Starfield Fans Are Still Venting Their Disappointment With One Part of the Game

Starfield

By Christine Miller

Published Jun 3, 2024

Thread 2

Starfield

Highlights

Starfield's Run the Red Mile quest fails to meet player expectations due to lackluster structure compared quests in earlier Bethesda titles like Skyrim.
Procedural generation in Starfield hinders blending storytelling and gameplay effectively in quests.
Shattered Space expansion in Starfield may address gameplay shortcomings and improve quest design choices.

Though Starfield has its fair share of awkward moments, many players still argue that the Red Mile is where the game completely fails to meet expectations. It's been nearly nine months since Starfield came out, and though the updates have fixed a majority of its technical issues, it may take longer still to address Starfield's gameplay and narrative shortcomings. While Starfield had some standout quests, such as Entangled or Groundpounder, many of them had a structure that felt lackluster compared to earlier Bethesda titles such as Skyrim.

An argument could be made that the procedural generation in Starfield did not allow Bethesda to masterfully blend environmental storytelling and emergent gameplay with the quest itself, as most quests in Starfield tend to be self-contained fetch quests or elaborate, yet linear missions. Picking up a quest in Whiterun and choosing to make the trip to Winterhold can take players on an immersive journey in Skyrim that often takes a different shape in every playthrough, but Starfield has no such equivalent due to the disjointed nature of its locations.

starfield shattered space could be bigger expansion sized dlc

Starfield Fans Believe Shattered Space Could Be Much Bigger Than Past Bethesda DLCs

Specific wording from Bethesda implies that Starfield's upcoming Shattered Space expansion could be much bigger in scope than Far Harbor or Dawnguard.

However, the game sometimes brings out the potential of this format to craft a thrilling, tightly-paced narrative experience, with the Starfield quest Entangled being the most obvious example. By contrast, players such as Cybernetic_Virus believe Run the Red Mile to be Entangled's polar opposite, from an execution standpoint at least. Run the Red Mile is located in the Porrima system, and promises to set Starfield players up against a dangerous gauntlet that will test their combat skills to the limit. Unfortunately, the Red Mile itself is a rather leisurely stroll that lacks any sense of urgency, and players are greeted by a placid crowd awkwardly clapping for their success upon returning to the casino.

How Shattered Space Could Improve Starfield's Quests

Though Run the Red Mile is only a side quest in Starfield, what makes it so underwhelming is that Bethesda pulled off a much superior version of the same concept in Nuka World for Fallout 4. In addition to First Contact, most players find Run the Red Mile to be one of the weakest quests in the game. However, if the new map in Starfield is any indication, Bethesda is very open to feedback on how to improve upon its latest sandbox. With Shattered Space releasing in late 2024, it could be the perfect opportunity for the developers to correct course on some of Starfield's less-than-stellar design choices.

As for how Shattered Space might improve Starfield and its quests, there are two obvious directions. Bethesda could decide to lean into its biggest strengths, and design a handcrafted open world location that seamlessly connects missions in a new quest hub. Alternatively, it can embrace Starfield's disconnected approach, and craft more unique mission types that focus on underutilized mechanics from the base game – such as zero gravity combat or ship stealth. Though it remains to be seen what Bethesda will do with Shattered Space, Starfield's modding community will no doubt attempt to fix the Red Mile once the Creation Kit launches.