Is Starfield just Skyrim in space?

No. It’s better.

I select a mission from my log and set course for my destination. Along the way, I come across a random planet and decide to land my spaceship and explore. As I’m exploring, I find a settlement that is being harassed by Spacers, and the residents ask me to take out the Spacer base on a nearby moon. So I go to the moon, deal with the Spacers, and then spend the next 30 minutes cataloging the moon. I head back to the initial planet to report my success to the settlement and am hailed by a spaceship asking me if I would be so kind as to deliver a parcel to another system. So I head out to deliver the parcel, and as I’m walking through the city looking for the recipient, I overhear a conversation about a distraught family being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous loan shark, and a mission appears in my logbook to go talk to them and see if I can help. And so, three hours later, I end my play session having never even gotten close to the quest I had originally set out to complete.

That probably sounds familiar to anybody who has played any Bethesda game, but Starfield has its own unique feel that is unlike Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls and Fallout series. First, the obvious: Starfield takes place across multiple planets. Second, there is no urgent do-or-die universe ending plot, so it actually makes sense that my character would go out of his way to help a distraught family, or explore a random science station just because it’s there. There is a primary quest, of course, but it encourages you to take your time and do your own thing along the way, which I really appreciate, because the journey is always more interesting than the destination.

Bethesda games are known for their amazing environments, and Starfield more than delivers. With over 1000 celestial bodies for you to explore, you are treated to an incredible variety of biomes and landscapes. Sometimes it’s just a simple airless moon strewn with boulders. Other times, you’ll find a vast forested planet teaming with life. There are mountains, and swamps, and plains, and deserts, and everything in between. Your character is equipped with a scanner which you can use to catalog your discoveries, which nets you a decent amount of experience and a datapad you can sell for credits (oddly, there is no codex for you to review your findings or to help you keep track of which planets and systems you have already explored). And don’t worry about invisible walls. In my nearly 200 hours of play time, I haven’t encountered one yet, and I think the only way you can find one is if you deliberately go looking for it. And what about loading screens, which have become a Starfield meme? Much ado about nothing. A few seconds for every few hours you’ll spend adventuring is not even worth mentioning.

As you explore planets and moons, you can happen across points of interest, which are features handcrafted by Bethesda which can be natural – like a meteor crater, or a grove of luminescent trees – or manmade, like an abandoned factory or military outpost. And while these points of interest are often fun to explore, it’s unfortunate that they can be repetitive, as in you can find the exact same point of interest on multiple planets. And I do mean exactly the same, right down to enemy placement and the notes you find on computers. The only thing randomized is the loot you pick up. While I still enjoy exploring planets and can easily spend an hour or more cataloging everything, knowing that I have a very good chance of coming across something I’ve already seen before is a bit disappointing. What isn't disappointing are the stunning visuals. Even the blighted landscape of a barren moon is a thing of beauty in Starfield, and using the in-game camera to capture the scenery can turn into a game in and of itself.

To aid you in your journey, you can recruit a variety of companions who offer different skill bonuses. The biggest bonuses come from the members of Constellation, the organization which is at the center of the main quest. And these aren’t silent, generic companions, either. They have compelling backstories and personalities, will interject with their own opinions during conversations, have very definite likes and dislikes, and, as you would expect from any modern roleplaying game, they each have their own quest for you to complete. The voice actors that bring these characters to life are excellent, delivering the best performances I’ve ever heard in a Bethesda game. That might sound like a backhanded compliment, but it’s not. The voice performances really are very good, as are the facial animations, and I did find myself becoming attached to my companions.

On the whole, the roleplaying is pretty good for a Bethesda game. The missions you encounter can offer a variety of choices and consequences, some significant, some less so, but it’s nice that we get more than the typical Bethesda choices of “Yes, I will help you,” and “Yes, I will help you, but later.” There are even a number of moments where other characters will sometimes praise you, sometimes chastise you for the choices you’ve made, so it doesn’t feel like your character exists in a vacuum. In addition to the main quest, there are several faction quests, each of which will take you several hours to complete and are so well designed that they would be the main quest in any other game. While everything is tracked for you in a quest log, some entries could be a little more detailed. For instance, you’ll have an entry that simply says, “Talk to Julia,” but you won’t know where she is or why you want to talk to her. It's a curious oversight in a game that is otherwise so highly detailed.

Then, of course, there is the combat, which I really enjoy. As you explore the universe, you will come across outposts that are inhabited by a variety of pirates and thugs, and since there is no way to peacefully resolve your differences, your only choice is to pull out your gun and start blasting. The shooting mechanics are very satisfying, approaching – but not quite surpassing – that of a straight-forward first person shooter, and the enemy AI is surprisingly good at making use of cover, flanking your position, and retreating when overwhelmed. You’ll occasionally have encounters in zero gravity environments, which are a fun change of pace but often far too brief. And then there is ship to ship combat, which I can only describe as serviceable. You can target individual ship systems which can allow you to disable and board a vessel, but I find it’s easiest to just blow them out of the sky.

I have yet to mention the obligatory crafting systems, ship customization, or outposts, which, honestly, I haven’t done too much with, but they are there to offer different activities should they appeal to you. Starfield is, in the end, whatever you make of it. Like any Bethesda game, there is no single right way to play. It’s just a fun universe to exist in and explore, and Bethesda’s novel approach to New Game+ gives you the opportunity to do things differently on a subsequent play though without having to start a new character from scratch. I have also found that it has minimal bugs and runs very well on Linux, whether you’re using a desktop PC or the Steam Deck.

As I’m writing this, I have nearly 200 hours of play time in Starfield, and I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface. It’s a massive game with a lot to do and see, and I’m looking forward to where Bethesda, and the modding community, takes it in the future.

