One of the things a lot of people will be looking forward to when they finally get their hands on Starfield is being able to zoom around space, but one fan offers a deep dive into why they think the upcoming game won't have atmospheric flight. There are plenty of story-heavy sci-fi games out there for players who like rich narratives, and Bethesda's space-faring RPG will almost certainly be another example.
After a long time waiting and following a couple of delays, Starfield finally has a release date, with the game now scheduled to drop on September 6, 2023. Representing the first brand-new IP from the Elder Scrolls and Fallout developer, Bethesda will no doubt be bringing that open-world magic to its space title. The studio is known for making games that have expansive worlds filled with lore and plenty of characters, and given that Starfield is set in space, that means there will be even more for fans to discover.
However, one person is convinced the game will mask a lot of the travelling behind loading screens. As spotted by GamesRadar, Reddit user DoradoPulido2 is doubtful that Starfield will have atmospheric flight, basing this theory on screenshots and gameplay reveals. Using images from the game's map, they feel that players will be able to select a star system, choose a planet from there, and then can land on said planet. However, they believe that manually piloting a spaceship will only take place "within orbital space in a star system." This would include being able to board other ships or get involved in dog fights, but actually landing on planets or travelling interstellar will be done automatically, possibly with cut scenes or loading screens.
It's worth saying that even though DoradoPulido2 has offered a fairly substantial theory, it's not something that's been officially confirmed or denied by the studio. There's no way to know yet whether the game will mask some of its more significant travel aspects behind loading screens, but that doesn't stop fans from speculating. Since Bethesda made a Starfield announcement recently, the community has been only too keen to dive deep into any nugget of information they can, analyzing the as-yet-unreleased game.
With Starfield said to feature over 1,000 planets, many will be excited about the opportunity to move between worlds. Whether it will be what some are describing as Skyrim in space cannot be said at this stage. Hopefully, the ability to engage in spaceflight will be a huge win for the RPG, but only time will tell on that front.
Starfield launches September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: GamesRadar