Starfield: A Game I’m Still Anticipating
With some free time on my hands while waiting for the release of Diablo IV Season 3 and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, I could have caught up on all the games I missed in 2023. Instead, I decided to revisit Starfield, three months after my last play session.
Revisiting a Newly Released Disc-Based Game
When Starfield was first released, I gave it high praise, despite some criticisms, finding it genuinely intriguing. That initial impression hasn’t changed to this day. However, upon returning to the game after some time and comparing it with other titles in the same genre, I encountered a somewhat peculiar experience.
Starfield Replays: Reflecting on the Last Three Months
My recent replays of Starfield have not focused on quest design or NPC animation. Instead, I’ve been exploring random high-level star systems, engaging in activities like battling creatures and bandits, scanning flora and fauna, and even trying my hand at ship theft. What has struck me the most is how little Starfield seems to have evolved over the past three months.
It’s surprising that there have been so few updates to enhance gameplay since its release. Some of the requests we’ve received, such as “Eliminate loading screens” and “Introduce a land vehicle,” either pose technical challenges or require substantial development time. On the other hand, numerous smaller to medium-sized improvement projects that seemed feasible within a few months have yet to materialize.
The Temple: Game Changes Unchanged
Despite widespread complaints about strict limits on oxygen consumption and maximum carry weight, neither has seen any adjustments.
Weapons still suffer from imbalance, with some being either overpowered or useless. Skill and difficulty adjustments are absent; even the highest difficulty setting remains too easy. Inventory management remains unchanged, and a critical issue persists where switching or modifying a ship results in all items being dumped into the cargo hold. The repetitive temple mini-game remains unchanged, highlighting a laundry list of unresolved issues.
Starfield: A New Game in the Making
So, What’s Changed Since Launch?
Post-launch updates have been few and far between. The notable changes include improved support for NVIDIA GPUs, the ability to eat food directly from tables, and a fix for a bug that previously facilitated easier item theft from stores.
Other than that, most updates have focused on bug fixes in quests. Looking ahead, a new beta patch is expected later this month, primarily addressing quest bugs and enhancing visual elements like character faces and planetary rings. Bethesda appears to recognize the need for more frequent updates and has committed to releasing patches approximately every six weeks going forward. They’ve also announced plans to introduce the expansion “Shattered Space” by the end of the year and hinted at implementing “new forms of transportation,” sparking speculation about a possible land vehicle.
While Starfield isn’t designed as a live service game, many players find ongoing issues—including bugs, balance problems, and underwhelming features—a persistent source of frustration. By contrast, “Baldur’s Gate 3” has issued 17 hotfixes and 5 major patches since its August release last year.
The Future of Starfield: A Review
It seems Bethesda may be relying on modders to address issues, but in the case of Starfield, this approach feels outdated. Modern games demand a more agile response from developers, something Bethesda has been slow to deliver. While there’s hope for improvement in 2024, and Bethesda seems committed to making changes, it’s disappointing that after four months since release, more substantial updates haven’t been implemented.