After spending 100 hours in Starfield, I haven't 'finished' it by any stretch (mostly due to the nature of the game, without going into spoilers), but I've experienced such a significant amount of the total package that it has to offer (main quest, faction quests, various side quests, etc.) that I'm ready to share my full opinions on it.
To me, Starfield is Bethesda's best game yet, but only just. It certainly didn't start that way, though. My personal rating of this game has jumped around from a 7/10 all the way up to a 9.5 and back down again as I spent more and more time on it. Despite the usual hyperbole in discussions of this game here and there, I found that reviewers and players are not kidding when they say that the more you put into Starfield, the more you get out of it.
I fully acknowledge that calling Starfield Bethesda's best game is a take that will make many here defensive from the outset, and granted, many point to Morrowind as objectively being their best game, but I personally found it too archaic to really get into (though I completely acknowledge its strengths as a true role-playing game). I say 'only just' their best because Starfield has some of the highest highs and, by contrast, some of the lower lows of Bethesda's RPG repertoire.
As they themselves forewarned everyone leading up to its release, exploration is handled very differently in Starfield compared to their past works. Instead of one vast, focused world to explore every nook and cranny of, like in previous titles, Starfield's exploration is instead spread out over a thousand worlds and moons, with occasional key locations of handcrafted content.
To be clear, it's totally understandable why they approached exploration this way; after all, what's a space RPG if you can't visit different planets? However, in the process of this, Starfield loses a bit of that magic of discovery that makes their games so special to me and countless others. That classic Bethesda magic of just aimlessly exploring in a random direction and happening upon a location that kickstarts a multi-hour odyssey of quests and encounters is still very much there, but it feels quite stunted by the barrage of loading screens you're confronted with as you travel from place to place.
In fairness, exploration was never totally seamless in previous Bethesda adventures, and they do give you plenty of shortcuts just in case you want to skip to where you'd like to go without some of the occasional hassle of traversal, but I'd be lying if I said I felt the same affinity for Starfield's worlds, hand-crafted or otherwise, as I did with Fallout 4's Boston or Skyrim's Skyrim.
So, with all that said, why is this their best game, in my opinion? Because despite those clear setbacks, Starfield houses some of Bethesda's best quest design, writing (outside of the main story), gameplay loops, and general quality-of-life improvements to date.
It's definitely the Bethesda game that feels the best to play out of all of them, with the gunplay on par with or just passing Cyberpunk and approaching Borderlands 3 in terms of competency and how fun it is moment-to-moment. It's a bold claim, for sure, and it won't seem that way at the beginning, but when you invest in the right skills and weapons, combat becomes immensely satisfying and feels much less of a chore than it sometimes could be in Fallout 4.
Movement and character animation in this game are also incredibly underappreciated, compounded by the fact that you can FINALLY mantle up and climb waist-high ledges and platforms, something that I found to be a particular hindrance in past games, and immediately makes combat encounters feel way more dynamic and exciting than they've ever been previously.
Starfield assuredly has the best main quest that Bethesda has ever put together, but that isn't saying too much since previously the main quests in their games have sort of been whistle-stop tours taking you through the world and the game's mechanics rather than compelling or challenging narratives in and of themselves. Here, you're given a solid narrative with some compelling questions and plot threads throughout and, most importantly, fantastic quest design, with a particular handful of quests in the latter half that are some of Starfield's standout highlights.
It should come as no surprise to Bethesda RPG veterans that the side quests, and especially the four major faction questlines you encounter, are the biggest and best part of Starfield. I claim without hyperbole that the United Colonies faction in particular provides the strongest questline Bethesda has ever done, with a storyline so good that it honestly should have been the main quest instead.
In terms of story and character writing in general, while I overall really liked the main quest's narrative and the core cast of companions in your intrepid little explorer group, Constellation, it doesn't quite reach Fallout 4 for me personally. By that, I mean that there's no one character like Nick Valentine or Piper that I can confidently say is the heart and soul of Starfield. Rather, Constellation is a collection of likable characters and personalities that never really felt distinct.
That is to say, the companions all largely share the same moral compass and goals. While that's fine for me, since I usually play a paragon character who loves exploration in RPGs anyway, if you want to, for example, roleplay as an anti-hero space pirate with the occasional penchant for petty crime, you're not going to have the blessing of anyone at Constellation in your pursuits, and they're going to distance themselves from you real quick.
But I digress; Starfield's main cast of characters are all solid enough thanks to the platonic and romantic relationships you can build with them over the course of the game and the truly stellar voice acting across the board that you've come to expect from Bethesda.
From what you've read here, Starfield may not sound like the great game that it truly is at this point, and that's fair, but for me, it was a constant and engaging reminder as to why I love Bethesda RPGs in the first place. Yes, they may be popcorn RPGs designed to appeal to the masses rather than the deep and intricate odysseys for hardcore fans like Baldur's Gate 3 is, but in terms of sheer scale, personality, and most of all, the adventure that I play these games for, Starfield and Bethesda are truly unmatched in this industry.
To put it plainly, Starfield lived up to the hype in many ways and not as much in others. It is a wonderful mess, and at the same time, it's one of those rare instances where I can appreciate and even agree with the takes that give it a 4/10 or a 10/10 respectively. While I myself am giving it the same rating I gave the previous Bethesda games I've reviewed, as I've stated ad nauseam now, it's still very much their best work. With the time and care that Bethesda always pays towards their games post-release with updates, DLC, and modding support, I'm very confident that Starfield can blossom into an even greater game than it already is.
