It looks like Starfield has lost its luster. Less than two months post-launch, Steam reviews tell a story of disappointment and disillusionment.
As pointed out by u/tarangk on Reddit, the recent reviews of Starfield show only 56% positive feedback in the past 30 days, a notable dip for a title with such high expectations.
To make matters worse, this continues the downward slide that Starfield appears to be going on, at least, in terms of its public perception.
Starfield is still the biggest and most successful game to launch on Xbox. It’s a best-selling game that sets the right tone for Xbox. With Matt Booty working closely with ZeniMax Media from now on, things should only improve.
But, that’s in the future, and we’re talking about the now. Things aren’t looking great for Starfield as fans voice their disenchantment as they progress. A common sentiment is feeling the magic that once captivated many players beginning to fade a few dozen hours into Starfield, replaced by mounting frustrations and the realization of the game’s shortcomings.
One of the primary criticisms revolves around the game’s lack of originality in its points of interest. The game treats the audiences to an unsettling experience of coming across a seemingly new location, only to realize it’s a carbon copy of one they’ve previously explored. This mirroring extends from the layout, debris placement, and even “secret” shortcuts. Such lazy design has been contrasted with the likes of Elden Ring, where even when dungeon layouts felt familiar, they weren’t blatant repetitions, and there was plenty beyond them to engage players.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, another of Bethesda’s revered titles, is another point of comparison. Fans celebrated Skyrim for its handcrafted and unique dungeons, albeit built from asset sets. On the other hand, Starfield’s environments feel lazy. Two POIs, hundreds of light years apart, can host the exact same notes on terminals, shattering any semblance of immersion.
Furthermore, while weapon engagement in Starfield feels gratifying, its combat remains simplistic. Bethesda’s ongoing struggle to create dynamic melee combat persists. The much-touted features such as base and ship building, though a selling point ahead of the game’s launch, also suffer from lack of depth. While ship building initially sounded promising, space is essentially reduced to a loading screen, making these ships little more than distant ornaments.
Loading screens, in fact, emerge as a recurring point of annoyance. With so much gameplay time spent staring at one, it isn’t unusual to experience what some are referring to as “load screen fatigue.” This stands in stark contrast to current-gen titles, like, for example, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, which recently went viral for the relative lack of loading screens.
For a game that touted space exploration as its centerpiece, the spatial aspects of Starfield feels like “an afterthought.” Players are unable to leave their ships for spacewalks, build space stations, or engage in immersive space activities. The dog fights in space are terrible, lacking in variety, with resource gathering reduced to a monotonous shooting of space rocks.
Initially billed as Skyrim but set in space, Starfield’s flaws have only gotten more obvious.
However, while these issues are “fixable”, either by mods or future updates, the criticism that stings the most is the one directed towards Starfield’s narrative and character development. The game’s NPCs feel unnerving with dialogues that make them feel more like lifeless automatons. The writing, which should ideally breathe life into the game, comes off as lackluster. Comparisons with other games like Cyberpunk 2077, now praised for its intricate world-building and detailed storytelling after years of work, further cast a shadow on Starfield’s narrative depth, or lack thereof.
Ultimately, where Starfield feels short of is in being a Bethesda game – it lacks the joy of heading in a direction and the discovery of adventures along the way. The once-charming formula of Bethesda, where players overlooked certain flaws for the sheer magic of exploration, appears to have been forsaken for a more formulaic and less inspired approach. Perhaps it would’ve been beneficial if Starfield opted for a smaller and more intimate setting but one packed full of content.
Only time will tell if Bethesda can address these criticisms and course correct. But as of now, the stars for Starfield seem a little less bright.
