Bethesda's Todd Howard has compared the gameplay flow of Starfield to that of Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2. As the first single-player Bethesda game since 2015's Fallout 4, hype is incredibly high for Starfield. Anticipation for the game has only grown since its big blowout during the recent Starfield Direct presentation.Starfield is being positioned as Xbox's flagship release for 2023. While it received a short trailer during the Xbox Games Showcase, it also got its own Starfield Direct presentation that gave gamers their best look yet at what Starfield is bringing to the table come launch in September. Bethesda's Todd Howard has continued to promote Starfield in various interviews since the Starfield Direct, recently comparing the game's flow to Red Dead Redemption 2.In an interview with IGN, Howard said, "As a flow it probably has more of a feeling of like a Red Dead 2. Like, I'm living the western fantasy. So in this you're living this science-fiction explorer fantasy. And sometimes that's being on a barren planet and nothing is going on." Howard continued, "For me, it's games where I feel I am rooted in the reality of this universe of the game and everything else kinda disappears." This doesn't mean that Starfield is going to be like Red Dead Redemption 2 in space, but Howard's statements do seem to indicate that Rockstar's open world western has served as some kind of inspiration for Starfield's gameplay flow.
Based on what's been shown so far Starfield is going to be like Skyrim in space, while still carving out a unique identity of its own. But while the game isn't literally going to be like a space-faring version of Red Dead Redemption 2, it will have some wild west elements to it. The IGN interviewer pointed out that Starfield even has an old west-style town that players will be able to visit, as spotted in the Starfield Direct presentation.
Taking that further, one of the characters players will meet on their Starfield adventures seems to be a literal space cowboy. During the Starfield Direct presentation, players were introduced to more of Starfield's companion characters, which includes a man named Sam Coe who dresses like a cowboy. Players will have to wait until launch to learn more about Sam Coe, but it has been confirmed that he will be one of the romance options in Starfield.
Once Starfield is officially out, it will be interesting to see if there are any obvious ways Red Dead Redemption 2 has influenced it. The Starfield release date is mere months away, so Bethesda fans don't have to wait too much longer to find out.
Starfield launches September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X.