Opinion: Does Starfield Suck? People Keep Telling Me to Skip Its PS5 Release

I tried it on PC a few years back with Mods and still didn't hook me. But I am going to try again on console since that is my primary place to play games.

I am looking forward to it. The biggest thing that I didn't like about the game was not being able to actually fly planet to planet and now that is being addressed. Sure the story isn't the best but I rarely care about story in games, probably from years of exposure to Kingdom Hearts nonsense lol. From what I have read it seems mechanically it is a really great game so will be right up my alley

it has a great Metacritic score. don't listen to reddit.

I sunk 300h on XSX and will buy on PS5 for the new content. No game gets as much sheep like, unwarranted hate as this game.

how about trying to have an opinion of your own, and if it looks interesting, try playing it?

I've been wondering too, it gets all the badmouthing yet it's not even below 80 on MC, is it because it was exclusive or it's genuinely that bad...

I haven't played it, but I've seen the discourse on this and been... baffled? Amused?

I just think, at this point in gaming, we've seen devs and their games improve by leaps and bounds over what they have done in previous generations. Bethesda hasn't done that and, combined with a sense that they're ignoring their fanbase (Fallout 5? ES 6?), people are just tired of them.

I get really angry about the discourse on this game. it's not perfect but I sunk hundreds of hours into it and I loved it. And I'm somebody who has been gaming for 40 years. It's a GOOD game, not perfect but nothing is. It's a good game. The new content looks like it could elevate it to a GREAT game. Just give it a chance. So much blind prejudice against this game it's insane.

No its awful.
I mean if you like the stuck in the ps3 era style of bethesda because theyve never grown since. Then you may be good.

But the sub par graphics, the out dated conversation segments, the fact you load out of the planet and the sheer amount of load screens when ps4 games did a better job and the bland story.

Some will dig it because its bethesda but the reality is, its a bland average game compared to all the newer open world games which came before it.

I wouldnt go at far as to say its rubbish but once you realise all the planets that you can explore are either big empty rocks or they have carbon copy pirate bases it gets very monotonous , as you gave crimson desert a 6 if you review this, i expect probably a 4 or 5

Played it on Xbox on release and will be double dipping on PS5. I really enjoyed it, it's not for everyone, but if it clicks it clicks. Like all things in life.

It's a Bethesda game and I haven't had a platform to play it on so far so I'm in, but probably going to wait a for a few months, while being immersed in Crimson Desert now and the new Diablo expansion soon.

Maybe if GTA 6 gets pushed back again a bit I'll get more time on it. LOL

Also, as a big fan of an equally loathed space action game, Star Wars Outlaws, maybe play it for yourself and see if you like it, I had alot of fun playing SWO, while the usual online sheep tore it to pieces and missed out on the fun.

Bethesda are done aren’t they.

Still living off the praises off Skyrim which came out 15 years ago now - there’s probably teenagers reading this article who weren’t even born then.

I didn’t mind Fallout 4 but it’s not like it did anything special compared to 3 and New Vegas

Apparently 10 hours in it gets really good, but waiting 10 hours for the good stuff to start is definitely not ideal.

@russ99a I enjoyed outlaws very much even her dodgy 80s haircut 😂

There are so many games I'm excited to play and just don't have the time yet, so a game like this is one I will wait for a substantial discount on. I mean I know I'll get some enjoyment out of it, but the procedurally generated parts seem exactly like the kind of tedium that makes me bounce off games. In a few years, on sale.

I've beaten Starfield on Xbox. Twice. If you enjoyed Fallout 4, Starfield is more of that. In space. Most of space is not very interesting, but the handcrafted content of the major quests is pretty good. Apparently they fixed some of the annoyances the original version had, like space travel basically consisting of browsing a couple menus, so this game that was never that bad to begin with surely is even better now.

I won't be playing Starfield again on launch, but I might buy it in a sale and go for a third playthrough.

I'll definitely play it at some point, but at a deep discount, and once I'm out of the Marathon vacuum lol

Nobody wants you to hate Starfield more than the people that haven't played Starfield.

Without taking into account we're on a Playstation Blog, the hate for divisive games is always much louder than the positive feedback.

Starfield has an 82 on Metacritic. It's a good game by critics standards, and a mixed game by user reviews (sitting at a 6.8)

Crimson Desert is a great comparison to this. The reviews have been middling, but the overblown criticism you'll see won't be from Media Outlets, it'll be from a large margin of people who have been told by their favourite youtuber to hate the game.

I'd like to highlight a specific quote in this article "It was only a matter of days before people were tearing it apart on YouTube — and it wasn't just the usual hate parade from no-name channels pumping out hyperbolic crap. I remember a number of content creators I had a real respect for calling it out as a huge disappointment."

We live in an age where influencers are intentionally profiting from covering controversy and as you said "festering hate"

I won't start a manhunt but just to name one such creator: Asmongold used to play games. Now he covers politics because his channel blew up from the controversy of it all. When he does cover games or media it's often controversial. He would not have such a following if he didn't place himself in this bubble.

