Starfield Impressions
Factions
Enjoyed the faction questlines for the most part.
I'd say Crimson Fleet and UC Vanguard are as good, if not better, then my favourites in Elder Scrolls (Dark Brotherhood/Thieves Guild).
Freestar Collective
United Colonies Vanguard
The United Colonies Vanguard questline was like a whole different type of game and story...You could have based a whole different game around that, the tone especially was very different. Loved the lore dump at the start and how it was fed to the players and I would argue it's essential for any first time playthrough, then we are taken to some cool locations (which I want to explore further). I loved the Terramorph enemy, they were intimidating and otherworldly, I actually wish they played a part in the main story too, originally I was thinking they may have been sent by another alien species to kill humanity.
We could have a prequel story set around the Terramorph attack on Londinion, I'd love to eventually rid Londinion of Terramorphs entirely and add a whole new city into Starfield 2 with Londinion. The twists were cool and I liked the decisions associated with them. Man I want to fight Terramorphs at the peak of an invasion from them, I think it would be terrifying, the first encounter with a Terramorph via the mission had such good atmosphere.
Crimson Fleet
I took the infiltration route and thought it was a cool questline which gave me vibes of The Expanse's Free Navy led by Marco Inaros, Lol. It took us to some cool locations such as the prison, I enjoyed being a double agent but it felt terrible at the end as I was strolling through and John Wicking them all, Lmao. Getting to know them and then blasting them so coldly, I like that the game made you feel guilty about that.
Wish I could have saved more of them aside from the bomb dude, I also wish we could have imprisoned some of them instead and opened up future storylines. One escaped which I assume will pop up in the future.
I think it would have actually been better and worked if they played a part in the main story too, the Crimson Fleet should be more powerful and catch on about the artefacts, then it can be Constellation, Crimson Fleet and Starborn's fighting over them but I guess that wouldn't work in the context of giving the player the option to join the Crimson Fleet.
Ryujin Industries
They all gave decent rewards Tbh, Freestar gave an amazing award and was the best, United Colonies in 2nd, then Ryujin and then Crimson Raiders (although CR does give you a little ship midway through). I would have liked if these faction questlines also gave extra companions, I believe in UC Vanguard it gives the option of one (which I took) but I don't believe you get any from Freestar, Ryujin or Crimson which sucks. Would have been a nice bonus and more personal touch.
As far as overall quality, I'd rank them United Colonies > Crimson Fleet > Freestar Collection > Ryujin.
Quests
There were quite a few well written quests which were memorable to me, honestly there were a ton of quests and I still haven't done them all after 200 hours (a few because they are glitched, Lol). Ones I liked though.
The Mantis - Great side quest with a homage to a popular comic book character. Listen to the audio logs and enjoy the amazing early game reward, a lot of fun to do which throws you into action. I did "cheat" the puzzle though, Lol.
Operation Starseed - Won't talk about spoilers too much but it an awesome quest and unique, I'd be VERY interest to see if the decisions in this quest have any consequences in the future and honestly the implications of this quest open a lot of "fun" possibilities in the future in terms of what characters can pop up, Lol.
Juno's Gambit - Highly recommend that if you're doing Ryujin Industries that you do Juno's after finishing Ryujin as it offers another solution. It's a non-combat quest which is heavy in philosophical questions, it makes you ponder a potentially very important subject matter which could have good or dire consequences later on. It was well written and had me thinking if I made the right decision after.
In Memoriam (Sarah's Companion Quest) - Liked this one a lot, takes us to a cool location to do some investigating, an interesting outcome and the chance to add another person to your Constellation home. Really enjoyed the emotional aspect to the story and made me appreciate Sarah more despite her constant complaining to me, Lol.
Overdesigned - Funny quest where you're basically a manager, Lol. Felt like a commentary on game development. An amazing reward depending on what type of ship you tell them to design, the ship may be ugly but the cargo space and jump range were amazing and it's free. Later on others in space will use it and comment on either liking it or hating it.
Also it's worth doing Groundpounder at the start as it's fun and simple which throws you straight into the action for a nice reward and a nice moment of factions working together. Space Frog From Outer Space was a wholesome quest which has funny results across the Settled Systems, Lol. Tourists Go Home is another funny quest with a fun reward, also worth taking the trip to New Homestead either way. First Contact seemed interesting but I couldn't finish it due to a glitch, I can no longer track the ship.
It's not a quest but The Colander Ship was an awesome nod to another IP, Lol.
I felt like I could roleplay as my character a decent amount but it could be better, take the Wanted trait for example, I would have liked to find out who put a hit on me and then find them and kill them, maybe add something to my backstory as to why I have a hit on me. Adoring Fan was low-key hilarious and actually useful. The Family Trait was awesome and it was cool to accidentally bump into them in certain locations, they gave awesome gifts too, I wish they expanded on it further though, for example me being able to pay off their debts, move them into a different house, etc.
Could even combine the Wanted Trait and Parent Trait and have some dude kidnap my parents, Lol.
Side characters could be better, I did really enjoy Sarah's companion story and I enjoyed helping Barret in his (I still didn't actually do Sam's or Andreja's) but the core issue for me is they're too similar and share mostly the same morals, I feel like Andreja should have been more of a grey area character and Barret should have been more reckless and willing to break a lot of rules, I'm fine with being disagreed with, it would be boring if I only were agreed with but all the companions seem to have the same level of morals.
I still liked to hear them inject their opinions in things, something Bethesda titles usually lack, it made them feel more alive but even my good aligned character was moaned at quite a bit and sometimes even I was like "why?! can you explain what I did wrong?!" Lol. Could do with a companion which is a straight up dick, Lol. Which is where unlocking companions from Ryujin/Crimson could come in handy.
World to me felt alive, I liked how much everyone had to say (lots of dialogue), it felt like an interesting world with mystery and lore I want to explore further, I want to know more about Londinion (I'd take a prequel), I'd even like a prequel story on the Colony Wars, I want to learn more about House Va'ruun and their homeworld, I want to continue the main story and find out who and where these artefacts came from.
When I say to myself "Crimson Raiders and Terramorphs should have played a larger part in the main story" I think to myself, am I just asking for The Expanse? Lmao. I do feel it would be better if they kept Terramorphs origin a mystery and involved them in the main story further and also to add a faction such as the Crimson Raiders to the main story as they'd be different enough to the Starborn.
Last edited by Ryuu96 - on 29 December 2023
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