Not just them. PC Gamer's review is far from glowing as well: Starfield review
75/100
Basically, Bethesda can't keep polishing the same old package anymore. I hate to say it, but...
Now do the smart thing and devote all the time you were planning on spending on Starfield now instead on Baldur's Gate III. It will look so purdy on that gaming PC of yours.
The main quest in Skyrim was nothing to write home about either. Exploration in a huge living world has become the main strength over narrative quality IMO.
Yeah, gunplay looks good - I think iD helped on it.
Skyrim isn't really a "living world" and their overall level design is really bad. The funny thing about Skyrim and Fallout 4 is they're the first Bethesda games to have proper level designers and both games are worse off for it. It's arguably an improvement over Fallout 3 but they're still slogs to get through. BGSs trademark bandaid level scaling also hinders exploration as well.
I have hated that since Oblivion. The Witcher III system of just making certain areas of the world more dangerous is vastly superior. I loved how overpowered one could become in Morrowind. I mean, it was awesome being a literal God hero. Being max level and still having to have prolonged combat encounters with bandits and highwaymen who are now equipped with mythic level weapons and armor made late game Oblivion and Skyrim so boring and frustrating.
Bethesda gets rewarded for quantity, not quality. They've been making the same old, creaky game for decades now (in the same engine no less) and in a world post-Witcher 3, Outer Worlds, and now Baldur's Gate 3, it feel like more and more people are catching on to that fact.
Remember, New Vegas is the best thing they've done since Morrowind. And they didn't even make it.
Bethesda gets rewarded for quantity, not quality. They've been making the same old, creaky game for decades now (in the same engine no less) and in a world post-Witcher 3, Outer Worlds, and now Baldur's Gate 3, it feel like more and more people are catching on to that fact.
Remember, New Vegas is the best thing they've done since Morrowind. And they didn't even make it.
And that game is seriously held back by BGS' generic first person gameplay and engine. The isometric Wasteland revivals from InXile are far better Fallout games than anything Bethesda has ever made or published.
I will give them though that before they got bought out by Microsoft, Wonder Woman's hubby assembled a wonderful collection of development studios, including iD, MachineGames, and Arkane. BGS was the runt of the litter though.
To piggyback off of what other's are saying, after The Witcher 3, Dark Souls, and the resurrection of proper cRPGs, Bethesda's failure to innovate or even bother to acknowledge changes in the RPG landscape was always going blow up in their face. Even Zelda does open world better than Bethesda now.
To piggyback off of what other's are saying, after The Witcher 3, Dark Souls, and the resurrection of proper cRPGs, Bethesda's failure to innovate or even bother to acknowledge changes in RPG landscape was always going blow up in their face. Even Zelda does open world better than Bethesda now.
Also, you have had Warhorse Studios do a much more personality-filled take on the classic Bethesda formula with Kingdom Come: Deliverance. The game didn't reinvent or transcend the same old Bethesda mechanics, but it showed how much more satisfying the old formula can be with better quest writing and design.
To piggyback off of what other's are saying, after The Witcher 3, Dark Souls, and the resurrection of proper cRPGs, Bethesda's failure to innovate or even bother to acknowledge changes in the RPG landscape was always going blow up in their face. Even Zelda does open world better than Bethesda now.
My brother and I were talking about this and I mentioned that even Zelda understands the basic concept of open world better these days. Which feels very weird to say, but also feels obviously true imo.
My brother and I were talking about this and I mentioned that even Zelda understands the basic concept of open world better these days. Which feels very weird to say, but feels obviously true at this point imo.
Some 80 or more hours in (likely more) I have finally decided to start to move on in the main quest. I have done 2/4 main temples. And I KEEP FINDING NEW DISTRACTIONS.
Some 80 or more hours in (likely more) I have finally decided to start to move on in the main quest. I have done 2/4 main temples. And I KEEP FINDING NEW DISTRACTIONS.
I played through BOTW for the first time properly this year. Loved it, but also meant I want a bit of space before playing TOTK. But once I do, I fear for my life.
I played through BOTW for the first time properly this year. Loved it, but also meant I want a bit of space before playing TOTK. But once I do, I fear for my life.
My brother and I were talking about this and I mentioned that even Zelda understands the basic concept of open world better these days. Which feels very weird to say, but also feels obviously true imo.
Its very strange that Zelda of all franchises has picked up the torch for immersive sim design philosophy pioneered by Warren Spector in games like system shock and Deus Ex, but here we are. I've put about 200 hours into Tears and that game is a masterpiece of open world systems driven design. Bethesda is really gonna have step it up or continue to be left in the dust.
Somehow Starfield being the most Bethesda thing ever is not a surprise. They made good games in the past but they definitely found their horse and have beaten it to a pulp. Failure to truly innovate beyond graphical improvements is keeping them back. So many studios find something that works then fail to find something better once it no longer works.
Skyrim and Fallout 4 were solid games IMO but they were also already showing their ages even 10 years ago when they were new. Bethesda has been working on Starfield since that time and seem to have gotten trapped in 2005.
Gotta chance to play this on my buddies rig. This game has the worst UI I've seen in a long time. The space combat sucks and the graphics are ****ing rough. There's nothing next gen here.The shooting is the standout. Combat feels good but half the time the AI ****s the bed. It feels like Destiny by way of the Outer Worlds in the worst possible ways.
