Introduction
Starfield is a 2023 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. In the game, the player character joins a group of space explorers who must venture 50 light-years around the Sol System to acquire mysterious artifacts. The game features an open world in the form of an area within the Milky Way galaxy, containing both fictional and non-fictional planetary systems.
Starfield takes place in a space-themed setting, and is the first new intellectual property developed by Bethesda in 25 years. It was described by its director, Todd Howard, as “Skyrim in space.” Like Bethesda’s previous games, it was powered by the Creation Engine, though it was heavily modified to accommodate the game’s procedural generation system. Active development of the game started following the release of Fallout 4 in 2015.
Announced in 2018, Starfield was delayed several times. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox Series X/S on September 6, 2023. It received generally positive reviews from critics, with particular praise for its open world, setting, and soundtrack, though its story and exploration were divisive. The title’s first downloadable content (DLC), Shattered Space, was released on September 30, 2024.
Gameplay
Starfield is an action role-playing video game. The player can switch between a first-person and third-person perspective at any time. The game features an open world in the form of an area within the Milky Way galaxy, containing both fictional and non-fictional planetary systems. The player is able to land on more than 1,000 planets and an unspecified number of moons and space stations. The majority of the landscapes
Within the game, the majority of landscapes were procedurally generated, depending on the star of its system and its atmosphere, as well as locations of interest as the player approaches a planet, with modified and handcrafted content developed around them. The largest city in the game, New Atlantis, is the largest fictional city Bethesda has developed. As the player explores the game world, they encounter various non-playable characters (NPCs), some of whom have the option to join the player’s crew.
Such NPCs may aid the player in combat, carry items, speak to other NPCs on the player’s behalf during confrontations, and comment on choices the player makes. The player may station crew members at any of their constructed outposts. Each companion character has their own unique skills and abilities. Some recruitable NPCs can be romanced by the player.
At the start of the game, the player can customize their character, a silent protagonist. This includes choosing their body type, appearance, facial features, background, and traits. Choosing the background of the player character unlocks three starting skills. As the player progresses, they will unlock additional traits which can aid or hinder them. For instance, the Introvert trait grants the player more endurance when travelling alone, but reduces their endurance when travelling with a companion. Traits are removable through quests or certain actions. As the player progresses, they gain experience and level up, allowing them to unlock abilities found in five distinct skill trees: Physical, Social, Combat, Science, and Tech. Each skill can be ranked up by completing related challenges.
A variety of firearms, explosives, and melee weapons can be used to defeat enemies. Most weapons are customizable via attachments. Equipping a telescopic sight enhances a weapon’s accuracy while equipping a suppressor can engender a stealth-oriented playing style. Various items can aid the player in combat by restoring health or applying status effects. The player is additionally able to equip
Various jetpacks (called “boost packs”) aid the player in both combat and traversing impassable or challenging environments. When landed on a celestial body, the gravitational force acting upon the player varies depending upon the body’s mass and can affect combat, jump or boost height, as well as fall damage received. Certain items looted from structures or enemies are considered contraband, and getting caught while smuggling them to other planets can get the player fined, jailed, or attacked, such as a time-slowing drug Aurora, which is only legal in the city of Neon.
The player can construct, purchase, or commandeer spaceships. At various spaceports located on planets or space stations, the player can buy and sell parts and spaceships, or have their own repaired. The game features a modular ship customization system, allowing the player to modify their ships’ central components, facilities, rooms, paint color, decorations, and weapons. Larger spaceships may possess greater storage capacity and
living space, but a lower maximum speed and shorter maximum Jump Range. Weapons must be equipped to defend the player’s spaceship during ship combat. Ships feature a “power allocation” system, whereby the player must prioritize which systems receive levels of power at any given time. During combat, the player can opt to allocate power to weapons systems rather than their ship’s “Grav Drive.” Both hostile and peaceful NPC-piloted spaceships can be boarded. The player can plunder, commandeer and destroy ships, as well as speak to, trade with, and kill their occupants.
Setting
Starfield takes place in the Settled Systems, a region of space extending outwards from the Sol System for approximately 50 light-years. In the 2050s, humanity explores Mars. By the 2150s, a method of faster-than-light travel called the “Grav Drive” is invented; however, around this time, Earth’s magnetosphere begins to destabilize, gradually rendering the planet uninhabitable. Humanity is forced to use the Grav Drive to settle other star systems, starting with Alpha Centauri in 2156, which leads to the
Founding of the United Colonies (UC) in 2159, the New Atlantis colony on Alpha Centauri’s planet Jemison in 2160, and the colony’s designation as the UC’s capital in 2161. In 2189, the Freestar Collective breaks away from the United Colonies. Around the year 2310, the United Colonies and Freestar Collective engage in a military conflict called the Colony War. Other factions include: House Va’ruun, a growing destructive cult; the Ryujin Corporation, a near-omnipotent conglomerate with dubious ethics; Ecliptic, a shadowy and mercurial group of mercenaries; and the Crimson Fleet, a band of space pirates and outlaws.
