Although very little information has been confirmed about Bethesda's upcoming RPG Starfield, there have been plenty of reliable leaks since fans of the studio first got a glimpse at its new space-set IP back at E3 2018. There have been multiple images showing the same player character, the same UI, what appear to be ship and base-building mechanics, and more.
Many Bethesda fans are hoping that far more details about Starfield will be released at E3 2021. However, Bethesda can't just confirm some of the features speculated so far, or focus on the new mechanics Starfield will be bringing to the fold. If Bethesda is really going to build hype for its new IP, the studio needs to show off aspects of its story and its characters. If Starfield is going to shine at E3, Bethesda needs to show the game's soul.
The Starfield Seen So Far
Stories set in space always risk their setting feeling empty, particularly in the hard sci-fi genre. It's currently unclear where on the soft to hard sci-fi scale Starfield will fall, but based on what's been seen so far and Bethesda developers visiting SpaceX, it seems like it will err more on the side of realism within the genre.
There have been a few images of Starfield leaked so far. Some showed the player character in an astronaut's suit, looking at buildings on a flat, white landscape. It's unclear if this barren terrain is what fans can expect in the game itself, though that seems unlikely. A more recent leak showed an interior space which seemed rooted in realism, however, and with that comes a big risk. As revealed so far, there's something about Starfield that feels sterile. Aside from the player character, the galaxy seems empty. In their realism, the buildings and ships shown so far feel like they lack a degree of character.
It's extremely unlikely that Starfield's galaxy will lack NPCs, though whether or not there will be alien races in Starfield has yet to be revealed. It seems similarly unlikely that Bethesda will present players with realistically bare, crater-pocked planets to explore when the game could have a far more diverse offering of environments. So far, however, nothing has been revealed that actually shows off how Bethesda plans to infuse character and characters into its setting.
There are plenty of leaks that Bethesda could confirm that would be exciting for fans of the studio who have been following Starfield's development. The studio could confirm whether or not the game will be third or first-person. It could reveal the extent to which the Oxygen, CO2, and gravity levels will impact gameplay. Bethesda could show potential players how the jetpack works, and how they can expect to navigate space. It could show the base-building and ship-building mechanics hinted at by the modular designs revealed so far.
Without clear characters and settings to get excited about, however, revealing all of these mechanics could fall flat. Players can get excited for base and ship-building, but without knowing who their crew might be or where they're going it feels hard to get attached, or even excited. When Fallout 4's base-building was revealed, the new mechanics was unveiled in tandem with trailers that created a sense of the game's character. There was music, shots of towns like Diamond City brimming with NPCs, and more.
Revealing The True Starfield
There are some good reasons Bethesda has kept so many of the details about Starfield close to its chest. The long hype towards Cyberpunk 2077 lasted for most of the last decade, and the huge expectations built up over that time caused the game's already tumultuous release to be faced with even more backlash. After three years of near-silence, however, E3 2021 is Bethesda's time to let loose.
If there are aliens, players need to see them. If there's a particular musical style Starfield will use, players need to hear it. If there are large cities they'll be exploring, space combat they'll be fighting, or rich environments they'll be exploring, players need to get a glimpse of those parts of the game, if only from a distance.
Bethesda may have been right to avoid revealing too much about Starfield in the early stages, but that has come with an adverse effect. Over the last three years an image has been slowly pieced together of Starfield based on the leaks. That image makes the game's galaxy seem empty, if not downright lonely, resembling a space exploration sim more than an RPG. That may be far from the truth, but if so it's a false image Bethesda needs to shatter at E3 if fans are going to be excited for the game going forward. There's a time for reservation, but after three years of screenshots leaking at a glacial pace, it's time for the studio to begin hyping up everything Starfield has to offer in earnest.
Starfield will be Bethesda's first new IP after 25 years. That comes with some big expectations when it comes to mechanics, but it also leaves fans with very little idea of what to expect in terms of tone and what the game's atmosphere will really feel like, even when there's no literal atmosphere to speak of.
SpaceX aesthetics and all-new physics may be interesting, but until Bethesda gives future players an insight into Starfield's soul the new IP will likely struggle to build the same hype as a Fallout or Elder Scrolls title, especially if Starfield is an Xbox exclusive as some have speculated. Hopefully the studio won't just confirm some of the leaks and show off some gameplay, but will offer a real look into Starfield's fun side, it characters, unexpected influences, and story. Without that, those following the game's development are likely to come out of E3 with no clearer an idea of the game's true feel than they've had for the past several years.
Starfield is in development.