Thousands of planets, hundreds of thousands of lines of dialogue, ship and outpost construction, space battles, jetpacks, documenting flora and fauna, resource mining, and a central narrative aiming to answer a simple yet profound question: 'What's out there?' It's safe to say that there's a lot to discover in our Starfield review. We've currently invested over 20 hours into the game on the Xbox Series S. So, how does this year's most anticipated RPG fare?
Well, so far, Starfield hasn't been exactly the galaxy-conquering, boundary-pushing experience I had hoped for, but it has certainly impressed me in several key areas.
A Rocky Start to the Adventure
However, I begin this review with a warning - Starfield takes a while to get going and is initially difficult to appreciate. Your first three or four hours will likely be disappointing compared to the game's pre-launch discussions and hype.
It's surprising that Starfield starts off so poorly and that the game is initially so complicated. But things get easier, and as everything starts to open up, Starfield feels much more like the game it should be.
The Magic of Planetary Exploration
The main attraction that Bethesda presented to players before launch was the prospect of traversing over a thousand Starfield planets. This was the hyper-ambitious core of the game, setting players loose in a vast galaxy with a mix of handcrafted and procedurally generated content.
Once your boots are on the ground, Starfield truly shines. I've been impressed by the number of handcrafted locations and how many of them are very unique and memorable. The cities, and even some smaller towns and settlements, are a joy to explore.
Combat System: More Than Just an Afterthought
The sophisticated and enjoyable combat of Starfield has also impressed me so far. Combat is often an afterthought in Bethesda RPGs, but not here. The variety of weapons and how good each of them feels has been a pleasant surprise.
First Impressions and Final Thoughts
Overall, I'm really enjoying Starfield so far, but it's far from perfect - promises of breathtaking, boundary-pushing space exploration haven't been fully realized, the user experience is surprisingly clunky, and there have been some performance issues. Nevertheless, I'm completely enthralled by Bethesda's world-building, the grounded combat of Starfield, and the amazing amount of handcrafted content in this game.
Here's hoping that the hunt for artifacts is as impressive as the side quests and faction missions I've experienced so far.