The visual aesthetic of the Starfield universe, inspired by real-world technology such as that used by NASA, was dubbed “NASApunk” by director Todd Howard.
New Game +
After entering the Unity for the first time, the player is provided the opportunity to either complete the main quest again (with minor differences in plot points and dialogue to account for their status as Starborn) or to skip it and focus on collecting the artifacts necessary to again enter the Unity. After entering the Unity a second time, the player might encounter one of several variable universes, featuring changes that can affect the main plot for that playthrough in myriad ways.
Development
Starfield is the first new intellectual property (IP) by Bethesda Game Studios in over twenty-five years, and has been described by director Todd Howard as “Skyrim in space.” The studio had been delving into space-themed games since as early as 1994, according to Howard. They had acquired the rights to make a game based on the Traveller role-playing system, but shortly lost them. Their Delta V game in 1994 had been part of this Traveller license but had not been fully realized. Howard stated they had rights to Star Trek in the 2000s and he pitched an idea for a role-playing game in that setting, but this failed to be approved.
While Bethesda had wanted to do a science fiction game for some time and had strong ideas for its gameplay style, it took a while to cement the ideas behind Starfield that would distinguish it from other science-fiction games already released. They came onto a theme which lead artist Istvan Pely dubbed “NASA punk,” that although set in humanity’s future, used technology that can be traced to origins in various National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) space missions. Bethesda’s team
began writing a fictional narrative of events by decade of the approximately 300 years from development to the game’s present, in order to ask “And now man is living amongst the stars: what does that mean?”, according to Howard.Starfield‘s concept had been in the studio’s planned development plans for some time prior to the trademarking of the name in 2013.
Of other potential names for the game, Howard said, “There were no other names. It had to be ‘Starfield’.”He said active development of the game had been ongoing since the release of Fallout 4 in November 2015. By mid-2018, the game was in production, had already been in development for some time and was in a playable state. Starfield is the studio’s first game made using Creation Engine 2
Marketing and release
At Bethesda’s E3 2018 presentation, Todd Howard presented a short teaser trailer for the game. An in-engine trailer demonstrating the improvements of Creation Engine 2 was presented at E3 2021 during the combined Microsoft-Bethesda press event, and a release date of November 11, 2022, on Microsoft Windows and Xbox Series X/S as a console exclusive was announced. The London Symphony Orchestra previewed the game’s title theme, “Starfield Suite,” composed
By Inon Zur, at The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – 10th Anniversary Concert in November 2021, while it was released as a standalone track on various streaming services in April 2022. In May 2022, Bethesda announced that the game’s release would be delayed until the first half of 2023 alongside Redfall from sister studio Arkane Austin, with Howard stating that the additional development time and support from engineers at Microsoft would make Starfield a better game. On March 8, 2023, Bethesda announced that the game would be released on September 6, 2023. On June 11, 2023, Bethesda Game Studios presented approximately 45 minutes of gameplay for Starfield in a presentation called Starfield Direct.
In July 2023, Bethesda released an anthology series of three animated shorts titled Starfield: The Settled Systems, which chronicle the daily lives of specific characters inhabiting three major cities in the galaxy: a delivery pilot based in New Atlantis, Jemison, an orphan in Akila City, Akila, and two young adults residing in Neon on the planet Volli Alpha. The game made a further appearance at Gamescom: Opening Night Live in August 2023, where a live-action commercial for the game and a live piano rendition of the game’s main medley by Inon Zur were presented.
Starfield was playable during the week of Gamescom, with Todd Howard and Xbox CEO Phil Spencer also holding an exclusive demo to the press, showcasing the first fifteen minutes of the game. On August 30, American band Imagine Dragons released a song titled “Children of the Sky” in promotion of the game. A music video was released September 19.
The standard edition of Starfield is available alongside a “Premium Edition,” and another edition of the game titled “Constellation Edition.” People who purchase either the Premium or the Constellation Edition received up to five days of early access prior to the game’s official launch, while all owners secure free access to the first downloadable content expansion Shattered Space, as well as various bonus materials. A Premium Edition upgrade with the aforementioned perks is also
Available to owners of the standard edition on Xbox and PC, as well as Xbox Game Pass subscribers on console and Windows. Microsoft has distributed several accessories to commemorate the game, including a Starfield-themed Xbox Wireless Controller and headset, and a console decal wrap designed for Xbox Series X, which was released on October 18, 2023.
