Highlights
- Starfield's recent reviews on Steam are mostly negative, with only 37% of players being satisfied with the game's direction.
- Many Bethesda fans are disappointed in Starfield, comparing it unfavorably to Skyrim and Fallout 4.
- The game's focus on procedural generation and lack of immersive sandbox experience have been major criticisms among players.
Starfield no longer has a Mixed rating on Steam, as its recent reviews left by players are Mostly Negative, where only 37% are satisfied with the game. While Starfield enjoyed a successful launch in September 2023, the latest Bethesda title has slowly sunk in popularity. Coming from Skyrim and Fallout 4, many Bethesda fans seem disappointed in Starfield.
Though Bethesda should be commended for attempting to make something different, it would appear that a majority of players are dissatisfied with the direction taken. Starfield's singular focus on procedural generation arguably deprived it of the "magic" that drew fans to Bethesda games in the first place, and some players have claimed that it felt more like a theme park of empty worlds and static cities connected via loading screens than the immersive sandbox experience that older Bethesda titles so effortlessly channeled.
Baldur’s Gate 3 and Starfield Are Opposite Sides of the Same Coin
Despite being the biggest RPGs of 2023, Baldur’s Gate 3 and Starfield both showcase two contrasting extremes of a problematic trend for RPGs.
As a result, Starfield currently boasts a 37% rating on Steam, gathered from user reviews made by its players in the past 30 days. While an ambitious road map for Starfield was shared by Bethesda, it did little to improve the current public opinion of the game. The resurgence of Cyberpunk 2077, as well as the colossal acclaim that Baldur's Gate 3 received, have arguably been the worst thing that could have happened to Starfield. Many of its dissatisfied players have weighed and measured it against the other two titles, which has only served to further highlight Starfield's most glaring flaws as a role-playing game.
Starfield Reviews
While Emil Pagliarulo responded to Starfield's criticism on Twitter, claiming that the game took a lot of hard work, and accusing disgruntled players of being disconnected from the reality of game development, the statement only further drove a wedge between Bethesda and the community.
With Skyrim having more players than Starfield, it's clear that the game doesn't quite have the appeal that Bethesda may have been hoping for. However, that doesn't mean that this will always be the case. Bethesda hasn't abandoned Starfield just yet, as around 250 employees are still working on the game, and will be releasing regular updates in 2024.
Starfield
- Platform(s)
- PC , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Released
- September 6, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda
