Starfield, what is it like?

I finally finished the main story in Starfield, so lets talk about it.

Starfield, the latest game from Bethesda Game Studios, the people behind The Elder Scrolls and Fallout games, is a huge space epic. You travel between planets, do quests, explore places and try to find out what the deal is with the Artifacts and the mysterious Starborn.

Now, I should point out that I live-streamed Starfield on Twitch, and only four hours at a time, once a week at that, so that is why it took me six months to get through. Not because it is that enormous or that I didn't like it. All in all, I have 200 hours in Starfield doing lots of side quests as well as the main story.

Back before the game released, speculation was rife about what the game would be and a lot of the speculation fed the hype without being based on anything true. Many visualized that it would be “Skyrim in space”, or “Fallout in space” and neither is true. Yes, the engine is Bethesda's engine so it feels familiar, but Starfield is its own thing, and must be viewed as such.

To be honest, Starfield is a somewhat odd game. After the intro, you are set loose on the galaxy and the only limitations you have is how far your starter ship can grav-jump, the games faster than light system. Every system has a level rating, an indicator of how dangerous the system is. It's up to you if you want to take that on now or later. That said, you can easily come across enemies that are much higher level than you in a low system, and you can run into low level enemies in high level areas. This mix means that combat is always exciting while also letting you feel powerful when crushing weaker enemies.

The gameplay is smooth and plays well, like Bethesda's other games. The new kid on the block is dog fighting in space, which is a bit of a mixed bag. The game has no qualms about dumping three higher level pirate ships on you just as you enter a system, and until I got my ship upgraded together with some good piloting skills, I frequently had to lower the difficulty or I was stuck. That could have been handed differently as it was pretty annoying.

The graphics are really nice, at least on a stronger PC, and there were times when I just stood there and took in the sights. Some people have complained that “It's all gray and boring”, to which I say: untrue! There are many such moons yes, but come on, that is what you will find out there. Lots and lots of dusty rocks. However, there are also so many lush planets, filled with interesting plants and creatures. Saying it's all gray is like going to Winterhold in Skyrim and complaining that the whole game is nothing but snow.

Besides the intersting main quest, which I won't spoil, there is a myriad on minor factions you can work for and they were mostly top notch quests. Interesting storylines with good choices, fun loot to get and lots of trouble to get into. I will say that I don't care much for most of the clothes you can find, they were a bit lackluster in both design and function, but the important part are the space suits, which are many and varied.

Speaking of side missions, Starfield has an almost endless capacity for exploration. Sure, the caves are all similar as are the structures you'll find, but at least that makes some sense. Everything has to be prefabricated and dropped down on the surface, so it makes sense that most structures are the same as others. I did run into a base with a mystery story, and to my surprise I later found the exact same base and story on another planet. This shouldn't happen, but whether it was a bug or an oversight, it's not a deal breaker.

The skill system is a mixed bag for me. Some are clear and easy enough to upgrade, while others are a bit of a pain. I should point out that Starfield has a New Game + system, and if you choose to do a new playthrough with an old character, you retain all your skills, but not gear, ships and money.

You can also build your own bases, which is tricky. Hauling around all the needed raw materiel is not easy and the building system in general could be better. It's not bad, but there is room for improvement. Likewise, you can build ships. For some reason, you can't build a ship totally from scratch, you have to have one to begin with, but soon enough you can go nuts slapping bits on pieces and having a blast.

All in all, Starfield is a rough gem of a game. It has flaws, without a doubt, but I think a lot of people were turned off because of unrealistic hype and unfair comparisons to other games. I had a blast playing Starfield, and if you want a huge and fun game set in space with everything I mentioned above, you might just have fun too.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!