A Galaxy of Possibilities

Starfield represents Bethesda’s first new IP in 25 years, and the weight of expectation surrounding this space-faring RPG has been astronomical. Promising over 1,000 planets to explore and the freedom to carve your own path through the stars, Starfield’s ambition is undeniable. But in reaching for the cosmos, has Bethesda created a game that’s as vast as space itself—or merely as empty?

After spending well over 80 hours with Starfield, the answer is complex. This is a game of breathtaking scale and impressive technical achievements, yet one that sometimes struggles under the weight of its own ambition. It’s a distinctly Bethesda experience—for better and worse—transplanted onto an interstellar canvas.

A New Frontier

Set in the year 2330, Starfield takes place in a section of the galaxy known as the Settled Systems. Humanity has spread among the stars, forming various factions including the United Colonies, the Freestar Collective, and various corporations and criminal enterprises. The narrative begins with the player character discovering a mysterious artifact while mining, which triggers visions and connects them to a phenomenon called “the Constellation.”

This setup kicks off the main questline, which follows your journey as a member of Constellation—a group of explorers dedicated to finding more of these artifacts and understanding their purpose. The central mystery unfolds at a measured pace, touching on themes of existence, perception, and humanity’s place in the universe. It’s more philosophical than Bethesda’s previous work, though it maintains the studio’s penchant for weaving player choice throughout the narrative.

Stellar Systems

Mechanically, Starfield builds upon Bethesda’s established formula while introducing several new systems. Character creation remains robust, with background selection affecting your starting skills and a trait system that provides both advantages and disadvantages. The skill system has been revamped into a more traditional perk tree, with points earned through leveling and challenges tied to each skill encouraging you to engage with different gameplay mechanics.

Combat has seen significant improvements over Fallout 4, with more satisfying gunplay and a cover system that, while not perfect, adds tactical depth to engagements. The zero-G combat sequences are particularly novel, allowing for 360-degree movement that creates unique scenarios unlike anything in Bethesda’s previous titles.

“We wanted to capture that feeling of wonder when you look up at the night sky and wonder what’s out there. That’s been the driving force behind everything in Starfield.” — Todd Howard, Game Director

Perhaps the most significant new system is spaceship customization and flight. Players can purchase, modify, or build ships from scratch using a comprehensive ship builder. The level of customization is impressive, allowing you to create vessels that range from sleek explorers to hulking combat ships. Space flight itself strikes a balance between simulation and accessibility, with manual control during combat and exploration but automated travel for longer distances.

A Universe of Content

The headline feature of Starfield is its scale: over 1,000 planets across more than 100 star systems. This astronomical number is achieved through procedural generation, with hand-crafted locations scattered amid algorithmically created terrain. The result is a mix of meticulously designed cities, outposts, and dungeons set against the backdrop of procedurally generated planetary surfaces.

The major cities—including New Atlantis, Akila, and Neon—showcase Bethesda’s strength in environmental storytelling. Each has a distinct architectural style and cultural identity, populated by NPCs going about their daily routines. These urban centers house some of the game’s best quests and most memorable characters, serving as hubs for the various faction questlines that complement the main story.

Outside these hand-crafted locations, the procedurally generated content is more variable in quality. Some planets feature stunning vistas with unique flora, fauna, and resource distributions that make exploration worthwhile. Others are barren wastelands with little to distinguish them beyond different colored rocks. The procedural system creates a realistic distribution of habitable versus inhospitable worlds, but this scientific accuracy sometimes comes at the cost of engaging gameplay.

Quest for the Stars

Quest design follows familiar Bethesda patterns, with a main questline, faction questlines, side quests, and randomly generated missions. The quality varies significantly, with the hand-crafted content generally offering compelling narratives and interesting choices. The main quest gradually builds from a conventional space adventure into something more thought-provoking, while faction quests like the UC Vanguard and Ryujin Industries storylines present some of the game’s most memorable moments.

Side quests range from elaborate multi-stage adventures to simple fetch quests, though even the smaller missions often contain surprising narrative turns or moral dilemmas. Procedurally generated missions from faction boards are the weakest link, typically involving generic objectives like clearing locations of enemies or retrieving items, with minimal narrative context.

Technical Considerations

Visually, Starfield represents a significant step forward for Bethesda’s Creation Engine. The lighting system in particular creates atmospheric environments, whether you’re traversing a neon-soaked cityscape or watching twin suns set over an alien landscape. Character models and animations have seen improvements as well, though they still lack the fluidity found in some contemporaries.

Performance on PC varies significantly based on hardware. On high-end systems, the game maintains a steady 60 FPS at 1440p with occasional dips during particularly busy scenes or when transitioning between areas. Load times are greatly improved compared to previous Bethesda titles, with fast travel between planets taking mere seconds on systems with SSDs.

The typical Bethesda jankiness persists to some degree, with occasional physics oddities, animation glitches, and rare crashes. However, the game is notably more stable at launch than previous titles from the studio, suggesting lessons learned from past releases.

A Universe of Sound

The audio design deserves special mention, from the atmospheric soundscapes of alien worlds to the excellent voice acting for key characters. Inon Zur’s musical score perfectly captures the sense of cosmic wonder and exploration that forms the emotional core of the experience. Dynamic audio cues enhance immersion, with environmental sounds changing based on your surroundings and equipment.

Voice acting is generally strong, particularly for companion characters and major NPCs. The dialogue system has been revamped to include occasional first-person dialogue scenes for important moments, adding emotional weight to key interactions while maintaining the traditional dialogue camera for most conversations.