Bethesda announced Starfield during E3 2018, having started development in 2015. The game is coming next year, and fans got a decent look at the science-fiction RPG during the Xbox and Bethesda showcase in June - including glimpses of ground and space combat, settlement building, a perks system, and more. While there’s still a lot that fans don’t know about the upcoming game, what Bethesda has shared so far is enough to give them some idea of what they should expect, especially compared to other spacefaring titles on the way.
It’s tempting to compare Starfield to other upcoming science-fiction games like Mass Effect 4 and The Outer Worlds 2, which have been seen as direct competitors. While that makes sense on the surface, the similarities start to fall away when one looks a little closer. Starfield may offer something very different from its supposed competitors, to the extend that it might not make sense to think about them as competitors at all.
The Aesthetics of Starfield
A few things make Bethesda's upcoming title stand out from its supposed rivals, including Starfield’s “NASA Punk” aesthetic. Mass Effect drew inspiration from space operas like Star Wars and the Fifth Element, boasting futuristic architecture, flying cars, and epic space battles. Meanwhile, the Outer Worlds is a retro-futuristic space western where people wear bowler hats, and corporations advertise their products on early 20th Century-inspired posters. However, Starfield has a more realistic art direction, with ships, robots, and suits that look more like NASA prototypes than anything out of Star Wars.
These aesthetic choices aren’t just visual touches, they say a lot about what it wants to be. Mass Effect doesn’t just look like a space opera; it is a space opera, with larger-than-life heroes and villains battling to save or destroy the entire galaxy. Meanwhile, the Outer Worlds is a space western to its core, with the Halcyon System’s Corporations filling the role of Wild West robber barons. Even lumping Mass Effect 4 and the Outer Worlds 2 into a single genre feels odd.
Bethesda fans don’t yet know much about Starfield’s plot, but many assume that Starfield’s NASA punk aesthetics indicate a more grounded plot. Bethesda also indicated the game’s story will focus on humanity’s place in the galaxy, with Todd Howard saying “and now man is living amongst the stars: what does that mean?” Some fans have taken this to mean that Starfield’s central conflict will have more to do with politics and philosophy than saving the galaxy from a Mass Effect-style existential threat. The game also looks to have a more realistic atmosphere than the satirical Outer Worlds.
All three of these games still fall into the category of science-fiction. However, they are clearly aiming to deliver very different experiences. Moreover, these differences are significant enough that it might be unreasonable to think about them as direct competitors or judge one based on the standards of another.
Starfield’s Gameplay
Gameplay will obviously be a big point of comparison between these three games. The Mass Effect trilogy is a third-person cover shooter, with Andromeda having a more moment-based combat system. Fans don’t know enough about Mass Effect 4 to guess what its gameplay will look like, but it probably won’t be a Bethesda-style RPG. Just as it would be unfair to criticize Fallout 4 for not being a good Gears of War game, there’s a limit to how valuable comparisons between Starfield and Mass Effect 4 can be.
However, this is where similarities between Starfield and The Outer Worlds are the most obvious, with both being Bethesda-style first-person shooter RPGs. The Outer Worlds features a Mass Effect-style three-character party, while Starfield includes space combat and base-building reminiscent of Fallout 4 and Fallout 76. However, there’s no denying the similarities in their primary experience.
However, it’s not as if both games are just shooters. While some people describe The Outer Worlds an “open-world” game, it’s better described as a hub-based, semi-open RPG. The same applies to Mass Effect: Andromeda, with the Mass Effect trilogy also being hub-based. While neither Obsidian nor BioWare have confirmed this, it’s reasonable to assume that The Outer Worlds 2 and Mass Effect 4 will feature a similar format.
Meanwhile, Starfield is a Bethesda RPG blown up to a galactic scale with over 1,000 procedurally generated planets. Whether fans think it’s a good idea or not, Bethesda wants Starfield to be a true go-anywhere open-world RPG. Starfield still has a narrower focus than games like No Man’s Sky and Elite Dangerous, but its procedurally generated universe offers a similar experience for those who want it.
Todd Howard also described Starfield as having what IGN’s Joe Skrebels called a “golden freeway” of hand-crafted content like a typical Bethesda RPG. However, Starfield nevertheless aims for a much broader scale than The Outer Worlds 2 and Mass Effect 4. While players who stick to the golden freeway might have a similar experience to others, that may not represent everything Bethesda wants Starfield to be.
None of this is to say that fans can’t or shouldn’t make comparisons between Starfield, The Outer Worlds 2, and Mass Effect 4, as it’s also possible that all three will be more similar than they appear. One could even argue that they are still competing for the attention of a similar audience. However, Starfield seems different enough from Mass Effect 4 and The Outer Worlds 2 that treating them as rivals might not be particularly helpful.
Starfield launches on PC and Xbox Series X/S in 2023.