Furthermore I think there's something to be said about media influencing our decisions and setting expectations, high or low, before we've even tried a product. So much weight is put on waiting for day one reviews and waiting for their favourite youtuber to form an opinion for the individual. I miss the days of playing games by yourself, for yourself, and creating your own opinion without the incessant, innate need to fit in to the majority opinion.

From what I remember on it's initial release, a lot of peeps said to just wait for a sale and some fixes. But the game may have a lot of those day one issues fixed for the ps5 version.

Yes, Starfield is not good. I can confirm that it fails in basically all aspects and I can have the privilege of saying that because I didn't play it but I read a lot of other people opinions to form my own.

@JDINCINERATOR id say after the first 10 hours you've basically seen all there is to see , I played at launch so every thing was new and I spent over a 100 hours with it hoping to discover something great, i didn't, going to mars the moon and earth is quite cool though.

It’s a good game. Is it the best Bethesda game, no. But it’s a fun space rpg that is very grand in scope. For $50 you can do far far worse in terms of games to buy and enjoy. Put 50 hours into it on Xbox before I sold my series x and only have my ps5.

@Yousef- yeah mods make it better , making everything star wars adds some much needed variety , however im not sure whether sonys stance on mods has changed, and no outside assets are allowed.

@Deadlyblack patches wont fix the core gameplay and todd Howard has already said this isnt starfield 2.0

It's Bethesda game. You already know if you like it or hate it.

Played it day one on Xbox, even paid for early-access and it’s the biggest disappointment I’ve had with a game so far, I even took almost 2 months to finish it at just 30 hours as it was such a snorefest, this was like the worst aspects of any Bethesda game all-in-one but without any of the good.

I played Starfield at launch back on PC amd thoroughly enjoyed it. Much of what made those other Bethesda games great is still here, though its a bit more disjointed. But there are some genuinely great quests and locations and the updates since, including those upcoming look smart and will only make it better.

It’s crap, skip it.

Hm, that’s the most constructive advice I can give, but it seems the comment is deemed to be too short. I could try padding it.

Starfield is a janky, broken, half-baked empty promise of something that never gets off the ground. It lacks technical polish, still has performance woes, and is ultimately unfulfilling. Oh, and the disc is a worthless coaster so if you’re intent on punishing yourself by doing a playthrough, you might as well go with the digital version because you’ll be leasing a digital license either way. No permanent ownership here, although that’s arguably a good thing in this case.

I’d wager your time is better spent doing almost literally anything else, but no one can stop you from playing it.

I tried 3-4 hours of it and I was really bored. Someone i knew had played it for about 10-15 and told me it didnt get any better so i gave up.

Why spending so many precious hours of your life with mediocre video games? I will probably never understand that.

I guess ppl can't handle the true
Everyone says the same even ppl that played the game
Just go to YouTube and watch some gameplay videos is a God damn snooze fest
Literally Skyrim in space but way worse

@Dimey I mean there's just as many people that played it and said "meh". Just because you enjoyed it doesn't mean all the negativity around it is "blind prejudice".

For me personally, it was the game that made me box up my Series X and sell it. I sold it to a mate who wanted one mainly for Starfield as he's day one for almost everything Bethesda does, and even he thought it was meh (but he happily got stuck into another playthrough of Fallout New Vegas with framerate and resolution boost via back compat at least).

Not planning on ever playing it but now I'm looking forward to Shoguns review.😎

From what I heard, it’s not worth playing. So listen to me from what I listened to other people.

Fr though, if you have to ask if it’s worth playing or not, then the answer is likely already no.

@lazarus11 Skyrim mods on PS5 have been using external assets for over a year now since modders found a trick to get them in. You can get whole new followers with scripts and external voice acting. I think Bethesda have kept quiet about it.

Stanfield looks fine to me.i will definitely play it.word up son

I remember when this game first got featured after a Xbox direct, and i thought it looked pretty good. This, and Fable, were the only Xbox titles that have actually piqued my interest. Then reviews started coming out, gameplay footage, and it definitely soured any enthousiasm i had for the title.

But yeah i still kind of want to try it. But we’ll see, there’s just so many games i plan to buy this year, that this doesnt have any priority for me

No man's sky is better and cheaper. Ps5 Pro enhanced and VR enabled..oh and zero loading after the initial boot up. Its just a massively better game.

The negativity for it IS a bit overblown. But put it this way - I'm a Bethesda fan too, I was excited for it, and it's the first of their games I couldn't finish.

It's not terrible, but ultimately it is a bit boring, to the point I wouldn't recommend it to anyone at full price. When it's in a sale, sure.

There are plenty of people who would have you believe it's worthless and of course they should be ignored, but equally don't listen to people who dismiss any criticism of it out of hand.

Be interested to know what you make of it in the end.

@ShogunRok
I'll be very interested to read your review or similar after you've played it.