[h1]Summary[/h1] Is Starfield just Skyrim in space? No. It’s better. [h1]Review[/h1] I select a mission from my log and set course for my destination. Along the way, I come across a random planet and decide to land my spaceship and explore. As I’m exploring, I find a settlement that is being harassed by Spacers, and the residents ask me to take out the Spacer base on a nearby moon. So I go to the moon, deal with the Spacers, and then spend the next 30 minutes cataloging the moon. I head back to the initial planet to report my success to the settlement and am hailed by a spaceship asking me if I would be so kind as to deliver a parcel to another system. So I head out to deliver the parcel, and as I’m walking through the city looking for the recipient, I overhear a conversation about a distraught family being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous loan shark, and a mission appears in my logbook to go talk to them and see if I can help. And so, three hours later, I end my play session having never even gotten close to the quest I had originally set out to complete. That probably sounds familiar to anybody who has played any Bethesda game, but Starfield has its own unique feel that is unlike Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls and Fallout series. First, the obvious: Starfield takes place across multiple planets. Second, there is no urgent do-or-die universe ending plot, so it actually makes sense that my character would go out of his way to help a distraught family, or explore a random science station just because it’s there. There is a primary quest, of course, but it encourages you to take your time and do your own thing along the way, which I really appreciate, because the journey is always more interesting than the destination. Bethesda games are known for their amazing environments, and Starfield more than delivers. With over 1000 celestial bodies for you to explore, you are treated to an incredible variety of biomes and landscapes. Sometimes it’s just a simple airless moon strewn with boulders. Other times, you’ll find a vast forested planet teaming with life. There are mountains, and swamps, and plains, and deserts, and everything in between. Your character is equipped with a scanner which you can use to catalog your discoveries, which nets you a decent amount of experience and a datapad you can sell for credits (oddly, there is no codex for you to review your findings or to help you keep track of which planets and systems you have already explored). And don’t worry about invisible walls. In my nearly 200 hours of play time, I haven’t encountered one yet, and I think the only way you can find one is if you deliberately go looking for it. And what about loading screens, which have become a Starfield meme? Much ado about nothing. A few seconds for every few hours you’ll spend adventuring is not even worth mentioning. As you explore planets and moons, you can happen across points of interest, which are features handcrafted by Bethesda which can be natural – like a meteor crater, or a grove of luminescent trees – or manmade, like an abandoned factory or military outpost. And while these points of interest are often fun to explore, it’s unfortunate that they can be repetitive, as in you can find the exact same point of interest on multiple planets. And I do mean exactly the same, right down to enemy placement and the notes you find on computers. The only thing randomized is the loot you pick up. While I still enjoy exploring planets and can easily spend an hour or more cataloging everything, knowing that I have a very good chance of coming across something I’ve already seen before is a bit disappointing. What isn't disappointing are the stunning visuals. Even the blighted landscape of a barren moon is a thing of beauty in Starfield, and using the in-game camera to capture the scenery can turn into a game in and of itself. To aid you in your journey, you can recruit a variety of companions who offer different skill bonuses. The biggest bonuses come from the members of Constellation, the organization which is at the center of the main quest. And these aren’t silent, generic companions, either. They have compelling backstories and personalities, will interject with their own opinions during conversations, have very definite likes and dislikes, and, as you would expect from any modern roleplaying game, they each have their own quest for you to complete. The voice actors that bring these characters to life are excellent, delivering the best performances I’ve ever heard in a Bethesda game. That might sound like a backhanded compliment, but it’s not. The voice performances really are very good, as are the facial animations, and I did find myself becoming attached to my companions. On the whole, the roleplaying is pretty good for a Bethesda game. The missions you encounter can offer a variety of choices and consequences, some significant, some less so, but it’s nice that we get more than the typical Bethesda choices of “Yes, I will help you,” and “Yes, I will help you, but later.” There are even a number of moments where other characters will sometimes praise you, sometimes chastise you for the choices you’ve made, so it doesn’t feel like your character exists in a vacuum. In addition to the main quest, there are several faction quests, each of which will take you several hours to complete and are so well designed that they would be the main quest in any other game. While everything is tracked for you in a quest log, some entries could be a little more detailed. For instance, you’ll have an entry that simply says, “Talk to Julia,” but you won’t know where she is or why you want to talk to her. It's a curious oversight in a game that is otherwise so highly detailed. Then, of course, there is the combat, which I really enjoy. As you explore the universe, you will come across outposts that are inhabited by a variety of pirates and thugs, and since there is no way to peacefully resolve your differences, your only choice is to pull out your gun and start blasting. The shooting mechanics are very satisfying, approaching – but not quite surpassing – that of a straight-forward first person shooter, and the enemy AI is surprisingly good at making use of cover, flanking your position, and retreating when overwhelmed. You’ll occasionally have encounters in zero gravity environments, which are a fun change of pace but often far too brief. And then there is ship to ship combat, which I can only describe as serviceable. You can target individual ship systems which can allow you to disable and board a vessel, but I find it’s easiest to just blow them out of the sky. I have yet to mention the obligatory crafting systems, ship customization, or outposts, which, honestly, I haven’t done too much with, but they are there to offer different activities should they appeal to you. Starfield is, in the end, whatever you make of it. Like any Bethesda game, there is no single right way to play. It’s just a fun universe to exist in and explore, and Bethesda’s novel approach to New Game+ gives you the opportunity to do things differently on a subsequent play though without having to start a new character from scratch. I have also found that it has minimal bugs and runs very well on Linux, whether you’re using a desktop PC or the Steam Deck. As I’m writing this, I have nearly 200 hours of play time in Starfield, and I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface. It’s a massive game with a lot to do and see, and I’m looking forward to where Bethesda, and the modding community, takes it in the future.