Starfield: Fun immersive space game or time suck from Hell?

[NorthDallas40]

Noticed no thread on this game. Starfield was my free pick with my new series X console. I really want to like this game but it just seems to take the most mundane tasks and turn them into massive time sucks. It’s a prototypical Bethesda game it would seem. I almost didn’t choose it because I know Bethesda game design methodology… take the mundane and exponentially add time to it. I am almost done with my first pass thru the story and I’m still undecided on whether I like it or not. I play it a BUNCH and I want to like it. But it frustrates the heck out of me.

What say ye all?

 

[DarkVolder]

I like it alright it’s not great not nearly to the level of Skyrim. I’ve already encountered the usual Bethsada bugs in the game.

 

[CubsFanTN]

I'm glad it was on Game Pass because I'd be kicking myself if I'd paid $60 for it.

 

[NorthDallas40]

I don’t think it fits the console gamer profile very well. If I want an escapist immersive massive environment I log into a PC game. If I want to quickly get going and mow thru wave after wave of aliens/terrorists/zombies I log into my Xbox

 

[CubsFanTN]

I don’t think it fits the console gamer profile very well. If I want an escapist immersive massive environment I log into a PC game. If I want to quickly get going and mow thru wave after wave of aliens/terrorists/zombies I log into my Xbox

I played on PC, but I agree with your point. It's vast and there's a lot of emptiness. It's a hard game to set down for any length of time and then get excited about it when you pick it up again. I really hated how spongey the enemies were, too.

 

[Pennheel]

It really felt like the latter to me after a certain point. I enjoyed some of the side missions because they were lengthy and fun. It's just that it didn't feel like there was much more after that. If there was more like the Crimson fleet side mission where you work undercover, that would have been great.

I just felt like it was lacking after a certain point,and become boring and a whole bunch of nothing.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

I don’t think it fits the console gamer profile very well. If I want an escapist immersive massive environment I log into a PC game. If I want to quickly get going and mow thru wave after wave of aliens/terrorists/zombies I log into my Xbox

Not sure what platform you play on has anything to do with what type of games you like. Weird take.

 

[BisonVol]

It’s okay. Nothing worth putting more than 10-15 hours on imo. Certainly not worth the $60 price tag.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

I tried it out on XSX. Honestly, the game feels like a relic of a bygone era. Even more so on Xbox where it only runs at 30fps. The character models, the dialogue, the constant loading, the clunky inventory management, etc. It just feels antiquated in so many ways. I know a lot of Bethesda fans will defend it and say "well that's just Bethesda and it's part of their charm." To that I say BS. Studios can't level up and get better? Portkey Games was making mobile games before they made Hogwarts Legacy. Look how far Rockstar Games has come over the years from making top down games to now. GTA 6 looks incredible! Naughty Dog went from making a terrible 3DO Fighter called Way of the Warrior to Crash Bandicoot to Uncharted and The Last of Us. I feel like Bethesda's game development has been stagnant since Elder Scrolls: Oblivion.

 

[NorthDallas40]

Not sure what platform you play on has anything to do with what type of games you like. Weird take.

That’s just my take. I’ve always felt console games were tuned more to shooters with the control style. K&M have a vastly larger set of possibilities for interface control. And frankly they’re better at shooter targeting too. I’d cringe at trying to play a game like any of Sid Meier’s Civ series on console. And even with easier K&M targeting I still prefer any HALO, COD, or gears on console.

 

[NorthDallas40]

I tried it out on XSX. Honestly, the game feels like a relic of a bygone era. Even more so on Xbox where it only runs at 30fps. The character models, the dialogue, the constant loading, the clunky inventory management, etc. It just feels antiquated in so many ways. I know a lot of Bethesda fans will defend it and say "well that's just Bethesda and it's part of their charm." To that I say BS. Studios can't level up and get better? Portkey Games was making mobile games before they made Hogwarts Legacy. Look how far Rockstar Games has come over the years from making top down games to now. GTA 6 looks incredible! Naughty Dog went from making a terrible 3DO Fighter called Way of the Warrior to Crash Bandicoot to Uncharted and The Last of Us. I feel like Bethesda's game development has been stagnant since Elder Scrolls: Oblivion.