On paper, I should be over the moon (no pun intended) excited for Starfield. I love RPG's. I love Sci-fi. However, it really just comes down to it being from Bethesda. I just don't trust that studio.

The only game I liked from them is Skyrim and even then I didn't love it. Tried but didn't click with Fallout 3 or 4. Oblivion just flat out never worked for me. Ran into game-breaking bugs every time I tried to get into it. The reception to Starfield from those who have already played it also hasn't inspired much confidence.

All that said though, I am still curious to try Starfield. Definitely not at launch. I have too many other things I'm currently playing. I could see myself giving it a try on a sale later on.

No, people suck.

I didn't vote as none of the options felt quite fitting. I'm not excited for it but curious enough once it goes very cheap to maybe give it a try.
I played and loved Skyrim at the time and enjoyed Fallout 3. Fallout 4 I had some fun with but already felt like it was getting dated and found the formula getting tired.

If a game looks interesting to you why not give it a shot?

I put 70hours into it. So I’d say that’s a fair crack. And it’s a 7/10.

It has a few highs, but it has many lows too. It’s just ok overall. So many load screens, so many barren planets, so many repeated bases. The ridiculously stupid power temples. But there’s a few good missions in there.

Is it worth £50-60 (whatever release is)? No. Is it worth £30? Yes it is.

My biggest takeaway is since I completed it, I’ve never had the desire to go back and play a game, nor do I feel I’ve missed it. And that for me is slightly damning for a Bethesda game. Whereas I’ve played fallout/elder scrolls multiple times.

@rjejr Haha, just for the record, I'm not reviewing it.

I have posted this here before, and I know it is controversial, but I loved Starfield. It was my most played game of 2023. My account put almost 200 hours in (although a lot of it was my youngest son base building, which he really loved in that game).

Whether you click with Starfield depends on what you want. This is not a "what is over the next hill" kind of game. It is not a No Man's Sky meets RPG experience. Folks who want that will be disappointed.

It is about going to game hubs, and engaging in the kind of detailed side quests Bethesda has always given us with a space/sci-fi skin on them. That is what I wanted, so I loved it. It has some of the best side quests they have ever done. But if you are looking for discovery and a super responsive open world (aside from a few choices here and there), this is not it.

Starfield has some flaws. This game does not onboard players well, and the first hours are boring and uncomfortable as a result. I also think this game was marketed as more of an exploration game, which left many rightfully disappointed. And, there is one mechanic you have to do in the game pretty often to progress (avoiding spoilers here) that is pretty underbaked.

But if you can look past all that there is a great game here. If you played Fallout 3 or New Vegas or Skyrim for the quests (me!) then you should have a great time. If you are looking for a huge amount of bustling planets to lose yourself in instead of a few hubs-I suggest looking elsewhere.

@Futureshark I'm not reviewing it but when I do eventually get around to playing it I might well write something up.

@TheArt Watch Angry Joe's review on it. Pretty much nails every major criticism people have with the game.

It has a 6.8 user score on metacritic and 57% rating on steam, that just says it all.

Its a bang average game which people had high hopes for after the long wait since Skyrim and all the hype surrounding it before launch.

@Dimey With an attitude like yours I'm sure they're all glad you blocked them. I'm doing the same to you.

I didn't hate my time with the game, but it's hard to say positive things about it too and that's for a number of reasons. Bethesda were my first introduction to RPGs and RPGs were my first introduction to open-worlds, which is a big reason why I continue to game. I really like interesting and rewarding world design, if a Developer goes to the effort of building an interesting world then I'll most likely try it. My only expectation going in was a fun and varied world to explore, they talked about so many planets, and my thinking was that those planets would have something worth doing there, they didn't (for me at least)

Yes there's a story there, and all of those characters but I personally play games like that for the world design/exploration and at the time it felt too linear and vacant for my liking. It had the familiar jank of a Bethesda game (which I'm fine with) but lacked in the kind of charm that goes with it. I think sterile would be the correct English term. That's how those procedurally generated landscapes felt to me, maybe that's part of their intended design? That's where I'd use the world dull, I believe it fits.

That's not to say they can't improve on the game. That was Xbox, I tried it on PC too and enjoyed it more with Mods but the Modding community shouldn't be responsible for breathing more life into your game. It should be there from the start. I don't think they should have advertised the game the way they did, had they been upfront about there being so much emptiness I'd probably have held off and waited a couple of months. Instead I played it day one expecting what they promised (as I'm sure others did) and was disappointed. I'll eventually test it on PS5 but I'm in no rush, and if others are? The world is kind of topsy-turvy right now and if getting lost in space takes some Folks away from that for a while then more power to them. Maybe they'll find in it what I didn't.

In my experience, it's the game you play for a little while, wish you were playing something else, then go do that. Everything this game tries to make you feel, No Man's Sky does it better. I may try the PS5 version down the line when it's dirt cheap in a couple years, but I'm not lining up to play it on day one.

