“But I don’t like sci-fi!” These are the words Bethesda threw at me yesterday, showing that Starfield is more than its setting
Todd Howard wants to shoot us all to a new planet and in the best case we spend the rest of our lives there. Or at least enough time to wait for The Elder Scrolls 6 -which by now feels like it could well be the rest of my life.
But while everyone is already waiting for Besthesda’s next RPG rocket called Starfield I wasn’t sure for a long time whether I wanted to sit in it at all. Do I really want to sink dozens of hours into a game that has so far had so little concrete appeal for me? Which is forcing itself on me mainly because I have been able to enjoy all the other great Bethesda role-playing games for hundreds of hours?
But which also relies on a Nasa-punk style sci-fi setting, which I personally can’t do anything with? I’ll make it short: Yes, I do! Because after Bethesda stuffed my brain with every little detail of Starfield for 45 minutes during the Xbox showcase, something changed in me.
I finally see clearly what this RPG can offer me, and I’m not alone in that.
Anticipation instead of boredom
The beginning of the Starfield presentation triggered moderate emotions in me. I watched someone shoot a boulder with a laser on a barren planet. A good start. A somewhat unspectacular firefight ensued, the character collected weapons and food, and I simply accepted that I would be allowed to take a closer look at a toast broat in the menu. Next, the developers talked about the space setting, how they design their spaceships and that yes, you can travel from planet to planet.
That was the point where I had to yawn heartily for the first time. It all still looked pretty staid and I was just about to think that I really wasn’t warming up to this Bethesda RPG anymore. Luckily, the presentation was far from over here.
The longer the presentation went on, the more clearly the setting receded into the background, while another detail gained in contour: Starfield takes itself extremely seriously as a role-playing game. Perhaps even more seriously than Elder Scrolls or Fallout ever did. I get to open up this universe in my own way, embodying a role as I see fit.
My biggest concern in the past has often been that my character should be some kind of space scout in any case, scanning planets, completing a few quests here and there and then hopping around in a clunky spacesuit.
But now Bethesda has finally made it clear that there is considerably more to Starfield. The universe has some really exciting corners in store for me, fuelling all sorts of character ideas!
A galactic sandbox
My synapses immediately started firing when the various cities and colonies appeared on the screen. My character doesn’t just have to become some space buffoon who goes exploring for human organisations. I can also simply set off for the regions outside the influence of the colonies and then enter a world that is more to my taste.
Here I roam the streets of much rougher places like Akila City as an outlaw, spend my evenings in smoky saloons and work as a ranger, smuggler or big game hunter. Or maybe I’ll follow the dear money to Neon, where I’ll sell my morals and live a life of pure luxury in return?
Of course I don’t know at this point what is actually possible everywhere. But Starfield finally stimulates my imagination! Also because this game offers so many creative outlets! For example, my character and his background must not only be reflected in my decisions, appearance or the weapons I use.
I can buy advantages or disadvantages via Perks and Skills, with which the galaxy reacts differently to my character. Some quests can be bypassed completely, while others become available in the first place. I’m already toying with the idea of creating three or four different characters at the same time.
Everything can be customised to my liking! Which crew will accompany me on my journey? With whom do I enter into a romantic liaison? Which spaceship best suits visually and functionally what my character actually represents in this universe? The prospect of such design freedom makes me all jittery.
And I am far from alone in this! Colleagues like Natalie are also suddenly enchanted by Starfield. On Reddit, one euphoric thread after the next pops up and even in the Star Citizen community, voices are stirring that may soon give Starfield preference.
Bethesda has finally turned a page here that has apparently sounded too quietly to many out there so far.
The Bethesda of the future
Honestly though, there is another reason for my new found ecstasy. Starfield has finally shown me how Bethesda actually envisions its role-playing games in the future and where their development priorities lie. And I can’t help but imagine an Elder Scrolls with the same level of role-playing freedom as Starfield.
If I’m already encouraged here to create really adventurous spaceships, build an outpost or anchor my character in the world via numerous backgrounds, how would that all look in Tamriel?
I no longer want to be a backgroundless prisoner thrust into the world with no past and save the world as the chosen one. I want to be someone who belongs to the world, goes his own way, and at most feels called by choice to put all his talent into conquering evil.
Or maybe I just don’t care and instead build my own castle into the far country, forge weapons from picked-up bits and pieces, or hire myself out as a highwayman raiding trade caravans.
Of course, these are currently a lot of well-intentioned fantasies that are spreading in my head, and it may very well be that Starfield does not fully live up to this role-playing promise. Especially if it doesn’t tell entertaining stories. That’s all yet to be seen, especially in a game of this scale that also relies on all sorts of auto-generated content.
But for now, I’m enjoying the moment that Starfield lets me dream of a great future at all Because that’s a feeling I’ve missed far too often with this game so far
Article, Starfield, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Xbox, Roleplaying game, Bethesda
