The recent Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase gave gamers a sneak peek at what they can expect from Microsoft's first-party studios soon. A spotlight was shone on plenty of upcoming games including Forza Motorsport, Overwatch 2, and Asobo's A Plague Tale: Requiem which will serve as the sequel to the 2019 sleeper hit A Plague Tale: Innocence. Gamers also got a long look at Starfield, Bethesda's highly anticipated space RPG that the studio has been working on for over a decade.
In addition to receiving further confirmation that the game has been pushed back to early 2023, a gameplay trailer was also revealed which showed off a bit of the gunplay and puzzle mechanics. The trailer proved that fans of Bethesda will feel right at home with Starfield, as it builds on mechanics that the studio has used in other games. However, given that the studio has a new IP on its hands, it should use the opportunity to go beyond merely replicating what it has done before, and it should instead attempt to introduce some new environmental puzzles.
Fallout in Space Is Too Easy
As the 15-minute Starfield trailer revealed, Starfield will provide gamers with the opportunity to journey toward foreign star systems and alien planets inhabited by strange life forms. When out exploring new lands, players will not be limited to a first-person perspective, and they will be able to scan their environment for minerals to mine. Starfield will not just be peaceful spacewalking, however, as players will occasionally encounter hostile enemies. Fortunately, players can defend themselves with a wide range of guns, and they can expand their arsenal with more firearms that are obtained from weapons cases. To open the weapons cases, players must pick a lock by solving a simple puzzle.
The game will also feature an in-depth character creator system that allows players to alter numerous aspects of their character including their skin tone, walk style, and head shape. Players will also be able to pick a background from options such as Professor, Gangster, Diplomat, Cyberneticist, and Bounty Hunter, which will help to give personality to each player's character. Personality can be further customized by choosing up to three traits - such as Introvert, Taskmaster, Empath, and Unwanted Hero, to name a few - which each come with their own advantages and downsides. As Bethesda head Todd Howard revealed during his presentation at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, Starfield's skill system is based on past games from the studio, and as players progress, their skills will expand and improve, too.
The first views of Starfield are quite impressive, and it seems to be an expansive game that encourages players to explore, build bases, and tell their own stories. However, already comparisons have been made between Starfield and previous Bethesda games, as many of the mechanics displayed have been seen in past games like Fallout. Starfield features the ability to build an outpost to serve as a kind of home-away-from-home, which is nifty, but it also seems like a copy of Fallout 4's settlement building. The lock-picking system showcased in Starfield also seems like the evolution of the lock-picking present in Fallout 4.
None of this makes Starfield a bad game, and Bethesda has repeatedly used these mechanics because they are effective. However, considering the burning anticipation that has built up for the game, simply making 'Fallout in space' should not be enough for Bethesda. For many reasons, Starfield is an exceptionally rare opportunity for Bethesda to demonstrate creativity and introduce new ideas to the gaming world.
Starfield Is Bethesda's First New IP in a Long Time
Bethesda has released a few games in the last few years, but there are a few reasons why Starfield has managed to gather as much hype as it has. Most notably, it will be the studio's first new IP in over 25 years. Bethesda has been wanting to make a space open-world game for over a decade, and the name Starfield has been trademarked since at least 2013. When a trailer for the game was revealed during E3 2021, it was also announced that the game, which at this point had been in active development since 2014, would hit shelves in November 2022. Unfortunately, that date has been pushed back to 2023.
For a studio like Bethesda that relies so heavily on its key franchises - Fallout and The Elder Scrolls - the opportunity to test out new ideas and concepts with a new IP does not come along often at all. Now that the studio has Starfield in its hands, it should not squander the opportunity by simply rehashing old gameplay mechanics and merely placing them in space. While the cosmic setting is certainly novel, it may not be enough to ensure that the game stands out from Bethesda's already impressive library.
Instead, Bethesda should take advantage of Starfield's unique setting to present new environmental puzzles that both suit the game's theme and help to make the game feel different from past releases from the studio. Instead of lock-picking (which seems primitive for a game set in the future), the game could instead hide weapons and areas behind locks that require numbered passwords. These passwords could be obtained by paying attention to the environmental clues or looting key-cards from the right enemies; anything but the same mechanics that Bethesda has done to death already.
Starfield is a game that shows lots of promise. According to Todd Howard, players will get to explore star systems with hundreds of planets and plenty of different fauna. Gamers will also get to spend time on the planet of Jemison where most of the game's main missions will take place. With the right amount of creativity, Starfield has the potential to be a AAA hit, though if it borrows too much from its predecessors, it could wind up feeling far too derivative.
Starfield is scheduled to launch in the first half of 2023 on PC and Xbox Series X/S.