Highlights
- Starfield delivers on promised features like shipbuilding, companions, romance, and weapon customization, but combat still needs improvement.
- Issues with slide ability and stealth kills affect immersion and gameplay experience, leaving fans disappointed.
- Faulty hit registration and hitboxes hinder combat scenarios, causing frustration and breaking immersion. Close-quarters combat animations and third-person camera also need adjustments.
As Bethesda's showcased prior to release, Starfield manages to adhere to a plethora of features that were promised. From its shipbuilding, companions, romance, and weapon customization, Starfield provides in areas where fans had some of their doubts. While this is the case, there is also a plethora of areas that still need addressing, particularly within the region of its combat.
Whether this is at a long range with guns of any type, or close range, some of the issues that fans have can often break immersion. While there are already plenty of mods available for PC players to use which developers at Bethesda are openly supportive of, fans will be hoping some of the problems can be addressed across the board reaching console players.
5 Faster & Smoother Slide
When players are able to unlock the slide ability within the 'Gymnastics' region of 'Physical' skills, they will be looking to use this ability amid combat for an advantage. In many other FPS or third-person shooters, this is often a base skill that players can use right from the start and can help many maneuver their way out of intense encounters or a barrage of bullets.
While there is no particular issue with the need to have this as an unlockable skill, fans feel as though the slide itself is almost completely ineffective. In either the first or third-person perspective, players will often attempt to slide only to not go forward very far, or end up crouching instead, leaving them vulnerable to gunfire. Despite it not being clear whether this is a bug or the way the slide mechanic was designed, it will heavily benefit players if this could be addressed in an update.
4 Stealth Kills
Although there is a stealth ability for players to unlock among the plethora of skills available, there is no way for players to perform a stealth takedown or kill. While it is still possible to upgrade the attack damage that stems from a stealth attack through the skill tree, or equipping a stronger weapon, it stands as a disappointment for fans who may have envisioned stylish stealth executions.
Improving this aspect of Starfield's combat will massively benefit players who favor a stealthy approach to combat encounters, especially when heavily outnumbered. It is still very much possible to quietly dispose of enemies, more notably when players start with a 'Ronin' background, or equip suppressors for their guns, but close-quarters stealth would amplify this to a greater level.
3 Improved Hitboxes/Hit Registration
An issue that has spoiled a few combat scenarios for players is the hit registration and hitboxes present in Starfield. This is prevalent in gunfire exchanges that include the importance of getting into cover, and when players attempt to shoot enemies that are hiding in cover with a body part clearly visible, the hit will not register at all.
This is an aspect that can very easily break immersion and lead to frustration, particularly when players are still being hit while in cover, and are forced out to get a better angle for returning fire. If this can be adjusted in future updates, it will stand as a massive improvement to the overall flow of combat, allowing players to focus on keeping themselves out of lines of fire and catching enemies off guard.
2 Takedown Animations/Close-Quarters
Starfield's gunplay is one of its biggest selling points and an aspect of the new IP that flourishes very well despite the aforementioned issue, but fans feel that more could be done with its close-quarters combat. Aside from the different animations that come when using different melee weapons, hand-to-hand combat can feel quite stiff, especially from the third-person perspective.
This also comes with the issue of no animations for takedowns or finishing moves whatsoever, which comes as a surprise for many fans considering previous Bethesda titles such as Fallout 4 executed this feature well. If developers at Bethesda manage to implement finishing moves or attacks that are different from the standard melee animations currently present, it will stand as a pivotal factor in Starfield reaching higher levels of praise.
1 Third-Person Camera
For players who favor the third-person perspective in Starfield during combat encounters, there are two different camera distance options available that can be changed at any time. Despite this, there appears to be an issue with this during combat as the distance will often change on its own without any player input, leaving them having to constantly change this during gameplay.
Since there is no field-of-view slider in-game, engaging in gunfire with enemies in third-person can lead to a disorientating experience, as the camera moves into uncomfortable positions. For PC players, mods can help alleviate this issue, but Xbox players will have to wait until developers at Bethesda address this, either through the implementation of a field-of-view slider, or changes made to the way the third-person perspective works in the midst of gameplay, and it would stand as a game-changer for many.
Starfield is now available on Xbox Series X/S and PC.