In June 2023, Bethesda announced AMD as the exclusive PC partner for Starfield, who hosted a giveaway in August 2023 for 500 limited edition Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPUs and Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics cards, styled after the aesthetics of the Constellation organization in the game. AMD is also distributing free codes for the game via Steam with the purchase of select products online.
Reception
Starfield received “generally favorable” reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. 83% of critics recommended the game on OpenCritic.
Leon Hurley from GamesRadar+ praised Starfield for its expansive and immersive world, its varied and creative missions, its solid and stable mechanics, and its graphics. Hurley also pointed out some minor flaws, such as the lack of stealth and pickpocketing skills at the start. Hurley said that Starfield is the best thing Bethesda has done since The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and that it offers endless discovery and opportunities for players who love exploration and freedom.
Writing for The Washington Post, Gene Park said that Starfield is a massive undertaking by Bethesda that aims high and explores new territory. Several reviewers noted the relative lack of bugs at launch compared to previous Bethesda titles.
The game’s story and characters divided critics. IGN praised the worldbuilding and number of interesting companion characters, also saying the sidequests were dynamic enough to give the player the opportunity to role-play. On the other hand, Digital Trends found the characters to be disappointingly one-note, though did praise the varied sidequests, while TechRadar said that the main story felt “soulless.”
The implementation of space exploration also drew mixed responses. PC Gamer said that the game “fails to feel like a grand adventure” and criticized space travel as being too reliant on loading screens and fast-travel between planets. Digital Trends was also disappointed by the lack of depth to space travel and noted the repetitive nature of the game’s 1,000 planets. Destructoid was more positive about the exploration, commending the unpredictability of the sandbox and amount of content to discover.
The game’s original score, composed by Inon Zur, was a consistent subject of praise. Destructoid praised the themes as fitting in with the space setting, while Shacknews called the score “phenomenal” and said “There were times I’d find myself sitting idle, just soaking in the environment and enjoying the original score.”
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | (PC) 85/100 (XSXS) 83/100 |
| OpenCritic | 83% |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Destructoid | 10/10 |
| Digital Trends | 3.5/5 |
| Easy Allies | 8/10 |
| Eurogamer | 3/5 |
| Famitsu | 34/40 |
| Game Informer | 8.5/10 |
| GameSpot | 7/10 |
| GamesRadar+ | 5/5 |
| Hardcore Gamer | 4/5 |
| IGN | 7/10 |
| PC Gamer (US) | 75/100 |
| PCGamesN | 7/10 |
| PCMag | 3.5/5 |
| RPGFan | 98/100 |
| Shacknews | 9/10 |
| TechRadar | 4/5 |
| The Guardian | 4/5 |
| Video Games Chronicle | 5/5 |
| VG247 | 4/5 |
| VideoGamer.com | 9/10 |
| The Washington Post | 4/4 |
Awards
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Golden Joystick Awards | Most Wanted Game | Nominated | [121] |
| 2022 | Golden Joystick Awards | Most Wanted Game | Nominated | [122] |
| The Game Awards 2022 | Most Anticipated Game | Nominated | [123] | |
| 2023 | Golden Joystick Awards | Ultimate Game of the Year | Nominated | [124] |
| Best Supporting Performer (Cissy Jones) | Nominated | |||
| Best Visual Design | Nominated | |||
| Best Audio | Nominated | |||
| Xbox Game of the Year | Won | |||
| Steam Awards | Most Innovative Gameplay | Won | [125][126] | |
| The Game Awards 2023 | Best Role Playing Game | Nominated | [127] | |
| 2024 | BMI Film & TV Awards | Video Game Award (Best Music) | Won | [128] |
| New York Game Awards | Big Apple Award for Game of the Year | Nominated | [129][130] | |
| Herman Melville Award for Best Writing in a Game | Nominated | |||
| Statue of Liberty Award for Best World | Nominated | |||
| 27th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards | Role-Playing Game of the Year | Nominated | [131][132] | |
| Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction | Nominated | |||
| 24th Game Developers Choice Awards | Game of the Year | Honorable mention | [133][134] | |
| Innovation Award | Honorable mention | |||
| Best Narrative | Honorable mention | |||
| Best Technology | Nominated | |||
| Audience Award | Nominated | |||
| 20th British Academy Games Awards | Narrative | Longlisted | [135] | |
| New Intellectual Property | Longlisted | |||
| Technical Achievement | Nominated | [136][137] |
Notes
- id Software assisted with the game’s graphics, visuals, and implementation of id Tech features.
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