Uh, a few months ago I was really excited for Baldur's Gate 3, and figured I'd try Starfield out because I have gamepass, but honestly I didn't think I'd like it very much. Now, here I am, finding BG3 middling, but being able to connect with Starfield in a way Bethesda games rarely hit for me. It's certainly no perfect game, in fact it's kind of deeply flawed all over the place. But somehow it manages to have a weird charm to it, like working on an original setting gave a huge boost of life to the team over at Bethesda.
I'm actually not even sure how to talk about the game. I could put it in the context of Bethesda's other games, but there's some snags. Really, all you need to know is that it's a Bethesda game, most similar to Fallout 4, but without pretty much all of the annoyances I had with that game.
I think I'm just gonna start listing things I liked about the game.
First up, when you create a character, you get to choose a background! And a TRAIT THEY BROUGHT TRAITS BACK HELL YEAH! If you don't know, traits are something Fallout 1 and 2 and NV have that you choose at character creation, where you get a bonus depending on which trait you choose, but you also get a corresponding weakness, like if you choose Introvert you get a bonus when you don't have a companion, but a penalty when you do have one. In a similar vein, some features that are usually compulsory in Bethesda games (for example, stealth meters) aren't unlocked by default.
That's something a lot of people are gonna hate, but I'm insane so I like the specialization it implies lol. The game doesn't bring RPG stats back into Bethesda games, but it feels like with these design decisions they're trying to work real character specialization into their perk-based system.
I also just love the new setting. It's a bit firefly in parts, sure, but while it's not a crazy original setting (not to mention just how American of a setting it is), it's just lovingly thought out. Honestly, I wish less effort had gone into the game's scale, and more had gone into crafting these cities and towns and the cultures that inhabit them. Then maybe they would've broken the mold a bit more, or maybe there would have been a less cliched faction. Still, what's here feels like it was done with love.
I also just loved some of the companions here, which isn't something I usually like about Bethesda games? I liked the detective guy in Fallout 4 I guess? Here though, there were solidly 3 or 4 I really liked, and my favorite two made some events in the game hit so much harder than they could've. I think having the companions also be your crew makes it easier to form relationships with them, to get to know them, and it really helps the game.
The plot's not that much of a plot, but I do love that it's one of the few times where, rather than just being a save the world/chosen one-style plot, this really puts exploration first. And I mean, every game from this company should do that. It's the whole draw of their games! There's also some light philosophical questions and interesting lore-history diving threaded throughout, which is great cuz that's my SHIT! Even if the philosophy was pretty shallow. I appreciated the effort lol.
Honestly if this wasn't set on being a game where you can explore an entire galaxy, and was instead like a bit bigger than The Outer Worlds, with all the extra effort going into varied stories and maps instead of just more. But that's AAA game dev for ya I guess.
Anyways, I really wasn't expecting to get so into this game. It's bloated in exactly the way you think it is, and there's tons of systems that aren't there for anything besides customizability. You can go through the game without interacting with the ship builder, or the outpost builder. The core experience though, that's what's really strong I think. The themeing, the design, hell the writing is the best they've had in years. If you want to play an explorer of the cosmos, you could not do much better. Just know that's not the same thing as actually exploring the cosmos.
I'm actually not even sure how to talk about the game. I could put it in the context of Bethesda's other games, but there's some snags. Really, all you need to know is that it's a Bethesda game, most similar to Fallout 4, but without pretty much all of the annoyances I had with that game.
I think I'm just gonna start listing things I liked about the game.
First up, when you create a character, you get to choose a background! And a TRAIT THEY BROUGHT TRAITS BACK HELL YEAH! If you don't know, traits are something Fallout 1 and 2 and NV have that you choose at character creation, where you get a bonus depending on which trait you choose, but you also get a corresponding weakness, like if you choose Introvert you get a bonus when you don't have a companion, but a penalty when you do have one. In a similar vein, some features that are usually compulsory in Bethesda games (for example, stealth meters) aren't unlocked by default.
That's something a lot of people are gonna hate, but I'm insane so I like the specialization it implies lol. The game doesn't bring RPG stats back into Bethesda games, but it feels like with these design decisions they're trying to work real character specialization into their perk-based system.
I also just love the new setting. It's a bit firefly in parts, sure, but while it's not a crazy original setting (not to mention just how American of a setting it is), it's just lovingly thought out. Honestly, I wish less effort had gone into the game's scale, and more had gone into crafting these cities and towns and the cultures that inhabit them. Then maybe they would've broken the mold a bit more, or maybe there would have been a less cliched faction. Still, what's here feels like it was done with love.
I also just loved some of the companions here, which isn't something I usually like about Bethesda games? I liked the detective guy in Fallout 4 I guess? Here though, there were solidly 3 or 4 I really liked, and my favorite two made some events in the game hit so much harder than they could've. I think having the companions also be your crew makes it easier to form relationships with them, to get to know them, and it really helps the game.
The plot's not that much of a plot, but I do love that it's one of the few times where, rather than just being a save the world/chosen one-style plot, this really puts exploration first. And I mean, every game from this company should do that. It's the whole draw of their games! There's also some light philosophical questions and interesting lore-history diving threaded throughout, which is great cuz that's my SHIT! Even if the philosophy was pretty shallow. I appreciated the effort lol.
Honestly if this wasn't set on being a game where you can explore an entire galaxy, and was instead like a bit bigger than The Outer Worlds, with all the extra effort going into varied stories and maps instead of just more. But that's AAA game dev for ya I guess.
Anyways, I really wasn't expecting to get so into this game. It's bloated in exactly the way you think it is, and there's tons of systems that aren't there for anything besides customizability. You can go through the game without interacting with the ship builder, or the outpost builder. The core experience though, that's what's really strong I think. The themeing, the design, hell the writing is the best they've had in years. If you want to play an explorer of the cosmos, you could not do much better. Just know that's not the same thing as actually exploring the cosmos.