Summary
There’s little doubt thatStarfieldis a massive game, as even Bethesda’s executive Pete Hines has struggled to complete his playthrough after 160 hours of gameplay. Featuring over a thousand planets,Starfieldis Bethesda’s most ambitious undertaking yet, promising potentially hundreds of hours of handcrafted content for players to immerse themselves in. The expectations are high, especially after the impressivedeep dive footage thatStarfielddebutedearlier in 2023.
Drawing inspiration from past titles,Starfieldis the culmination of a Bethesda sandbox. It will feature a comprehensive Factions system, new ways of providing procedural content, and fully-modular ship customization that will let players design the space-faring vehicle of their dreams. Though it remains to be seen ifStarfieldwill avoid bugsthat have traditionally marked every modern Bethesda release, early reactions seem to be overwhelmingly positive.
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In a recent Gamescom interview shared on Twitter, Pete Hines went on record to say that despite putting about 160 hours intoStarfield, he did not even come close to seeing all the game had to offer. Its sheer size and complexity has often been a major selling point, asTodd Howard once describedStarfieldas being five or six games in one. Bethesda has remained confident about delivering a massive single-player experience, though skeptics from the largerStarfieldcommunity are worried that quantity does not always translate into quality.
With games such asHogwarts Legacy,Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, andBaldur’s Gate 3,Starfieldis releasing in a year defined by successful single-player titles. Despite the fierce competition, Bethesda has managed to generate immense hype forStarfield, and provided its launch isn’t marred by the game-breaking bugs thatFallout 76had to deal with,Starfieldhas the potential to become Bethesda’s biggest game yet.
Phil Spencer and Microsoft arguably took a big gamble by puttingStarfieldon the Xbox Game Pass at day one, as players will be able to enjoy all the game has to offer at a fraction of its $70 price tag. However, the success ofStarfieldmay see an unprecedented growth to the platform, as it’s meant to kickstart a string of major first-party releases coming to Xbox Game Pass in 2024 and 2025. Despite the recentstart screen controversy forStarfield, the game has enjoyed a steady marketing campaign, and Bethesda fans across the globe eagerly await their chance to take to the stars.
Starfieldreleases September 6 on PC and Xbox Series X/S.
