Players finally have some substantial details to dive into regarding Bethesda's upcoming sci-fi game Starfield, with the recent Xbox and Bethesda Showcase giving gamers the first official look at gameplay. In addition to showing off what Starfield is actually like in action, the fifteen-minute video provided a deep dive into some of the features that the game will offer, including base building, the scope of its exploration, and a whole host of characters that players will encounter.
One of the most intriguing aspects that the recent glimpses of Starfield highlighted was its space flight and the role that ships will play in the game. This was an element that fans have long been anticipating, and it has caused a fair bit of conversation among players. While Starfield has recently shown off lots of exciting elements, some of them have caused some concerns. The game's ship customization and freedom of traversal may seem great, but a few fans are worried that the flight mechanics still seem a little shaky.
The Advantages Of Starfield's Ships
One aspect that was always going to set Starfield apart from Bethesda's previous games, as well as other sci-fi RPGs with similar features, was the spaceships. How the game utilizes them, what they handle like, and how they can be changed to suit a player's whims are all important elements of whether it will be a great feature or just a dud. One thing that Bethesda seems to have nailed is the ability to completely customize the ships in Starfield, from the way they look to how they fly. From what players could see during the recent Xbox and Bethesda Showcase, this is undoubtedly one of Starfield's coolest features.
Customization seems to be key to Starfield's gameplay, from the main character to settlements. Players will be able to physically shape their gameplay experience in more ways than one, as well as have a hand in leading the story with Starfield's choice-based narrative and RPG elements. Being able to build a ship from the ground up will help players fully immerse themselves in the world of Starfield, especially considering how undeniably important the ship will be to the game's whole space-faring focus.
How Space Flight Could Be Detrimental
That being said, with such a high degree of importance placed on Starfield's spaceships and space flight due to the game's focus on exploration and interplanetary travel, the pressure is on for Bethesda to get this feature right. As Starfield's entire premise centers around the need for humanity to explore what's out there, a lot of time will probably be taken up flying to different areas, and if this aspect of the gameplay is disappointing or only borderline functional, this could spell trouble. It's hard to tell without players actually being able to get hands-on with the game, but early glimpses have not inspired that much confidence.
In addition to rumors about Starfield's rocky space flight mechanics, the footage shown during the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase did leave a few fans worried. While the combat looked like an intriguing element and the idea of Starfield's ships in general has sparked a lot of interest, the flight shown in the gameplay trailer didn't look as smooth or as exhilarating as some fans were hoping. This will be a tricky thing to get right, but it could make or break Starfield.
For a space exploration game, space flight is pretty key. Bethesda did say that players won't be manually transitioning from outer space to planetside flight, so some elements will be automated which could help, but it's still a massive feature to balance between the other aspects of gameplay. If it doesn't feel or look great, it could undermine the entire Starfield experience, and even put players off. In such a large game with so many other aspects to address and ensure are running smoothly, players are just hoping that space flight and ship mechanics haven't fallen behind some of Starfield's other prominent features when it comes to development time.
How Starfield Is Shaping Up
Space flight aside, Starfield has revealed plenty of intriguing details over the past few days. Gamers know Bethesda was always planning to make it an incredibly ambitious new IP – the first in over two decades – but they weren't prepared for the sheer scale of the game. Starfield will have a hundred systems and over a thousand planets for players to explore, with diverse landscapes, resources, and alien life to discover. This will undoubtedly keep players busy, but some are worried that Bethesda has set its sights a little too high and might not be able to deliver to the level that fans would expect. This particular predicament and the expansive setting are reminiscent of No Man's Sky's aspirations at launch, and fans are hoping that Starfield doesn't fall into the same trap.
There's still lots for gamers to get excited about. Starfield's customization seems almost endless, with players able to build their own ships, create their own settlements, and shape their protagonist however they want with an intricate character creation system. As is custom with a lot of Bethesda games, Starfield will have mod support – something that has helped the developer's previous titles like The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim achieve a kind of mythic longevity and relevance years after its launch with tools that let players creatively adapt the base game.
Bethesda has already provided details of some of the factions and groups that make up Starfield's stratified society, but the recent gameplay footage showed players interacting with other characters in Constellation, an organization of space explorers to which the player will belong. There were also sections of combat against a group of space pirates called the Crimson Fleet. Players can either fight or join this nefarious faction, showcasing just one of the ways that they can make their Starfield playthrough their own.
Starfield has generated plenty of buzz since its initial announcement, and while there have been some incredibly positive reactions as it reveals more of its secrets, there have also been some mixed ones. Bethesda is still working on the game, and fans will have to wait and see how Starfield's slightly more challenging features like space flight work out once it releases.
Starfield is scheduled to release in early 2023 on PC and Xbox Series X/S.