(Spoiler Free)
So, I finally finished Starfield and want to give my personal experience with this game.
The best game comparison to Starfield is The Outer Worlds, another IP I enjoyed a lot of. If you are expecting a No Man Sky type of game with Starfield, you will be disappointed. Starfield is not a No Man Sky and that's not a bad thing. Let's get into it.
GAMPLAY
It's nothing revolutionary, it plays like a Bethesda game, its similar to The Outer Worlds which is a good thing since The Outer Worlds plays quite well. Starfield does have a lot of load screens but after the 1 initial big load, everything takes seconds, which in my playthrough, did not affect my enjoyment with the game. Afterall, I played through The Outer Worlds and all its DLCs which had horribly long load times on last gen systems.
The best part of Starfield for me which is what Bethesda nailed was the ship customization and base building. The freedom to create your own personal spaceship at its fidelity is top of its class. The Ship building in itself is worth it in itself. The base building also is fantastic, though not something I did a lot of since I lived on my ship, however you could build some crazy castle like bases with turrets, towers, resource gathering and multi style buildings. Starfield nails the building scene very well.
My biggest issue with Starfield is the amount of times you need to pause the game to change abilities, check Inventory, Scanning Planets and Fast Traveling, something you will do a lot of, and it can break up the gameplay flow. Also wanted to add the random NPCs can look outdated in major cities when getting up close. Also, I am never a fan of over-encumber systems.
VISUALS/SOUND
This game looks incredible, the scenery of planets and space look amazing. This game looks like a next gen game, and it shows. I completed my playthrough on Series X at 30fps however I revisited it again with the 60fps mode and Bethesda has done an amazing job to achieve 60fps without losing that next gen look. If you haven't played Starfield yet, I recommend going Performance mode (60fps) as the sacrifices are barely noticeable in the visual department. I really enjoyed seeing the variety of environments, different creatures, different planet surfaces and that lonely space feeling where some planets emptiness adds to the immersion. If you are looking for that next gen space game, Starfield won't disappoint you, but if you are expecting a free flying No Man Sky game, you will be disappointed.
One little neat feature i noticed was your in-game screen shots become part of your loading screens. So, take some good ones.
STORY
After finishing the game and did a round of the end game, the story was a little predicable but serviceable, I cannot really get into it too much without spoiling it. The game takes a little long to open up, so once you put some hours into it, get your ship, learn how to fly it, the game comes to life. It was interesting to learn more on what is going on once you start breaking into the 1/3 mark. With the new DLC Shattered Space coming, it will be interesting in seeing where Bethesda go with this IP. It has a great foundation to evolve even further upon release.
OVERALL
I had great fun with Starfield, it takes a little while to get into the game loop, but once you break into it, the game opens up and it becomes a unforgettable experience. It's not a game where I feel like playing from the start again, but the game offers so much content and some of the best experiences with the game is from its side quests, from exploring alien infested planets, to infiltrating the Pirates bases to space battles to dealing with science experiments that have gone wrong. This game was good, and one of Bethesda's most polish as I rarely noticed any glitches, outside of some rare moments of NPCs clipping though walls and floors. Play it for yourself. Its free on GamePass, its worth checking it out.
DLC
Shattered Space DLC is coming which will add land vehicles etc. This will add another dimension to the games land exploring and many more features to come.
Those who have played it or those planning on playing it in the future, I will be happy to discuss more with you, its negatives, positives, concerns and more.
Last edited by Azzanation - on 29 May 2024
