Not all rockets that have lift-off break the atmosphere. The decline of Starfield on the Steam review charts continues, now sitting at an even lower rating than Fallout 76, Bethesda’s most criticized title in the last decade. Despite still maintaining a 69% positive score (nice), the game has been downgraded to a “mixed” rating on Steam in both recent and overall reviews.
Bethesda’s highly anticipated space RPG had fans rush to declare it a possible game-of-the-generation pre-emptively when it was announced five years ago. Initially things looked shiny, with the game landing a very strong launch, gaining six million players during its official release day. Starfield also became the most-played Xbox title with over a million concurrent players.
However, Starfield’s promising start took a hit as it struggled to meet fan expectations, resulting in a historic low rating on Steam. While 69% of over 75,000 users initially rated the game positively, recent reviews have dropped to a mere 48%, indicating a significant downturn in player satisfaction over the last 30 days.
User reviews highlight several issues that have been extensively discussed within the gaming community, including excessive loading screens, lackluster NPC AI, and underwhelming exploration. Showstopping bugs and performance issues have also left players disappointed, with some expressing boredom after just a few hours of gameplay.
Among the numerous criticisms, one reigns supreme. Many users feel that Starfield lacks the magic of Bethesda’s traditional RPG experience, with one player noting, “This game makes you feel small in a small world that is pretending to be big.”
Criticism extends to space combat, a feature praised for its ship customization mechanics. Some users describe spaceships as mere “set-dressing for storage containers,” while space combat is labeled as an “optional, extremely simplistic, arcade-style mini-game.”
Last week, Starfield sparked discussions within the gaming community after receiving only one nomination at the Game Awards for Best RPG which it is expected to lose to Baldur’s Gate 3. The game has also been overshadowed by HiFi Rush as Xbox’s most nominated title.
Based on player experiences, Starfield is not inherently a bad game, but it falls short of the expectations set over the past five years. Critics note its lack of open-world diversity compared to Skyrim and its failure to deliver a compelling story worthy of a second playthrough. While enjoyable for a brief period, Starfield seems to have missed the mark for many players.
Fortunately, there is still hope for Starfield. Bethesda has recently added DLSS support to the game, a feature that has been missing since launch. There are also plans for expansions, adding more content to an otherwise empty space. Hopefully, Bethesda will keep adding improvements to the game until it lives up to the expectations of its fans.