I think sometimes games just speak directly to someone and (whether critically good or not), you’re only going to scratch that itch by playing it. I felt this way about Valkyrie Elysium!

@Dimey You've been gaming for 40 years and can't handle reading opposing viewpoints?

Played it on PC a while back, but quickly got bored with it.
It felt very dated and janky, and not in a charming way.
Could have changed the title to "Generic AAA Open World: The Game". But I know the game has its fans, and it's good that more fans of that kind of game, gets to play it now.

I'm just a bit worried about Elder Scrolls VI, as the last RPG from them, that I liked, was Skyrim. And that was 15 years ago...

Having played it on Xbox and PC, I can say that it's not a terrible game, but it is derivative. Also the game is very keen on getting in the way of itself, like traveling from planet to planet/even piloting your ship shouldn't be a slog that brings the pacing to a complete halt.

Starfield is great. Always has been.

Saw this on twitter: Don't go into it expecting a space game with perfect simulation. It's a Bethesda rpg in space.

At least planets actually orbit the sun though unlike No Man's Sky. And has proper quests.

I played it on PC and had a good time with it, but I went in with managed expectations based on my general opinion of Bethesda games - that they are gaming comfort food, not mindblowing, riddled with a little jank and sometimes bland... but still satisfying in their own way.

It's very very middle of the road in every way. It is not aggressively bad as haters claim but it also really doesn't have any great highs either.

It's as 6/10 as it gets. Worth it for genre fans but most people will get bored and drop off.

I want to play this for some reason. Not a big Bethesda fan but I like the vibe. Just worried the loading screens will annoy me.

@ShogunRok "is it really that bad?"

I mean, it's not a terrible game, but it's not a great game either. As a fellow Bethesda game fan, I'd say it's easily their worst (or perhaps I should say "least good") game in their "modern gaming" era, and I'm including Morrowind in that because it laid the foundation for the template they've used ever since.

I enjoyed the ship building aspect in Starfield, and the combat is a big step up from Bethesda's usual output thanks to iD's involvement, but literally everything else both looks and feels super dated. And I mean that if this had been an XBox One/PS4 title it would have still felt dated, that kind of dated.

The usual Bethesda jank is on full display here, and I mean that very literally as there are long standing issues with the Creation Engine that Bethesda just haven't fixed, or perhaps have zero intention of addressing.

Ultimately, while it may seem appealing to scratch a certain Sci Fi RPG itch, simply put, it's neither as good or as engaging as any of Bethesda's other modern gaming era titles. You'll be more likely to find yourself wanting to go replay Skyrim or Fallout again than finish your Starfield play through... although if you do make it to the end, you get to "enjoy" the absolute cop out conclusion.

Stop trying to peddle slop to me

@somnambulance "It’s either a bad 8/10, the finest 6/10, or the most all over the place 7/10 you can play."

This is one of the best reviews I've seen so far!

I've played both Veilguard and Starfield. I had a good enough time with Veilguard but Starfield was a complete bore-fest for me. To each their own. People can't go by Metacritic scores. A person just likes what they like.

@Bob_Tempura Yeah the take that Starfield is Bethesda's worst modern game is something I've seen an awful lot when researching it.

As you allude, I think there's just a certain itch that only Bethesda games manage to scratch. And the thought of having a brand new Bethesda game to explore is almost too appealing to me to turn down.

But going by what you (and plenty of other people) are saying, I'd really need to keep my expectations in check.

I think there's an especially loathed category of game which falls into the "aggressively average" column. And in some ways this is worse than the outright bad experiences. Derivative, milkuetoast, forgettable - pick your word. But competent at what it does, if only moderately.

Thing is, some of these "average" games really resonated with me personally and are the most memorable. Because I have my own very specific and sometimes niche tastes those games might fall into. For example, I love 2D beat-em-up games like Mother Russia Bleeds and Streets of Rage clones. The wider conversation frequently designates them as average or skippable. So I approach those game reviews through a different lens of, yeah, I will enjoy this 6/10 game. And I do. A lot.

But yeah, I see how this game would fall into that most hated category of "average". Not quite good enough to be among the greats, not quite bad enough to fall into the 'so-bad-it's-good' or cult status bracket. Just nowhere for these games to land for general audiences, and so they ignore it.

I see it as, if you like Bethesda jank (some people find it charming) and are a fan of sci-fi, you may get more mileage out of this game than people would lead you to believe.

Me though? I'd just recommend playing / replaying Prey if you are looking for an immersive sci-fi world with RPG elements to really get lost in.

@lazarus11 It could be different reviewers, so don’t judge a score based on the overall site—there are individual writers. Also, Crimson Desert may have scored a 6 here, but if you read the review it’s clearly a fantastic game bogged down by controls and a few technical hiccups. It’s a completely different game tonally than Starfield. Hopefully, SF will be great on PS5 and create a new, positive discourse around it. And if the new DLC/expansion is great, all the better.

I'm similarly intrigued - I'm not going all in on release day, I'll wait for a sale or the possible PS+ drop.

