Among the Settled Systems: Starfield In-Depth Review

Bethesda Game Studios' first brand-new universe in over twenty-five years, Starfield, launched with immense expectations. Transporting the studio's beloved sandbox RPG formula into a grounded "NASA-punk" cosmos of over 1,000 planets, the game delivers breathtaking high points alongside the inherent design compromises of procedural space exploration.

Unmatched Starship Engineering

The crowning mechanical jewel of Starfield is its modular ship builder. Players can assemble everything from nimble dogfighters to massive cargo cruisers:

• Snap together cockpits, hab modules, shielded cargo holds, grav drives, and particle beam turrets.
• Walk inside your custom ship interior, decorate the captain's quarters, assign companion crew members, and scramble to your helm when space pirates ambush you in orbit.
• Target enemy ship engines, board them in zero-gravity close-quarters shootouts, clear out the crew, and claim the vessel for your personal fleet.

Figure: A custom-engineered starship orbiting a barren moon.

Bethesda's Finest Faction Writing

Where Starfield truly shines is in its handcrafted faction questlines:

• The UC Vanguard quest starts as pilot recruitment and quickly evolves into a pulse-pounding investigation into alien Terrormorph outbreaks that rivals Aliens.
• The Crimson Fleet undercover infiltration tests your moral allegiances between UC SysDef commanders and cutthroat space buccaneers.

While the frequent fast-travel menus can occasionally dilute the sensation of deep space flight, the sheer volume of handcrafted settlements like New Atlantis and Neon makes this an enduring space RPG adventure.

Official Gameplay Trailer