Starfield, for all intents and purposes, is an excellent game. As it stands, it holds an 88 score on Metacritic. The score is far from enough to compete with the GOTY frontunners such as Baldur’s Gate 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but it’s still on the higher end of the spectrum. But, as already warned ahead of its Early Access launch, trolls and pundits are waiting for their first chance to let everyone know just how “awful” Starfield is – and that day is about to come.
Come September 6, everyone with a copy of Starfield will be able to leave comments and reviews about Starfield both on Steam and the Microsoft Store. By then, all bets are off as far as what we’ll see from hateful users.
To be honest, it’s amazing that some people are willing to take the time out of their day just to “hate” on a game that a company staffed by hundreds of people spent thousands of hours making but, alas, that’s the world that we live in.
This isn’t to say that Starfield is perfect. Bethesda’s latest outing has been a roller-coaster ride of opinions ever since the game was first officially announced in 2018. In the lead up to its launch, critics and early reviews have praised the sci-fi RPG for its expansive universe. “It’s a good game”, as the infamous Starfield leaker once said, who, by the way, is facing real jail time after someone on Reddit ratted him out to the authorities. But, it’s a notably slow-paced game and there’s an inherent “emptiness” felt as you traverse its vast universe. While fans have a reputation for impassion discussions, in Starfield’s case, opposing reviews and personal opinions raise valid questions. Is the criticism centered on the game’s actual merits, or are we looking at yet another instance of the internet’s favorite pastime: review bombing?
The debate is further complicated by Bethesda’s decision to, for some reason, limit the review copies, raising eyebrows and sparking speculations about what the developers might be “hiding.”
The lack of user reviews despite the extensive Early Access period – the game has technically been available to play since August 31 to a select few ahead of its official September 6 launch – means that there’s no way to know if Starfield is as good as the critics are saying unless you scour the internet, which isn’t a hobby that a majority of casual gamers have.
Steam’s current policy, which doesn’t allow users to post reviews during a game’s early access period, doesn’t help. With more than 200k concurrent players, according to SteamDB, Starfield has already proved to be a hit on the platform even if it’s technically not available to the general public yet. This situation has sparked a conversation about the merits and demerits of allowing early-access reviews. Proponents believe it could offer a more nuanced picture of a game’s quality and help prospective buyers make informed decisions. Opponents worry that it could negatively influence sales and Steam rankings.
Amidst this contentious backdrop, it’s crucial to separate genuine criticism from review bombing. While it’s become the fashionable thing to deride AAA titles – think Hogwarts Legacy or the forthcoming Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 – some critics provide thoughtful analysis worth considering. Not all AAA games receive flak; titles like Armored Core 6 and Baldur’s Gate 3 were generally well-liked and well-received, possibly because they didn’t come with overblown pre-launch hype. Meanwhile, the games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Red Dead Redemption 2, which had huge expectations, managed to meet them and received critical acclaim.
Whether you fall on the side of enjoying Starfield or find it lacking, it’s important to remember one thing: games are subjective experiences. One person’s treasure might be another’s trash, but that doesn’t make either opinion less valid. Furthermore, criticizing a game doesn’t mean you can’t or don’t enjoy it.
As the full release of Starfield on Xbox and PC approaches on September 6, it remains to be seen whether the collective view of the game tilts more positively or continues its polarizing trajectory.
Whatever the outcome, it will add another chapter to the long-standing debates about game quality, review ethics, and community expectations that fuel the video game industry. And like it or not, Starfield has already left an indelible mark on that ongoing narrative.