It looks very much like how I found the first Outer Worlds - fun while I played it, instantly forgettable afterwards. When I've got time to spare, it might plug a gap at some point in the year

I think to say it sucks is hyperbole. It’s a okay/decent game. Does it live up to Bethesda’s legend status? Not a chance. It outstayed its welcome for me well well before the end of the main story. It does all the things a Bethesda rpg is supposed to do on paper. (Factions, sandbox exploration, go anywhere, companions, etc.) I think it just lacked character for me and I wasn’t finding myself interested in the world building. It seemed super sanitized and generic. Plus the proc gen POIs got old really quickly. I put in about 70 hours but more than half of that was feeling like I needed to continue playing to make it worth the money spent vs actually being engaged with it.

if you individually break up a Bethesda game in regards to exploration, combat, RPG systems, writing and characters well the problem with Starfield is that it's just adequate to serviceable across the board.

Pumped about 35 hours in on Series X before calling it a day. It has some excellent quests and side quests but the world(s) mostly look pretty bland and the procedural generated nature of pretty much everywhere in the game means you never really feel like you’re exploring, just rolling dice. You’ll start to see repeated cave bases and buildings over and over and the loading screens become even more intrusive.

The visuals occasionally look good but for the most part are pretty shonky for this gen. Todd’s refusal to make a new engine to succeed Creation engine really shows here as it can’t support a game like Starfield.

I’ve got zero interest. Bethesda lost me with Fallout 4, which was so badly written, tedious, and removed all the RP from RPG. Their games are basically exploration games with a thin veneer of character customisation on top at this point.
Play Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon instead, if you liked how Bethesda games used to be.

@Dimey

never read so many pathetic comments and blocked so many children before. pathetic.

Sweet, delicious irony.

@TheArt I don’t think the articles is talking about critics but actual players. The game honestly came and went and had truly atrocious legs

I loves sci fi / space adventure but this game doesn't looks fun to me. Even the artstyle, characters, environment, and tech (space ship, weapons, clothes etc) design looks super dull like watching paint dry. If your game took place in the far future + space, it's a bare minimum to make the artstyle, environment, characters, and tech design looks interesting, not boring and dull.

I don't know what on earth Xboys or some people sees from this game. But i rather spend my money towards smaller games like Cuphead or Hades over this game.

6/10 imo. But like a real, actual 6/10. Not a Push Square 6/10.
That is mostly sarcasm.

Even with game pass I didn't bother trying it. I remember Asmongold saying it's one of those rare games that makes you question your life choices and why you are wasting time playing the game.

I played it on PC - with and without mods, this was way better than the base game, and I completed the main loop six or seven times.

But, unlike Fallout, Oblivion, Skyrim, where I would explore and find adventure, this had nothing in comparison. The words were dead and boring and so very, very small. Little sections that were carved out to give you illusion of size. So much so that I just raced through every mission just so I could get it over with.

It's a Bethesda jank fest all the way through that just seemed empty and flat compared to its siblings. It was a real disappointment to me.

@Ziek1883 Asmongold also proudly supports genocide, so, you know, not exactly the voice of the hoi polloi.

@Dimey Why are you so emotional over other people opinions???

@LikelySatan I highly doubt that, he probably just doesnt have the same opinion as your goodself

@LikelySatan mostly 😂

@Hyena_socks unfortunately it pretty much sums it up, which is a shame because the premise was good

I really like Starfield and I recommend anyone to play it.

It's fine, but it's not full price fine.

The loading screens when entering buildings in one of the opening cities were egregious to me. It's the 2020s. What's the deal?

I'd rather play No Man's Sky on my "dying a slow death" PSVR2.

I thought that it had some decent quests, like infiltrating a pirate space station as an undercover spacecop, but people's opinions can vary on what makes a good quest. The loading screens are ridiculous but they should be very brief on the PS5.

Interaction between characters is good, but almost all missions are horrific. Tedious, uninteresting, and unrelenting lol.

I thought the combat was good but basic.

Overall I’d give it a rating of fair.

Played it at launch on Series X. My first Bethesda game was Morrowind. I agree they peaked with Skyrim in some ways. Oblivion and Fallout 3 are probably the best all around. But Starfield just didn't have that magic. After 60 hours I just didn't really enjoy it the same way as past Bethesda games. I put hundreds into the other games they released prior.

I played it at launch and it was pretty lackluster. I tried to get into it, it just wasn’t good. Especially coming off BG3. The loading screens were absolutely terrible. Everything you did required one. Not sure if they can change that. I kinda wanna try it again, but yeah, it’s kind of a “fool me once” situation. Might give it a go again once it’s free with PS+. 💯

its a good 7/10 game

Bethesda haven’t made a good game for 15 years. I don’t think they’ll ever make a good game again.

I too got really got obsessed with Oblivion back in 2006 and again with the remake last year. The heir to that style is the Kingdom Come games, rather than anything BSG have done since. Still, I'll def be trying Starfield at some point, though probably not at launch. Got another alleged 6/10 called Crimson Desert to keep me occupied for the next year or so...