Yeah I don’t understand Bethesda’s staunch supporters either, not on console anyway. And I agree on their methodology description also. I didn’t buy Starfield when it came out because of my Fallout 4 experience with them I didn’t last more than 6 or 7 hours and said this is horrible. But Skyrim got a well deserved hugely favorable reception.

In doing some of the vast googling I had to do just to complete missions I came across what was clearly beta testers or outright employees screeching back at the vast amount of haters in online forums. Or that was how it read to me. Googling more and I found a couple of more articles saying that was exactly what was happening, enplyeees or insiders/beta players attacking posters making negative comments. That was both hilarious and a major red flag to me

 

[Pennheel]

I think another thing with Bestheda is their games have pretty much looked the same and played the same for 15 years. I liked Skyrims game play, but when I played Starfield and it looked pretty much the same as Fallout 3 that came out over 15 years ago. Although with Fallout 3,it felt like there's more to do.

It hasn't felt like they've adapted to the times,and their game play is the same

 

[NEO]

Morrowind was amazing. 10/10.

Oblivion was boring and repetitive. 6/10

Skyrim was 9/10 but not as good as Morrowind. Underground area was not nearly flushed out well enough or had enough true quest.

Bethesda seem to not be moving forward but very stagnant.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

Morrowind was amazing. 10/10.

Oblivion was boring and repetitive. 6/10

Skyrim was 9/10 but not as good as Morrowind. Underground area was not nearly flushed out well enough or had enough true quest.

Bethesda seem to not be moving forward but very stagnant.

Look at CD Projekt Red and the difference between The Witcher 2 and 3. The jump was absolutely massive. Then look at the jump from that to Cyberpunk 2077. Theres a clear and apparent progression in quality from each of those games. I'm not sure why we're not seeing that from Bethesda.

 

[LouderVol]

I think the biggest issue I had with it was that the side quests didn't seem to have any impact on the main storyline, or even the rest of the game. seems like the various "bad guys" you deal with should have had a bigger impact on the galaxy, until you dealt with them by completing a questline. everything was so disconnected. I didn't mind the emptiness as much as your decisions and questlines didn't seem to have any impact.

so small QOL improvements would have gone far. Invent the freaking cell phone that works in space.
Upgrade the graphics of the star map, actually put it in the galaxy, so its not literally a void.
as with most Bethesda games the cities/human population is not nearly big enough to support the amount of development we see.
way way way too many repeating assets with the dungeons and enemies. I hated that if you cleared one abandoned facility on one planet that all the others in the galaxy were EXACTLY the same. down to loot locations and enemy types.

 

[tbh]

All in all, I've generally enjoyed playing it...that said, I think for the amount of time it spent in development it is by and large disappointing. It will take some patching and updating, and there's serious potential when the Creation Kit is released (maybe?).

Biggest bummer: the number of broken quests (I realize they're chipping away at those, but dang...it was in development for 8+ years.)

 

[DinkinFlicka]

It's a vast puddle. Bethesda's engine is dated and tired at this point.

On its own it's a good game. Fir a 70 dollar AAA title that was marketed and hyped as the next big think, it's a bit of a flop.

Why would you short change flying around on planets for the sake of loading screen after loading screen?

How, after making titles like Fallout 3 and 4, does your combat AI end up being so atrocious?

Why advertise a vast galaxy with several detailed planets when every single planet feels empty, boring, and barren?

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

It's a vast puddle. Bethesda's engine is dated and tired at this point.

On its own it's a good game. Fir a 70 dollar AAA title that was marketed and hyped as the next big think, it's a bit of a flop.

Why would you short change flying around on planets for the sake of loading screen after loading screen?

How, after making titles like Fallout 3 and 4, does your combat AI end up being so atrocious?

Why advertise a vast galaxy with several detailed planets when every single planet feels empty, boring, and barren?

Sums up my feelings as well. I just could not get in to it. It felt extremely dated

 

[DinkinFlicka]

Morrowind was amazing. 10/10.

Oblivion was boring and repetitive. 6/10

Skyrim was 9/10 but not as good as Morrowind. Underground area was not nearly flushed out well enough or had enough true quest.

Bethesda seem to not be moving forward but very stagnant.

