Opinion

Starfield brings back that old Bethesda magic

5-9-2023

Starfield won’t revolutionise the genre. It’s «only» a Bethesda game set in space. A disappointment to many fans, a reason for joy to me. It feels good to dive back into the wonderful world of Bethesda after such a long time.

Opinions on Starfield differ greatly at launch. Even Phil isn’t completely convinced by the game in his detailed review. One of the biggest criticisms concerns the game’s lack of anything revolutionary. It’s not a full-on space sim with seamless worlds similar to No Man’s Sky or Star Citizen. Instead, Starfield is simply Skyrim or Fallout in space.

Personally, I don’t see this as a negative, but a reason to rejoice. As a Bethesda fan, I’m just glad the cult studio is finding its way back to old RPG strength after years of mediocrity.

Starfield is a Bethesda RPG through and through.
Source: Domagoj Belancic

Bethesda’s descent into mediocrity

Before the launch of Starfield, there was a long drought for fans of Bethesda games. The last big single-player RPG from Todd Howard’s game forge, Fallout 4, was released in 2015. After that, there was the disastrous multiplayer spin-off Fallout 76, VR ports of old games, and an Elder Scrolls mobile game.

This period of starvation without really good Bethesda content hurt even more when reminiscing about the glory years between 2006 and 2011. During this period, Bethesda Game Studios released Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Skyrim. Three iconic games that still have a large, active fanbase to this day.

Every game had that unmistakeable Bethesda magic. No, I don’t mean the countless bugs present at launch. I’m referring to that indescribable feeling when you discover a cave in Skyrim and suddenly find yourself trapped in an epic, hour-long side quest. That feeling when you decide whether to destroy an entire city with a nuclear bomb in Fallout 3. That feeling of complete freedom and exploration that those vast Bethesda worlds trigger. Magic, pure and simple.

The Megaton quest line is one of the most legendary Fallout missions. With the push of a button, you can wipe out an entire city.
Source: ACiiDzFTW/YouTube

This energy was already less present for me in Fallout 4. Instead of magical moments, I increasingly felt a dull sense of déjà vu. Yes, everything was bigger and more beautiful. But the spark didn’t really catch, the game was too similar to its predecessor.

I didn’t even touch the multiplayer disaster Fallout 76. That entry had little to do with the main series games anyway. The world was empty, the quests uninteresting and the bugs were even more devastating than usual. Even without having played it, unending reviews and videos made it blatantly obvious: Bethesda’s magic had gone.

The game world in Fallout 76 is a lifeless imitation of Bethesda’s other open-world games.
Source: Bethesda

Starfield, or Bethesda at the speed of light

Fast forward to 2023. A full eight years after Fallout 4, Starfield has finally landed. I start the game with mixed feelings. I don’t really know what to expect. I certainly don’t hold hope of rediscovering the old Bethesda magic. I’m also unsettled by the many conflicting opinions and discussions on Twitter. But I’m definitely curious.

Initially, I’m disappointed with the game. Unlike past Bethesda games, Starfield doesn’t offer a big map where I can just run around and discover stuff. Instead, I have to click through menus and do plenty of fast travel with my spaceship. I can’t fly manually from planet to planet or explore whole planets without interruption.

I wonder if the old Bethesda magic can even be replicated with such a heavily partitioned game world and constant loading screens.

In Starfield, you spend a lot of time quick travelling and in menus.
Source: Domagoj Belancic

But after about 30 hours of play, I have an answer: yes! Bethesda’s universe doesn’t seem as cohesive as the open worlds in past games, but Starfield comes up trumps with an enormous diversity and quantity of content.

Not everything I discover in the vastness of space is really exciting. But that’s not too bad, as Starfield is a gigantic game and gives me even more freedom than Fallout or Skyrim. If I get bored with a quest line or a procedurally generated planet, I’m just a few clicks and a quick trip away from the next adventure.

Over time, I learn to separate the banal from the important. I find myself engrossed in a maelstrom of exciting quest lines, bouncing back and forth between dozens of planets like a madman. The number of different locations, characters and events I come across in one game session is staggering. Within an hour, I explore dinosaur aliens, take a break at a space spa resort, weightlessly explore an abandoned casino spaceship and finally decide the fate of an entire space colony. Wow! Bethesda magic at the speed of light.

There’s so much to discover. Including this seemingly abandoned mech factory.
Source: Domagoj Belancic

No simulated space? Who cares!

The whole discussion about space sims and seamless game worlds akin to No Man’s Sky seems more and more pointless to me the longer I play. Starfield doesn’t aim to simulate the often boring reality of space travel or to create a coherent «space feeling». Manual travel is too rare and fast travel too omnipresent for it to really matter. Instead, the game offers you a wide range of RPG staples that you can access at any moment with just a few clicks. From classic quest lines that could come straight out of Skyrim or Fallout to completely crazy space activities, it’s all there. If you allow yourself to be fully immersed in this particular game structure, you’ll rediscover the magic of old Bethesda games.

Unfortunately, along with the magic come old familiar flaws from said studio. Lifeless NPC faces, weird animations and tedious inventory management are also part of Starfield’s everyday life. But I have to admit, none of it really bothers me. On the contrary, these minor inconveniences trigger a pleasantly nostalgic feeling and perfectly complement the revitalised Bethesda magic.

It feels like it used to. It’s good to be home again. Funny, I know. But I’m just happy to be able to play a really good Bethesda game again.

Some areas in Starfield remind me of the post-apocalyptic Fallout world. How wonderful.
Source: Domagoj Belancic

We can only hope that Bethesda stays on the path of virtue with their next project and doesn’t deliver an uninspired successor or even a disaster. I shudder at the thought of a Starfield 76. The studio’s next big game is unlikely to be a space adventure anyway. According to Bethesda boss Pete Hines, The Elder Scrolls VI is actively in development. However, the game won’t be released before 2028. After Starfield, however, I’m in good spirits and confident that the long wait for the next magical Bethesda world will be worth it.

Read Phil’s detailed review of Starfield here: