Critics Aren't Holding Back On Starfield

The release of a new Bethesda Softworks RPG is always something of an event, but "Starfield" feels particularly significant. Fans have been eagerly anticipating the game since Bethesda announced it back in 2018 with a brief teaser, but it's been in development for even longer than that. A great deal of work has gone into the title that director Todd Howard has called "'Skyrim' in space," and fans have built up a huge amount of hype to match. "Starfield" finally launches next week, but it began its early access period today, and critics have had an opportunity to weigh in on whether it manages to meet those expectations.

As with many Bethesda action RPGs, "Starfield" features a relatively simple main plotline that quickly expands with multiple factions, side-quests, and a whole universe to explore. Thus far, critics are astounded by the sheer amount of content within the game, as players can explore hundreds of planets with their own unique atmospheres and creatures. Players can romance NPCs, choose a life of crime or justice, become a bruiser or a tactical genius, and generally wreak havoc or save lives in a massive galactic sandbox. In other words, for better and worse, "Starfield" gives you everything you'd expect from a Bethesda game, but on a scale never before attempted by the company.

Because "Starfield" is so ambitious and so large in scope, it's also prompted vastly different reactions from reviewers. Some people are convinced that this is the greatest game ever created by one of the best in the biz, while others argue that it has not at all lived up to the hype. Wherever they fall on the spectrum, one thing is for sure: The critics are not holding back when it comes to "Starfield."

One of the most common criticisms leveled at "Starfield" is it takes a while to get going. Some reviewers, like PC Gamer's Christopher Livingston, have remarked that they weren't quite sure they even liked the game until they'd put over a dozen hours into it. After introducing the protagonist and a central mystery, players are shepherded to a few different environments that act as both a primer on this universe and a tutorial on its various systems. Unfortunately, these sequences take place in some of the more generic-looking biomes, and it takes a little longer than some would prefer before the game truly lets you loose to explore the galaxy.

Once it does, however, there's seemingly no limit to the fun a player can have in making their own way in "Starfield." Critics may be mixed on the game's story, which largely follows a mission to track down a series of mysterious artifacts, but most seem impressed by the depth of each faction and profession in the game. Players can become coldblooded criminals, inquisitive scientists, bounty hunters only out to protect their own interests, or intrepid explorers charting the inky blackness of space. Matt Miller of Game Informer described the game's breadth of content as "overwhelming," but mostly in a good way, writing, "'Starfield' is a game of endless distractions, where new mission threads and activities are constantly beckoning. I found the most enjoyment when I allowed those threads to pull me to and fro, creating a web of interactions I could flip between as I saw fit."

Reviewers have noted that Bethesda seems to have learned from past mistakes with buggy launches, and has put a great deal of care into insuring "Starfield" takes off without a hitch. The Verge's Andrew Webster goes so far as to call the game "the most polished and solid release yet from Bethesda on a technical level." Fear not; players who are still haunted by the broken quests and crashes of "Fallout 76" should not find anything of that ilk here.

On the downside, the console version of "Starfield" is reportedly less polished than the PC release. Reviewers who played on Xbox Series X|S experienced stuttering frames in some of the game's busier environments, even with the console version's locked 30fps framerate. Digital Foundry's Oliver Mackenzie also reported some brief pauses as the game experienced loading issues, but said that this was the extent of his problems with the console release. Overall, players who download the game's Day One patch should be mostly pleased with the game's performance.

Critics have also paid a great deal of attention to the combat mechanics in the game, with some arguing that it's the most satisfying action in any Bethesda title. Forbes' Paul Tassi raved about the game's solid gunplay, noting that players will have a blast (no pun intended) leveling up their jetpacks and laying waste to foes on the ground. On the opposite side, Reid McCarter argues for Wired that the game's combat encounters "would be more memorable if survival didn't depend mostly on unloading rounds into enemies that charge straight at the player, or weathering attacks that would go virtually unnoticed if not for a health bar whittling down in the corner of the screen." IGN's review was likewise mixed, with Dan Stapleton criticizing the game for holding off on introducing the player to abilities crucial to combat and traversal.

Perhaps most intriguing of all, a number of reviewers have hinted that the game's plot heads in unexpected directions. Without diving into spoilers, critics have noted that players may find themselves divided on the later acts of the story, which gets darker and more mythical than Bethesda has let on. In his review for Destructoid, Steven Mills notes, "The ending won't be for everyone; but for me, as the credits rolled, I sat and thought for a while about life, the universe, and my interpretation of it." Not too shabby for a brand new sci-fi IP, huh?

"Starfield" launches for Xbox Series X|S and PC on September 6.