Bethesda's Starfield is right around the corner, with fans counting down the days until its September release. Due to the imminence of the space-faring RPG's release, a huge amount of information is known about what kind of experience the title will portray for fans.

The hype around Starfield has been quite palpable for some time, but news of the game will be reaching an even wider catch of curious players over the next few weeks. With this in mind, there are some central factors of Starfield that give an excellent overview of what the title is set to offer players.

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Starfield: A Focus On Exploration and Customization

One of the core tenets of Starfield is undoubtedly the scale of exploration and customization options that the title is set to offer. As the first brand-new IP to come from Bethesda in over 25 years, Starfield is aiming to curate a range of opportunities that trump those within the many iconic releases the studio has historically released.

At the core of this, it is worth knowing that Starfield will feature over 1000 explorable planets divided between 100 systems, giving an instant quantifier as to how complex the title’s exploration will be. Many of these planets will be procedurally generated, giving a unique experience for each player, with a select few planets being hand-crafted to host the game’s integral main narratives.

This scale of planetary exploration will require a lot of space travel, with Starfield also boasting quite a complex spaceship customization system. Ships can be intensely customized through building blocks that a player has unlocked, concerning things like weapons, engines, cargo holds, and reactors. This allows players to scale their ship depending on their preferred playstyle, also being able to customize the crew and cosmetics of a ship. With Starfield also boasting a significantly detailed character customization system, it is clear that fans should be gearing up for one of the most immersive and open Bethesda RPG experiences to date.

Starfield's Core Gameplay and Narrative Freedom

Long-term fans of the classic Bethesda RPG experience will be happy to hear of some elements that Starfield is set to retain from older releases. For example, Starfield is moving away from the controversial barebones dialogue system of Fallout 4, moving closer to more in-depth speech pathways akin to the likes of Skyrim. This will surely reap dividends for Starfield's character interaction and multiple storylines, which see the player become involved in galactic struggles away from the main story.

The core gameplay of Starfield largely involves searching new planets and scanning their resources, with certain locations having complex structures, conflicts, or wildlife that require further inspection. This allows the player to take the game's narrative at their own pace, forging relationships with factions and a range of potential companions all the while. Of course, this fosters things like potential romances in Starfield, further cementing the level of control that is at the hands of fans.

Like other Bethesda RPGs, Starfield will allow players to use a wide range of weapons and skillsets, with 82 skills being available for fans. In this way, players can create builds tailored to how they want to approach Starfield's varied environments and engagements. Ultimately, Starfield is set to maintain the best of Bethesda's winning formula while expanding its scale and possibilities, and fans should expect a highly customizable and narratively open experience set across the vastness of space.

Starfield will be available on September 6, 2023, for PC and Xbox Series X/S.

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