Highlights
- Starfield's combat mechanics have significantly improved from previous Bethesda RPGs, with precise and satisfying shooting that doesn't require the use of VATS.
- Weapons in Starfield are more effective and varied, providing a sense of purpose and satisfaction when using them to complete skill challenges and engage in shootouts.
- The balance between weapon damage and enemy health in Starfield is finely-tuned, ensuring that enemies are not bullet sponges and headshots are notably effective for taking them down.
Anyone who has been enjoying the early access launch for Bethesda's newest RPG Starfield can attest to the fact that it shares plenty of DNA with the developer's previous work. In particular, Starfield has quite a lot in common with Bethesda's last single-player RPG Fallout 4. There's something to be said for how the game tackles many of the systems introduced in Fallout 4 and iterates on them, improving them in the process. One of these is the game's first-person shooting combat, and even without the signature VATS mechanic from Fallout 3 and Fallout 4, Starfield's combat immediately stands out as some of the best implemented in a Bethesda game.
VATS, or the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System, helped add a tactical and strategic layer to the Bethesda Fallout games' first-person shooting and also helped to compensate for the floaty feel of shooting from the hip or aiming down sights. While the shooting itself wasn't necessarily as precise as what one would find in a Halo game, it was at least serviceable enough to get the job done. Whatever other deficiencies it may have had were more than accounted for with VATS. Thankfully, Bethesda has significantly improved the shooting in Starfield to a degree that players will hardly miss the inclusion of VATS in its latest RPG epic.
Starfield's FPS Combat Is Satisfyingly Visceral
It follows that Starfield introduced improvements over Fallout 4's combat, as even Fallout 4's first-person shooting was significantly improved over its predecessor. Whatever Bethesda's original intention for the mechanic, VATS did exist as a bit of a salve to the imprecise shooting in the Fallout games. Fallout 4's standard combat when not using VATS already felt closer to what players would experience in a pure FPS, and now Starfield's decision to abandon the system has only benefited the title. Weapons don't just feature satisfying feedback and sound design, they're perceptively more precise and effective.
Whether using ballistic, beam, or melee weapons, each of the armaments in Starfield serves a purpose; something that makes ticking off each of the skill challenges associated with the weapons even more satisfying. Players can talk their way out of situations or use stealth in Starfield, but with combat being some of the best that Bethesda has ever produced there's now more incentive to engage in shootouts than ever before. VATS' ability to slow down time and allow the player to target specific body parts can help players disarm or disable enemies, but the way it would've disrupted Starfield's natural encounter momentum indicates that the game is better off for not including it.
Weapon Damage and Enemy Health are Finely-Tuned in Starfield
All of these improvements to combat wouldn't amount to much if the enemies all existed as bullet sponges and the weapons felt more like pea-shooters, but thankfully Bethesda has truly dialed in Starfield's balance between damage output and enemy health. Both human and non-human enemies are sturdy but can only take so much damage before falling, and headshots are noticeably effective against foes. At a certain point in all Bethesda Fallout titles, players could unlock a perk that allowed them to use VATS nonstop as long as the target was felled using the system. Now, players don't even need it because hitting critical areas produces the desired effect and is easier to do.
For the most part, fans of Bethesda titles play the studio's games because they feature incredibly immersive worlds to get lost in and create a story unique to the player. The emergent, moment-to-moment gameplay would keep players hooked, but the combat was more of a utility and a means to an end. Now, Starfield represents the best of both worlds, in which players can approach its galaxy in any way they see fit and have an absolute blast during the times when a shootout is the only clear path forward.
Starfield is available now in early access launch for PC and Xbox Series X/S.