As the final part to the Xbox showcase this year they had Bethesda give us a deep dive into Starfield and, more importantly, gameplay of various systems that have not been explained yet. For an overall summarisation the game seems like a mix of Mass Effect, No Man’s Sky and Fallout which is an… interesting mix, but regardless they showed off quite a few intriguing things.
We got shown some of the locations, including the main hub of New Atlantis and loads of Space Stations that you can visit, the game apparently will have over “1000 Planets to explore” though I have my doubts as to if all those planets will be worth exploring. We got shown ship building which seems pretty cool in a Kerbal Space Program-type way. We were shown that we can build outposts and hire crew, including having full blown companions which you can even romance! The Mass Effect comparisons are getting stronger…
We were shown character creation which seems extensive, including being able to choose a background that can come up in quests, combat which seems very similar to Fallout 4 but with a bit more movement, especially in low gravity areas, weapon customisation is again similar to Fallout 4 and seems rather extensive and finally we were even given a hint as to the story we will be following which seems to involve looking for Aliens, spooky.
Overall then it was more of a demonstration of the systems itself rather than revealing anything new and groundbreaking, but for the moment this is the info we have. The game isn’t exactly grabbing me with hype, perhaps because of just how similar it seems to other games like No Man’s Sky, but I am at least happy with how the game looks and I really like the visual style they chose here, I believe they called it ‘Nasa-Punk’, and I can certainly see myself playing it for a while. However it remains to be seen how much impact it will have in comparison to the already established IP titles that Bethesda are known for. Regardless we will see what the future holds, at least it’s on the Game Pass.
That’s all for now, and as always. It’s not just a game, It’s a Life.