Starfield seems to have everything that sci-fi RPG fans could want, but it is also lacking one thing that made Fallout special. While Bethesda may have made a big deal about Starfield's Constellation Watch, even going so far as to make a physical version for the game's special edition, yet the in-game version lacks any functionality. What should have been the game's version of Fallout's Pip-Boy feels like nothing more than cosmetic fluff.

Unlike Fallout's Pip-Boy, Starfield's Constellation Watch barely comes up throughout the player’s journey. It is not used as the game's menu, players cannot really look at it, and it only appears as a UI element in the corner. It did not need to serve a greater purpose, but it really should have. The game is already being criticized for its clunky UI, so adding a feature like the Pip-Boy could have gone a long way in alleviating that.

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Starfield's Watch Feels Nonexistent

Leading up to Starfield's release, it felt like Bethesda was setting up the Constellation Watch to be the space version of Fallout's Pip-Boy. Just like with Fallout 4's Pip-Boy edition, the watch was also included in the game's priciest edition. Some of the pre-release trailers even seemed to highlight the in-game watch, which makes it even stranger that it serves almost no purpose throughout the entire game.

Players are given their Starfield Constellation Watch early in the game's narrative. It feels like this major moment where players are being granted a useful tool, but it really does not do much. The watch's face will appear in the corner of Starfield's HUD and stay there for most of the game. All it does is display O2 and CO2 levels, the planet players are currently on, and various map markers. That is all that it does, yet it could have been so much more.

Fallout includes a similar watch-like item, but its version does things very differently. Early on, players are given their trusty Pip-Boy to aid in their journey. Instead of being a simple HUD element, the Pip-Boy is a vital tool throughout every single Fallout title. Players access their inventory, the world map, their quest tracker, and even the radio through this device. While it is nothing more than a glorified menu screen, it goes a long way in immersing the player in the game's world.

Starfield's Constellation Watch should have worked the same. Instead of throwing players into a crowded menu, they should have been able to just glance at their wrists. This could have brought up a watch-like menu that displayed everything from the player's inventory to an actual map of the various planets. While the game's menu may already be trying to replicate that feeling with its round aesthetic, it feels nothing like Fallout's version, which hurts the immersion factor a bit.

Giving players an in-universe explanation for their inventory screen goes a long way in immersing the player in the game's world. The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim was a fantastic experience, but its clunky menus would sometimes hinder that experience. Fallout 4's clunky menus at least felt like a core part of the universe thanks to the Pip-Boy. That not only helped keep the players within the world, but it is also a unique way to display an RPG menu, which makes it stand apart from the crowd.

One of the main criticisms of Starfield is its slow and crowded menu, and while the Constellation Watch would not have fixed that, it could have at least made the menu feel like a part of the universe. While it is too late to fix it, Bethesda should ensure future RPGs have canon menu screens. It has already shown it can make these types of menus, so there is seemingly no reason it should not repeat the process with its many franchises.

Starfield is available now for PC and Xbox Series X/S.

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