After years of waiting, Bethesda is finally set to launch Starfield sometime this year. It is a long time coming, as the game was announced back in 2018. The release of Starfield will mark the first new IP from the studio in years, and it will be Bethesda's first foray into space-faring science-fiction. That means that there is a lot riding on the game, and right now it feels like it may get lost in the crowd.
Starfield supposedly has over 1,000 planets for players to explore, and that sounds pretty impressive, but it is nothing new in 2023. There have been numerous games that share this same concept, and Starfield's gameplay trailer does not really do anything different from games like No Man's Sky. It feels like Bethesda is late to the party with this one, and Starfield may suffer for it.
Starfield May Get Lost in the Crowd
Even before Starfield was announced, there had already been multiple games that gave players the same type of experience. They could explore a massive procedurally generated universe in No Man's Sky, a 1:1 scale version of the Milky Way galaxy in Elite Dangerous, and jump into the highest-funded crowdfunding project ever Star Citizen. Each of those games has given players the fantasy of exploring space in their own personal starship, and Starfield does not seem to be doing anything different.
Obsidian Entertainment also beat Bethesda to the action RPG space game with the popular The Outer Worlds. The game launched a year after Starfield was announced, and it whisked players away to a colorful star system filled with charismatic and unique characters. While The Outer Worlds' galaxy is far smaller than that of Starfield, the gameplay style is similar to Bethesda's classic RPG model. Obsidian has not only made a beloved Fallout game with Fallout: New Vegas, but it seems to have also made a smaller version of Starfield before Starfield even hit store shelves.
There are so many different space games out there, and Starfield's gameplay trailer did not make it seem like it will be that different. Players will land on a planet, mine resources, explore their surroundings, fight enemies, and take off to do it all over again. The trailer looked rather like a less vibrant version of No Man's Sky, and Bethesda needs to make sure that the game can justify its existence.
Bethesda Needs to Wow Its Audience
Starfield seems to be in a bit of a tough spot. While it will probably be a success since Bethesda has delivered some great RPGs over the years, its similarities to other space games may ultimately make the game pretty forgettable. The gameplay that has been released make it seem like every other game out there rather than an exciting new concept from an award-winning team. Bethesda needs to show its audience what makes Starfield different and why gamers should care about the studio's latest endeavor. It needs to shed more light on the narrative it crafted, the uniqueness of the galaxy, what makes the gameplay engaging, and how the RPG mechanics come into play.
All eyes are on this game as it is the first new IP from Bethesda in over 25 years, and it needs to justify why it exists when there are so many games like it. Starfield definitely looks like it could be a good time for fans of space games, but it has not quite shown why they should move from games like No Man's Sky. It will likely have the classic Bethesda charm, but the gameplay also needs to be interesting enough to give it the longevity of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. Right now, it is coming eerily close to being just another space game, and the next couple of months are Bethesda's chance to make sure that does not happen.
Starfield is scheduled to release in 2023 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