For all, into the Starfield.
8/10
To me, Starfield is Bethesda's best game yet, but only just. It certainly didn't start that way, though. My personal rating of this game has jumped around from a 7/10 all the way up to a 9.5 and back down again as I spent more and more time on it. Despite the usual hyperbole in discussions of this game here and there, I found that reviewers and players are not kidding when they say that the more you put into Starfield, the more you get out of it.
I fully acknowledge that calling Starfield Bethesda's best game is a take that will make many here defensive from the outset, and granted, many point to Morrowind as objectively being their best game, but I personally found it too archaic to really get into (though I completely acknowledge its strengths as a true role-playing game). I say 'only just' their best because Starfield has some of the highest highs and, by contrast, some of the lower lows of Bethesda's RPG repertoire.
As they themselves forewarned everyone leading up to its release, exploration is handled very differently in Starfield compared to their past works. Instead of one vast, focused world to explore every nook and cranny of, like in previous titles, Starfield's exploration is instead spread out over a thousand worlds and moons, with occasional key locations of handcrafted content.
To be clear, it's totally understandable why they approached exploration this way; after all, what's a space RPG if you can't visit different planets? However, in the process of this, Starfield loses a bit of that magic of discovery that makes their games so special to me and countless others. That classic Bethesda magic of just aimlessly exploring in a random direction and happening upon a location that kickstarts a multi-hour odyssey of quests and encounters is still very much there, but it feels quite stunted by the barrage of loading screens you're confronted with as you travel from place to place.
In fairness, exploration was never totally seamless in previous Bethesda adventures, and they do give you plenty of shortcuts just in case you want to skip to where you'd like to go without some of the occasional hassle of traversal, but I'd be lying if I said I felt the same affinity for Starfield's worlds, hand-crafted or otherwise, as I did with Fallout 4's Boston or Skyrim's Skyrim.
So, with all that said, why is this their best game, in my opinion? Because despite those clear setbacks, Starfield houses some of Bethesda's best quest design, writing (outside of the main story), gameplay loops, and general quality-of-life improvements to date.
It's definitely the Bethesda game that feels the best to play out of all of them, with the gunplay on par with or just passing Cyberpunk and approaching Borderlands 3 in terms of competency and how fun it is moment-to-moment. It's a bold claim, for sure, and it won't seem that way at the beginning, but when you invest in the right skills and weapons, combat becomes immensely satisfying and feels much less of a chore than it sometimes could be in Fallout 4.
Movement and character animation in this game are also incredibly underappreciated, compounded by the fact that you can FINALLY mantle up and climb waist-high ledges and platforms, something that I found to be a particular hindrance in past games, and immediately makes combat encounters feel way more dynamic and exciting than they've ever been previously.
Starfield assuredly has the best main quest that Bethesda has ever put together, but that isn't saying too much since previously the main quests in their games have sort of been whistle-stop tours taking you through the world and the game's mechanics rather than compelling or challenging narratives in and of themselves. Here, you're given a solid narrative with some compelling questions and plot threads throughout and, most importantly, fantastic quest design, with a particular handful of quests in the latter half that are some of Starfield's standout highlights.
It should come as no surprise to Bethesda RPG veterans that the side quests, and especially the four major faction questlines you encounter, are the biggest and best part of Starfield. I claim without hyperbole that the United Colonies faction in particular provides the strongest questline Bethesda has ever done, with a storyline so good that it honestly should have been the main quest instead.
In terms of story and character writing in general, while I overall really liked the main quest's narrative and the core cast of companions in your intrepid little explorer group, Constellation, it doesn't quite reach Fallout 4 for me personally. By that, I mean that there's no one character like Nick Valentine or Piper that I can confidently say is the heart and soul of Starfield. Rather, Constellation is a collection of likable characters and personalities that never really felt distinct.
That is to say, the companions all largely share the same moral compass and goals. While that's fine for me, since I usually play a paragon character who loves exploration in RPGs anyway, if you want to, for example, roleplay as an anti-hero space pirate with the occasional penchant for petty crime, you're not going to have the blessing of anyone at Constellation in your pursuits, and they're going to distance themselves from you real quick.
But I digress; Starfield's main cast of characters are all solid enough thanks to the platonic and romantic relationships you can build with them over the course of the game and the truly stellar voice acting across the board that you've come to expect from Bethesda.
From what you've read here, Starfield may not sound like the great game that it truly is at this point, and that's fair, but for me, it was a constant and engaging reminder as to why I love Bethesda RPGs in the first place. Yes, they may be popcorn RPGs designed to appeal to the masses rather than the deep and intricate odysseys for hardcore fans like Baldur's Gate 3 is, but in terms of sheer scale, personality, and most of all, the adventure that I play these games for, Starfield and Bethesda are truly unmatched in this industry.
To put it plainly, Starfield lived up to the hype in many ways and not as much in others. It is a wonderful mess, and at the same time, it's one of those rare instances where I can appreciate and even agree with the takes that give it a 4/10 or a 10/10 respectively. While I myself am giving it the same rating I gave the previous Bethesda games I've reviewed, as I've stated ad nauseam now, it's still very much their best work. With the time and care that Bethesda always pays towards their games post-release with updates, DLC, and modding support, I'm very confident that Starfield can blossom into an even greater game than it already is.
For all, into the Starfield.
8/10