Finally got a chance to start the game on my own pc. Runs substantially better on my rig than his. Space combat still sucks though and the UI is embarrassing. I'm curious to how this is running on consoles.
Bethesda even lost Sterling. They used to be one of Bethesda's biggest shills to the extent of defending Bethesda against old school Fallout Players (like me) when Fallout 3 and 4 released.
Okay really digging this game. Definitely not a great tutorial, many systems are just not clear. But have explored and roamed a number of rad populated systems and settlements, and am settling into that nice Bethesda game routine. Just learned how to hail and board ships encountered in space, which is a bunch of fun too.
Yeah, the hooks are now in big time. One massive thing that helped was toggling on all the quests, so I could check if I had multiple quests nearby on the scanner. Much better for mission efficiency and playing a bit more organically.
I'm about 20 hrs in, mostly side content. My current observations:
Pros:
Combat here is quite solid, I actually look forward to fire fights. This might be my favorite fps this year that isn't a boomer shooter.
The writing and world building: its still lightyears behind what you'll find in New Vegas or real cRPGs but it's definitely better than anything they've done with their Fallout titles or modern Elder Scrolls. I have yet to run into anything I thought was mind-numbingly stupid or out of place for the setting they've built ala Kid in the Fridge, Little Lamplight/Big Town or The Institute or their version of the Brotherhood of Steel. Worst thing I can say here is some of it's cliche, but I'll take cliche over stupid any day.
Quest: design isn't spectacular but it's an improvement.
The art direction: I'm absolutely in love with this game aesthetically
Cons:
Visual presentation is hit and miss, it looks like pretty Fallout 4. Nothing about it even remotely seems next gen and I'm running this thing on max settings getting 60 fps with ease.
The UI: it has the worst UI I've seen in a game like this in a long time. Can't wait for mods to change it.
Collision detection is ROUGH, I've walked through at least four locked doors and fell through the level geometry multiple times.
Space: combat and travel seem really half-assed. I cannot stress enough to unlock precision strikes as soon as you're able. It makes the combat far more tolerable and you can clearly tell it was a bandaid added to mitigate some of the jank.
No FOV slider in 2023 is just Busch league.
That being said, I can't objectively rate this any higher than a 6 or a 7. Too much of it is half-baked on the technical side of things to rate it any higher than that especially with how long this thing was in development.
Officially rolled credits at 153 hours in. Starfield, to me, was an incredibly immersive experience. I waited until I "finished" the game to give my thoughts here, but after many many hours, I think I'm ready. I've been a huge BGS fan since Morrowind in 2002, so my hype for this game was really through the roof and it met all of my expecations. While I don't think it's flawless, it did more than enough for me to easily call it my GOTY and one of the most addicting and immersive gaming experiences I've had in years. I feel like this game really felt like an update version of Oblivon but on a vastly larger scale. I've noticed some point out that exploration isn't as rewarding here due to procedural content, but I think it's just apporache differently. I've come across numerous random encounters and discoveries traveling to different systems.
yes, there's a lot of repeated procedural content on random planets, and I think that hand crafted will always be more intersting, but it is there. Which brings me to my next point. This game, probably mroe than any BGS game since Oblivion, feels very story and quest driven. The quests bring you to the intersting areas more than anything and I can't praise enough how beautifull written the side quests, factions, and even the main quest is here. To me, this is probably the strongest written side quests ever in a BGS game and it gets me really really excited for what TES VI has in store in that regard. I ended up making sure I completed all the factions and as many side quests as possible before rolling credits, especially with what completing the game entails. I really admire Bethesdas approach to NG+. It'll be divisive to some, but it's bold. I'd love to go into great detail about all of my gameplay choices throughout my adventures but a lot of it is best discovered honestly. I LOVED
infiltrating the crimson fleet from within and posing as a pirate while secretly working for th Uac Sysdef. The end of that questline, and boarding the key to wipe out the crimson fleet was so cinematic.
The main quest was fantastic too. There's a huge moment during the midpoint of the main story where I didn't do something and it caused massive consequences. That whole thing caught me by total surprise and it's something I didn't expect from a main quest in a BGS game. I'm really impressed, even as a huge BGS fan.
I also gotta say I thought the companions were great too. My favorite being andreja, who I ended up marrying. Each has an interesting backstory.
Combat, especially gunplay, is the best it's ever been too in a BGS game. massive improvement over Fallout 4, as are the visuals. Despite what people say, I'm super pleased with the fidelity here.
overall, I'm just really in love with this game. I had been anticipating this game now for around 5 years, and I'm just satisfied that, for me, it delivered. and now the long wait for TES VI begins, which happens to be my most anticipated game ever.
I really like this game but there’s another game that has my attention right now…. Red Dead Redemption 2 lol. After all these years I am getting around to playing and it’s incredible just the storytelling and gameplay is honestly leagues above Starfield despite them being different overall. I plan on hop in and out of Starfield throughout my play through of Red Dead 2 because I’m enjoying Starfield it’s just Red Dead has my hooks in me more plus I preordered the physical of Red Dead 1 PS4 so that’s all so a reason. Starfield is off to a great start story and side quest wise though. I did my first Bounty and loved it.
Well, I bit the bullet and ordered the XBox Series X just so I could play this game. I need to experience it. Glad to hear that some of you really like it; I’ll definitely be posting my thoughts once I start playing it.
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