@ApostateMage "The loading screens are ridiculous but they should be very brief on the PS5." They should be non existent. If no man's sky can have travel between planets and different galaxy's without any loading screens then a company like Bethesda should have no problem achieving the same in this game. I feel I have to say that I'm not having a go at you here as I've always enjoyed your comments and your hard-core commitment to cyberpunk but you never know anymore if somebody feels attacked. Bethesda have become lazy and complacent like so many big devs as of late and it's great we have studios like arrowhead,embark and Pearl abyss that are actively listening and acting on player feedback to improve gamers experiences. Bethesda are stone cold deaf.

@ShogunRok honestly tho, I think if you're going in forewarned you'll probably have a much better time playing the game. Like you say, keep your expectations in check and just go with it, enjoy the jank, and laugh at/question some of the design choices.

Without the hype of the unknown, and being both a brand new Bethesda game and brand new IP behind it for this launch it may find a somewhat warmer reception on Playstation.

I’ll play it after it’s free on PS+ or on deep discount.

@SMJ
Between Sony’s pivot to live service and mobile, both of which appear to have ended, I’m just happy Xbox became a third party developer.

@lacerz It will never be on PS+.

@lacerz PlayStation is also a third party developer. Just not a successful one.

Tried on Game Pass on PC, after 10 hours it was still boring, so I moved on.
Maybe it just wasn't for me, I don't know, but I can't fully recommend it. If you can try it before purchase, or wait for a good discount, it would be best.

I have a few friends over on XB that said they didn't like it either. They played for hours before deciding to drop it

It's a turd, came-failed- went , people who play it now or say its good,.they were heavily invested before the game got released and they cant backtrack now

played it on xbox completed it was good not great but not trash either. i must have liked it as im going to play it again on PlayStation

I dont understand peoples need to dismiss games as trash if they arnt great

I played it on my old XBOX and I wouldn't say it was aweful, some of the game mechanics were a bit sketchy and the flyling and plotting to planets was a pain but I did enjoy it - think I sunk about 40hrs into it before I sold my XBOX, The companions sometimes were a pain shooting everything up esp the robot and the planets sometimes were just baron wastelands so you wasted time visiting them but it was an ok game - I'll get it on my PSPRO but after I've got sick of Crimson Desert

Its fine, a solid RPG, people were just disappointed because it didnt match the hype of a new Elder Scrolls/Fallout, but i at least enjoyed it more then Fallout 4.

Played this for about 120 hours on Xbox. It was okay enough to spend the time playing it. Frustrating at times, acceptable at other times and a lot of that 120 hours was waiting on loading screens. I do remember feeling disappointed on the whole and would say its probably about a 6/10 in my mind. Felt a bit like a PS3/Xbox 360 era game - but we've moved on from that era in terms of what we expect from games.
I think I partly wanted it to be an amazing game and persevered but felt let down with the over all experience versus the time investment and probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

It's definitely going to be a wait for a deep sale before i even consider plus with the current game I'm playing now (mh stories 3) and others to finish plus other games I'm interested playing after, there's no reason to buy right now on release, would be a waste of cash plus I've still got my Xbox series x copy that i didn't finish ages ago... The modding was fun but it's still uncertain if PS5 will get the same 🤔

The problem with Starfield is that it was a 7/10 game that was over promised (classic Todd) and fell short. For some people it will have clicked and they may swing the score to an 8, for others it missed and they would go to a 6. This is reflected in the Steam reviews where its just an average game.

In a lot of ways its similar to Veilguard where its not a bad game by any stretch, but the reviews felt like pre written glaze and didn't match the feeling players had.

I have a big issue I just uncovered with MS games. I bought Forza becuase my son loves racing games. My son has a PSN account and I have a PSN account my son cannot play Forza Horizon unless I set up a Xbox live account for him, the little dude is 5 he's does not need an Xbox live account. There's no parental set up or extension.

Serious dealbreaker ! Not buying Xbox games due to the force Xbox live sign up.

I've got this on rental when it comes out. I tried it on series X but wasn't wowed but I'm eager to give this version ago because like you said it's been patched ect for the last 2 years. The question for me was would I pay for this or rent it and unfortunately due to such mixed reviews and my own experience when it first released, I came to the conclusion that I didn't want to risk the full price. I hope it's good when we finally get to play on ps5.

@LogicalError007 Define "zero exclusives".

Dead last? What does that mean?

@LogicalError007 Multiplatform gamer likes games on multiple platforms.

@JDINCINERATOR whoever told you it takes 10 hours to get good is talking bs honestly 10 hours?
That doesn't even make sense?

Starfield is a decent game a solid 7/10 for me definitely doesn't deserve the hate it gets but considering it's connected to Microsoft it's easy to see why it gets the hate because it's popular to hate on Xbox.
I'd say stop with all this debate if it looks good to you try it if you can if not don't simples it's only a game at the end of the day.

