Even if you’re not a big fan of Bethesda RPG titles, the ambition of Starfield is still impressive. Over 1000 planets to explore and a unique take on new game plus gameplay keep it fresh, but going out into the game’s enormous environment might not be all it is chalked up to be. That’s according to Bethesda fans reflecting on the game’s features as we approach 2 months since it was released.
We still think it is bewildering just thinking of all the Starfield planets, and even more so when you factor each one of the major Starfield cities you find along the way. It might be one of the best RPG games in 2023 for Xbox players, but for Redditor ‘ragingseaturtle’, Starfield‘s exploration is lacking something special for them.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed most of the game. But as I’ve gotten further into it, the more and more I feel like I’m missing what was my favorite part of Bethesda games, the wandering between point A to point B and getting lost in random buildings, settlements or side missions I find along the way,” explains the Redditor.
Taking issue with “rigid” feeling Starfield companions and the lack of ground vehicles, the Redditor boils gameplay down to a bunch of menu-based decisions: “I fast travel to my ship, hit a button to launch, hit another button to Grav Jump, land, and walk 500 meters to a small base that’s only the thing around.” Even with some of the best Starfield ships available, other players share the same frustrations.
“It is pretty ironic that the exploration game is by far the least rewarding of exploration,” comments ‘saikyan’. Starfield gives the player a fair amount of versatility in terms of beating all of its quests, whether that is by affording the player the chance to earn all the Starfield skills or by planting some of the best Starfield weapons in the loot pool on their current planet.
Am I wrong feeling like wandering is completely missing from this game?
byu/ragingseaturtle inStarfield
It all factors into making an incredible Starfield build, but players like ‘aka_mythos’ believe that the space RPG doesn’t incorporate these elements in a meaningful way like the Fallout or Elder Scrolls series. “Fallout and Elder Scrolls are such deep, rich worlds with such details you want to explore behind every rock. [With] Starfield, they made looking behind every rock half the game and didn’t do enough to cultivate what makes that aspect of those other games so compelling.”
Starfield’s journey is only just getting started, despite how huge the game is right now. We already know that the game’s first DLC, Shattered Space, is on the way. With fan outcries for features like land vehicles, it is possible that the update will solve many of these frustrations that players are facing. However, if you’re giving Starfield a break in the meantime, we’ve put together a list of all the new Xbox games you can look forward to until Shattered Space arrives.
Still looking for more? While a good Starfield wiki can be a handy source of information, our new Starfield Database goes further, offering you daily news, searchable databanks, and even interactive tools like a New Atlantis map for exploration.