When Starfield was released in 2023, I immediately knew it would need a lot of work to get it to where it should be. It wasn’t a complete unmitigated disaster, but it was unremarkable in a way no Bethesda-developed video game, especially one about the endless possibilities of space, should be. Starfield was riddled with issues, both fixable and fundamental, and, I assumed, in all of my naivety, that they would be resolved. After all, we were living in a world in which the likes of No Man’s Sky and Cyberpunk 2077 could claw their way back from the brink.
However, over time, it became clear that Starfield’s biggest problems couldn’t be fixed, or, perhaps more aptly, wouldn’t be fixed. Bethesda showed no signs of resolving some of the community’s biggest issues, and, instead, went practically radio silent, releasing a handful of decent but ultimately perfunctory updates in its initial few months, before seemingly forgetting about it. Now, Starfield’s most significant issue has grown all the more evident, becoming such a serious problem that Bethesda simply can’t fix it anymore.
Starfield Needed More DLC Faster
It Could Have Saved Its Reputation
Starfield’s biggest problem has always been Bethesda’s drip-feed approach to its DLC and updates. Shattered Space was released just over a year after the original Starfield, and not to the critical acclaim many assumed it would. This had preceded several minor updates, mostly to the game’s abysmal performance at launch, and resolved absolutely none of the game’s major issues. Shattered Space was a disaster, both in terms of its critical reception and the damage it did to Starfield’s overall reputation, especially as it was meant to be the handcrafted content fans were craving.
Of course, releasing it faster wouldn’t have resolved any of these issues, but it would have meant that fans wouldn’t have had to wait such a long time before getting any new Starfield content, regardless of its quality. It also wouldn’t mean that the wait for Starborn, the game’s second DLC that everyone is hoping will save Starfield for good, would end up being so arduously long as well. Crucially, the longer wait also built up expectations and hype that Shattered Space simply couldn’t deliver upon based on the flawed foundations of the game it’s built around.
For context, The Witcher 3’s first major DLC was released five months after the base game. Its second expansion, Blood and Wine, was released a year after the original game launched. The Witcher 3 also received 16 free DLC – which were significantly smaller in scale – during the year preceding the game’s launch.
Many had hoped that Shattered Space would be a return to form, but when it felt like a slapped-together experience, many, understandably, felt disappointed. The year-long wait absolutely contributed to that, and will likely do the same for Starborn, whenever it decides to show up. It also doesn’t really make Bethesda’s claim that it’ll support Starfield for 10 years feel particularly credible, especially when its lack of updates and slow roll-out of DLC has already taken up two of those ten years with little to no meaningful impact.
Starfield Could Have Been Saved With Bigger Updates
It Needed A Redemption Arc
Another option would have been for Bethesda to release meaningful and major Starfield updates, either throughout its first year or even later, akin to Cyberpunk 2077. It was evident from the outset that a lot needed to change about Starfield’s gameplay loop, from its incessant loading screens and overly complex UI to its meaningless content, barren planets, and lack of randomized content and POIs. However, while Bethesda addressed some of these issues, namely the game’s atrocious map, it never went far enough to fix its fundamental flaws.
While some may have expected a Cyberpunk-esque redemption arc for Starfield, it seems like that was never really on the cards for Bethesda. Either the developer didn’t think it was necessary, choosing to believe that Starfield is a mostly flawless experience or plays as intended, or it didn’t wish to allocate the resources to Starfield’s redemption, as it didn’t regard it as worthwhile. Either way, it is extremely disappointing, especially when there are plenty of solutions to Starfield’s problems that Bethesda could have worked on instead of a car and little else of import.
Related
Can Starborn DLC Save Starfield?
The Starborn DLC has a lot to live up to, but it has so much to live up to, and after Shattered Space, it’s hard to see a good future for it.
Bethesda still has the opportunity to fix Starfield – it took CD Projekt Red two years to cure Cyberpunk – and it has even promised exciting updates to Starfield over the coming months. However, it is very hard not to feel like it isn’t a little too late, especially as practically no one is talking about Starfield anymore, or, worse, they’re still only saying negative things about it and Bethesda’s inherently flawed design.
Starfield Isn’t As Relevant Anymore
No One Talks About It Like They Do Baldur’s Gate 3
It can be hard to remember that Baldur’s Gate 3 came out the same year as Starfield, especially as everyone continues to talk about it and not Starfield. Baldur’s Gate 3 undeniably overshadowed Starfield, stealing every award it could at the Game Awards, but frankly, rightfully so. It has since gone on to receive numerous updates, many of which feel DLC-sized, that fix or tweak a lot of the issues players had with the near-perfect experience. Larian Studios, which is a far smaller team, approached Baldur’s Gate 3’s maintenance far better than Bethesda has with Starfield.
As of the time of writing, Baldur’s Gate 3 had a 24-hour peak player count of 62,825 people on Steam, according to its Steam Charts page, which squashes Starfield’s 4,188, again, according to Steam Charts. While these numbers don’t account for those on console, it’s clear to see that, at least when it comes to RPGs, Starfield doesn’t have the relevancy many were hoping it would. Honestly, it doesn’t have the relevancy it should, especially when, according to Steam Charts, Skyrim, which came out 12 years before Starfield, had a 24-hour peak player count of 22,242 people.
Starfield’s greatest flaw was its lack of polish and updates post-launch, something that continues to be a problem to this day, and it has done irreparable damage I’m afraid it simply cannot recover from.
Bethesda clearly knew what it was doing 12 years ago, as Skyrim, even without its numerous re-releases, would have remained a phenomenon and a benchmark for its genre. Starfield does not have a chance of being that, especially if Bethesda never fixes it or future-proofs it by addressing its biggest flaws. Starfield could have been more relevant if Bethesda had pushed out more updates, acknowledged its greatest issues, and made an effort to fix them.
However, it never did, nor did it release its DLC promptly, and, as such, Starfield has fallen to the wayside. With future Starfield content potentially on the horizon, there’s a possibility that Bethesda could turn this all around. However, Starfield’s greatest flaw was its lack of polish and updates post-launch, something that continues to be a problem to this day, and it has done irreparable damage I’m afraid it simply cannot recover from.
Source: Steam Charts (1), (2), (3)
Starfield
Systems
- Released
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September 6, 2023
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs, Strong Language, Violence
- Engine
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proprietary engine
