Earlier this month, Bethesda finally revealed new details about its upcoming game, Starfield, during the Xbox Game Showcase. It provided players with the single most comprehensive look at the game after the company stayed quiet about it for an extended period. Oddly enough, Starfield seems to have a lot in common with Obsidian Entertainment's own space opera, The Other Worlds.
Comparisons between The Outer Worlds and Starfield are inevitable as both games occupy a similar space in the gaming sphere. They're first-person shooter RPGs that put an emphasis on exploring the galaxy and are developed by companies that are linked in odd ways. During the Showcase, Bethesda finally revealed a brand-new combat system for the upcoming game. While the combat system is radically different from previous Bethesda efforts, the system resembles the combat in The Outer Worlds.
The Odd Relationship Between Bethesda and Obsidian
Bethesda and Obsidian have always had a bit of an odd relationship. The latter company was formed by former Fallout developers who had worked on the first two games and worked on various sequels to BioWare RPG games. Following Bethada's acquisition of the Fallout property, it hired Obsidian to work on Fallout: New Vegas, which ultimately resulted in a soured relationship between the two. As the story goes, Obsidian was due a bonus on the game as long as the Metacritic score stayed on and/or above a certain number. It missed this number by a single point. Both Obsidian and Bethesda have since been bought by Microsoft, and the two developers continue to seemingly lift ideas from one another.
Obsidian's own The Outer Worlds is a game that feels a lot like a Fallout game with its own take on the Vats system. Character interactions, dialog, social satire, and graphics also all feel like they would be at home in the franchise as well. Likewise, Obsidian's upcoming game Avowed looks and feels like the company's own answer to Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls franchise, featuring many similar elements from the beloved fantasy series. Now, it appears that Bethesda is returning the favor when it comes to combat.
The Outer Worlds Feeling Combat in Starfield
As mentioned above, during the recent Xbox Games Showcase, Bethesda finally gave gamers a better look at its upcoming game, Starfield. The developer revealed numerous features from the upcoming game, including details on the ships, companions, and even romance options. Overall, it looked a lot more polished than some of the company's previous titles, and one of the big things that it revealed was the game's combat. Intriguingly, it has a similar vibe to that of The Outer Worlds'.
The combat overall appears faster-paced than it was in The Outer Worlds' and some have compared the abilities in Starfield to something out of Star Wars, but there are a few similarities between the games. The first and most notable is that both games are primarily first-person shooters with their combat. Targets, likewise, will have health bars above them as well as a bit of text revealing who and/or what they are. Killing the enemies also gives the players experience which is indicated after the enemy dies. Oddly enough, though, the weapons do not show the amount of damage weapons do against the enemies.
In the end, it's hard to say how Starfield will turn out. Xbox claims that Starfield will have the fewest bugs of any Bethesda game, but players won't know until it hits shelves and digital storefronts. The gameplay that has been put on display, however, indicates that the universe will be epic in scope with combat that will be fast-paced and takes more than a little inspiration from The Outer Worlds.
Starfield releases for PC and Xbox Series X/S on September 6.