You're crazy... Oblivion (and it's modding community) was the best in the series since Daggerfall.

 

[dalton_vol]

Almost bought it, glad i didnt

 

[LouderVol]

It's a vast puddle. Bethesda's engine is dated and tired at this point.

On its own it's a good game. Fir a 70 dollar AAA title that was marketed and hyped as the next big think, it's a bit of a flop.

Why would you short change flying around on planets for the sake of loading screen after loading screen?

How, after making titles like Fallout 3 and 4, does your combat AI end up being so atrocious?

Why advertise a vast galaxy with several detailed planets when every single planet feels empty, boring, and barren?

I don't think I would have minded the outdated engine as much if there was better storytelling/quest mechanics. even after playing about 100 hours my main complaints aren't the loading screens, fetch quests, or the fact of dungeon crawling. my complaints are the fetch quests are too clunky in having to go first talk to the person then go pick it up, then go back to said person. I don't mind a fetch quest, just need to skip the middle process. I don't mind the dungeon behind a loading screen if the dungeon is engaging and offers some unique variety. I don't mind the Bethesda mechanics for combat or exploration, they just need to make it feel consequential.

*spoiler* I think part of it is they leaned into the idea of the "replayability" of the same character aspect in various alternate universes too much. there is NOTHING that makes that compelling in this game. very easily could have been, but the storytelling and world building isn't there.

The people who thrive on Bethesda titles like me are just the type who want to replay the game 100 times, but it needs to be worth doing. and I think that sat on their laurels too much here. the engine isn't the problem, its the writing and world building. I am about to fire up Mass Effect for the upteenth time and make the EXACT SAME choices I always do. I don't mind the sameness because its well done. Starfield was not well done.

 

[DinkinFlicka]

I don't think I would have minded the outdated engine as much if there was better storytelling/quest mechanics. even after playing about 100 hours my main complaints aren't the loading screens, fetch quests, or the fact of dungeon crawling. my complaints are the fetch quests are too clunky in having to go first talk to the person then go pick it up, then go back to said person. I don't mind a fetch quest, just need to skip the middle process. I don't mind the dungeon behind a loading screen if the dungeon is engaging and offers some unique variety. I don't mind the Bethesda mechanics for combat or exploration, they just need to make it feel consequential.

*spoiler* I think part of it is they leaned into the idea of the "replayability" of the same character aspect in various alternate universes too much. there is NOTHING that makes that compelling in this game. very easily could have been, but the storytelling and world building isn't there.

The people who thrive on Bethesda titles like me are just the type who want to replay the game 100 times, but it needs to be worth doing. and I think that sat on their laurels too much here. the engine isn't the problem, its the writing and world building. I am about to fire up Mass Effect for the upteenth time and make the EXACT SAME choices I always do. I don't mind the sameness because its well done. Starfield was not well done.

You're preaching to the choir. I've probably played the ME trilogy start to finish more than any other game.

I think there's still multi-player support for tge wave survival stuff in 3. Let me know if you wanna boot that up sometime!

 

[LouderVol]

You're preaching to the choir. I've probably played the ME trilogy start to finish more than any other game.

I think there's still multi-player support for tge wave survival stuff in 3. Let me know if you wanna boot that up sometime!

not to derail this thread, but ME is another series that met an unfortunate demise because of the world building/quests/storyline being relative garbage. I really don't understand how they could go from a 3 series game where I cared about every single character in the game and an amazing storyline, to 10 years later creating a "bigger" game where I didn't care about any one single character.

whoever new-Wrex was probably the only one worth mentioning, but even that is probably the nostalgia of relatability.

 

[NEO]

You're crazy... Oblivion (and it's modding community) was the best in the series since Daggerfall.

If I had to go into one more portal I was gonna lose it. You are also comparing pc mod version compared to Xbox console version. I am strictly taking what Bethesda did.

 

[DinkinFlicka]

If I had to go into one more portal I was gonna lose it. You are also comparing pc mod version compared to Xbox console version. I am strictly taking what Bethesda did.

I mean, that was the main quest, which is almost always the weakest element in any Bethesda game.

The DLC was really great. The engine was great for the time. The guild content was really good, and the dungeons/exploration were great.