Starfield is a video game, I'm told, which is supposed to be the successor to the legacy of Bethesda, I'd imagine, and contains the current sum of everything that company has learned, I greatly question. Independently I like Starfield and think it is a fun enough title to romp around in, although I do respect how when compared to the state of Fallout and The Elder Scrolls much of Starfield feels rote and undercooked- as though slapped together by a team inspired by what Bethesda achieved in hope of aping that success- rather than the same actual developers. The world feels underexplored, the actually interesting side quests feel too far apart and the main narrative was a solid idea that wobbled on execution. I really did enjoy that main quest- the first time around- I still enjoy replaying other Bethesda titles for their main story much more than I do with Starfield.
But there's hope- because Bethesda aren't yet willing to let this title go down as a sad mis-step on their road without a fight. Heck, they've got a captive audience that are willing to play this game all the way up until Bethesda release literally anything else at which point they'll drop this like a stone- but the B-team are certain they can come up as enfranchised an audience as their previous two franchises if only they give this title a bit more of a hook. Thus comes the support cycle- wherein Starfield will be host to a dedicated team of developers for the first 10 years of it's life with expansions scattered in there now and again. Perhaps yearly though that's a big commitment I'm not sure they're capable of living up to. The first step in this road has been all of year one's support leading up to Shattered Space- and I'll be honest that there has been progress.
The biggest issue with Starfield has been all the pain-points of the core gameplay experience- tedious exploration that doesn't feel worthwhile, needlessly segmented space travel that fails to sell the illusion of travelling the cosmos and a lack of that iconic Bethesda coat of old-school exploration across a land with purpose and secrets to uncover. These are not solved problems and I wonder whether or not Bethesda has the tools to fix everything like they say. But there have been steps taken. The biggest talked about was the new buggy which improves exploration speed- through I found it's implementation a little inelegant. You simply buy it up at a ship techie and then it plops down wherever you land awkwardly. They couldn't even add a 'vehicle bay' module for transportation? Mass Effect this is not...
The biggest game changer for me, and genuinely my favourite update which literally no one talks about, is the difficulty mode changes. Right now difficulty is handled completely modularly where you turn on what you want to be hard and get a direct modifier to EXP earned for ever module you turn up and a debuf for all you twist down. Already a fantastic evolution upon typical difficulty balancing models that Bethesda have famously struggled with- but with this actually came new features that change the way I play this game. Food, drink and sleep survival modes, (which are super rudimentary but it's something to start with) a really involved ailments systems that hits you with injuries that don't just vanish after 2 minutes and need to be balanced with prolonged explorative bouts- requiring the use of salves and careful gunning so as to not be too disadvantaged in every fight: the tools to make Starfield feel unique and interesting are there- you just have to turn them on yourself.
But Shattered Space is the big on that everyone is going to be talking about- the big first expansion that was actually planned before the main game launched and all the critique was levied which means as much as people want it to be- this won't actually be the course correction they were hoping for. Shattered Space does however, happen to be a return to the more directed exploration of Bethesda's past games- no generated landscapes and apparently no leaving the planet you step foot on- once you reach it. Almost as though even within the studio themselves the team realised that Starfield lacked the special sauce of Bethesda past and they wanted to try and bridge the gap.
Shattered Space follows one of the most egregious flaws in the world building of the first game- the giant void of information regarding all of their enemy factions outside of the Crimson Fleet. I suspect that House Va'Ruun were supposed to be this mystery box we were supposed to be tantalised by such as with the Dwarves of Elder Scrolls- but whereas one established mystery the other just told us that the house were recluses and gave us nothing to work with. I don't care what the recluses are up to- I didn't even realise they were in trouble over on their home planet. I'm just trying to tell the difference between the Freestar Alliance and the... United Colonies to enough of a degree to make them interesting.
Having started it a bit for myself- there is little doubt that House Va'Ruun actually has more of a personality than any other faction in this game- even if that is based on religious zealotry that one would expect to have little space in an advanced space faring society- but that's the kind of dichotomy which breeds interest. Their home planet is a little monochrome objectively, although something different to look at is appreciated in a game like Starfield so I won't knock the overabundance of purple too heavily. I just wish there was a bit more weight put into to joining a faction beyond just having the carpet rolled out the moment you show up. I feel like factions haven't meant anything since Skyrim, and haven't meant anything on a gameplay level since Oblivion- but whatever, I guess.
Right now Shattered Space does feel like more traditional Bethesda and to be honest- I kinda love traditional Bethesda. Taking your time, exploring at your pace, just walking around town and talking to people who slowly bring the world to life is what these franchises should be about and those were the strongest aspects of the base game too. I do like that these societies are full of people with a bit more too them as well, outside of the squeaky clean bore-bags of the Settled Systems. Would've really liked Aliens, but I guess we're still doing baby steps right now. If what I'm feeling now is any indication however- then Starfield isn't as much of a shot in dark as it felt and Bethesda at least know where their strengths still lie. For what that's worth.
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