!!!!!
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