In the latest Into the Starfield episode, join game director Todd Howard as he teases more about the newest project coming from Bethesda. The game will focus heavily on the idea that the player can find their own fun in a living world. In design terms this is called emergent gameplay, and forms of it have been core to Bethesda’s games for years. The game will also include a companions and factions system, likely similar to that of the company’s previous titles. As part of the diary, lead quest designer Will Shen revealed three of the main factions that will be available to join.
But when you step outside of the hype, there are concerns. Many players are likening this to Skyrim, but in space. Others compare it to Elite: Dangerous, but expect less complexity. And to be fair, they may be right. Fallout 4 was maligned by many fans for vastly reduced scale and story complexity while cramming in crafting and other systems. Many of these systems had been introduced by modders to games like New Vegas, and Bethesda was criticized by some for being creatively lacking. There’s some genuine concern that this game might fall into that trap.
We also know that systems from previous games have been brought forward into Starfield. Oblivion’s persuasion mini-game has been updated and included in Starfield’s dialogue systems. That could be a bad thing, depending on who you ask. The new video suggests that “Starfield is for wanderers,” and I have to wonder, are we going to be wandering around an aimless void? Will this game actually have the substance the hype wants us to believe it does? We’ll have to figure that out come launch. Until then, we’ll just have to be content with the trailers and previews.
Check it out down below. There’s no real gameplay to be seen, but there are glimpses of the ideas Bethesda is hoping to bring to life in their new game.
Since we’re still months away from release, it’s hard to say what to expect from this title. Hopefully, Bethesda avoids another disaster like Fallout 76. Starfield arrives exclusively on PC and Xbox Series X|S on November 11, 2022. It’ll be available on Xbox Game Pass day one.