It doesn’t suck but it’s also not the generation defining RPG players expected and Todd Howard/Phil Spencer told us it would be. It’s been said a million times but it just lacks depth. It tries to do too much and as such spreads itself too thin. Definitely worth a try because you will get a lot of enjoyment out of exploring the gameplay systems and seeing what’s on offer but if you are like me and so many others it just all suddenly starts to become very samey and mundane.

Also to all the people suggesting anyone who dislikes Starfield hasn’t played it that is simply untrue. People on Steam aren’t buying the game, putting 20+ hours into it and then leaving a negative review because they are PlayStation fanboys. The subreddit was also interesting…any concerns posted before release were downvoted no matter how reasonable and then post release basically everyone had the same complaints. It’s not that deep it’s simply a game that is absolutely worth trying if you like Bethesda and Sci Fi but it did not live up to the hype.

it’s a shame bethesda sunk money and time in this game when they could have work at skyrim 6.

Bethesda in space, sounds like the perfect game for me but will wait for the reviews and decide then

@Globo This “everyone hates Xbox” rhetoric is beyond boring now. If there was some massive cabal against them then games like Forza Horizon, Hi Fi Rush, Psychonaughts, Flight Simulator, Grounded, Pillars of Eternity etc wouldn’t be critical and/or commercial successes. You just have to look at Concord to see that Sony is not immune to exactly the same discourse when they release a mid game. 99.9% of gamers do not exist in this console war bubble you like to imagine, they just want to play good games.

@GeeEssEff Do you need to respond to everything I put up bro we obviously have different views I'm not console warring I'm talking the facts i see facts in my opinion that's all have a nice day we don't think the same probably never will

Just look at the number of comments that have been blocked on this thread alone tells me this game has some kinda of reputation for some reason.
I've personally watched maybe two full hours of reviews for this game (out of excitement) and I got to say I don't get the hate. None of those reviews mentioned anything I care to know about the game, like how the combat feels, what the progession system is like, or whether the building and other game mechanics feel rewarding. all of them just say too many loading screens and not a good story, boring planets...
1. Loading screens I'm okay with, as long as they aren't too long
2. Most video game stories are kinda lame anyway so that's to be expected.
3. boring planets is fine by me... What were people expecting, do we really need in-depth quests and discovery on every planet? It's okay to just soak in the skybox and relax and feel lonely in space.
I've been playing games long enough to know what ill like to play regardless of what others say. So this is def day one for me.
LETS GO!!!!

I found it to be a very bland and boring game. And the amount of loading screens in ridiculous. I remember when Bethesda were releasing games of the generation that will be talked about for decades, but I didn't feel it with Starfield.

I've finished base game on pc, I alo completed all side quests. While it's not perfect game by all means in my case it perfectly captured that feeling of exploration of unknown. I just embraced that I need to use fast travel all the time. Main story was nice, in style of older scifi books, side missions were mixed bag, from excellent to mediocre.

It feels like Fallout in Space which can be a good or bad thing depending on what you wanted it to be. Its combat is more refined than Fallout 4 but the exploration and discovery is a whole lot worse due to the setting.

With Fallout, EVERY mission is within walking distance - even if its the other side of the map. Every mission can be completed with just wandering between objective points, maybe discovering other missions or completing other objectives as you make your way between way points. With Starfield, that's not always possible because the missions take you to different planets requiring you to jump back and forth between planets to complete them. That then becomes tedious, boring (for some)

Its a massive game in terms of scale/size, but that does impact the discovery, the exploration etc. Yes you can probably visit every planet, but its not like visiting every inch of a Fallout map where everything is within walking distance and not that far from an objective, a mission or something else to discover...

Its a typical Bethesda game to, nothing 'new' and the same types of missions, the same types of interactions, the same types of game-play loops. It looks, feels and plays like a Bethesda game from the PS3 era in a LOT of ways, hasn't really evolved to keep up with modern RPG's that have raised the bar. If you are a Fan of the Bethesda RPG, you'll probably get more out of this than others...

it depends what kind of game you are looking for , its not a open world space game like no mans sky , but i think its pretty good for what it is.

I gave it a whirl on Series X and PC.and I liked it for a bit, but overall still not a fan of Bethesda games.

I think the problem is that people had these expectations that just weren’t met. But I think they weren’t met because Bethesda’s creaky old Gamebryo-based engine is just stretched to the limit.

People were expecting No Man’s Sky style freedom with Bethesda world-building and were sorely disappointed at the final product.

In this era where we all have so much of quality to play, slogging through a hundred hours of this ill-conceived, irritating garbage is hilarious. Enjoy!

@Globo Yes I was told that and there are many games out there that can take hours to get good.

@JDINCINERATOR 10 hours though seriously I couldn't take someone saying that to me seriously.
From my experience of playing it apart from obviously being more powerful and having a better ship and guns the game is basically the same 10 hours in to be honest nothing fundamentally changes for the better either in gameplay or narrative in my opinion anyways

@Globo no need to get so defensive I’m just discussing bro. If you don’t want people responding to you what’s the point in commenting in the first place? Sorry if I’ve caused offence ✌️

I'm debating whether to buy it on release or wait for a sale. I'm not a diehard Bethesda fan, but I've put hundreds of hours into Skyrim and Fallout 4, loving them both.

I know Starfield isn't structured the same way, but I get the sense that I'll actually enjoy exploring, questing, and building out my ship.

It "kind of" sucks. I was super positive about it when it first came out. I was really enjoying it for a few days, but I couldn't shake the feeling that a 'soul' or something was missing from the game. It didn't have that magic like Skyrim (despite actually having some "magic" like Skyrim ). After about a week or two, my interest just sort of petered out.

And this is coming from a guy who hundred-percented Assassin's Creed Valhalla and had 1200 hours in Morrowind. So take that as you may.

@Northern_munkey Regarding the loading screens, I too would love if Bethesda could figure out how to get rid of them. I was listening to a podcast and they gave a reasonable explanation for them, though. It has to do with the fact that Bethesda games track everything you touch in their games, so memory needs to hold on to that positional data. This is way more granular than any other game I've ever seen. It sounds like it would be too much information to track if they opened everything up.

No Man's Sky actually does have loading screens, but they're clever in how they hide them, like entering and exiting atmosphere, but they still don't have object permanence like Bethesda does.

That said, I think Bethesda should be able to figure out how to reduce the amount of loading screens, though unlikely they'll remove them entirely.

I'm still interested in it myself, just haven't had an opportunity to give it a try yet. That said, I'm not rushing out to play it though. I have a lot going on eating into my gaming time, but I'll definitely jump into it late 2026 / early 2027!

I think if you meet Starfield on its terms as another Bethesda game, you'll have a great time with it. It is never going to be No Man's Sky, so that seamless transition from ground to ship to sky to space is just not really going to happen because that's not how that game was made.

But if you're wanting a better Fallout 4 that has a Nasa punk aesthetic, then this game is going to be a rad and fun time for you.

Also, do the main quest-line. Of the most recent Bethesda games: Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3/4, I honestly believe it has the best main quest-line that is entertaining and interesting. I say all this as someone who bounced off the game pretty hard when it was released but I recently went back just within the last month and it's clicked with me in a way that was surprising.

I think this is a great game and I'd put it at a 7.5/10 for me.

I'm done with Bethesda until I see TES VI and Fallout 5, and if those don't land then I'm done for good. But I have zero interest in indulging in their pet project that is the main reason for the continued absence of the games I mentioned above.

Try it for yourself lol

I didn’t find it bad, just …boring. Lots of non handcrafted environments, the inventory management, bunch of mechanics that did not interest me. Ugh.

@ShogunRok "I'm not reviewing it."

Probably for the best for you, maybe you'll get to enjoy it more that way. 😁

Maybe you can drop in a comparison when you review Witcher IV next year. 🤞

I’m tempted to get it day one and get stuck in over some leave over the Easter school holiday period.

The sci-fi look and feel really appeals (more than the fantasy setting in some ‘better’ games!) and the pace of exploration and how that works will work for me I think. I get some of the criticisms but I think I’d get my moneys worth!

When it's $20 in 10 months I'll probably pick it up

Played it on PC/Xbox.

8/10 game. Decent title. Quite enjoyable. If you like Bethesda titles like Fallout, you will have a decent time and get your money's worth.

Much like Crimson Desert and Cyberpunk, it's just a game. It won't change your life.

As with many similar games, enjoyment can vary dramatically due to simple choices such as what type of weapon you are going to play with.

E.g. you might prefer to play a pistol wielding gunfighter in most games, but that might not work for you in another game and you prefer rifles. Or vice versa.

It's not a terrible game, just forgettable. Nothing really locks you into playing. Unlike other games, I never felt the desire to play just another 10 minutes before the next thing I had to do in life. This meant I eventually just stopped playing all together.

The ship building is fun and there is one semi-interesting quest near the end. Other than that...
Starfield is one of the most unambitious, uninspiring games I've ever played.
They had a blank canvas yet ended up making the most insipid, by-the-numbers, snooze-fest you can imagine.
If it was a colour, it would be beige.

I don't think anyone would say it sucks. Is it what people wanted, most would say no. But I think by now you know what you're getting.

It's a fascinating experience lol. There are parts i really like, I actually enjoyed the story enough to finish it, but at the same time there are a lot of samey missions (go to place, kill all the dudes, get the McGuffin, come back), there's a lot of emptiness. Ship building is fun, the space combat i really enjoyed as well. HOWEVER....the temples. The damn temples. WHO'S IDEA WAS IT TO PUT THE EXACT SAME PUZZLE IN EVERY TEMPLE?! it's one of the worst, laziest design choices I've ever seen. I enjoyed my time with it (80 something hours), but some people just aren't going to like it, for SURE.