Starfield PS5 Opinion

Starfield finally comes to PS5 in exactly one week from now, and I'll admit, I really want to give it a try.

But apparently, that's a terrible idea.

Over the last couple of weeks, as the launch has crept closer, I've been telling people — friends, mostly, not just randoms out on the street — that I'm actually quite looking forward to Starfield. And almost every time, said friends have turned around and told me not to bother. Is it really that bad?!

Now look, as much as I value the input of like-minded individuals, this hasn't been, and won't be, enough to put me off Starfield. I will play it, at some point, so that I can form my own opinion — but it's starting to sound like I should wait for a sale first.

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Starfield PS5 Opinion

So why am I writing this article? Well, I just find the hate for Starfield quite interesting. As alluded, I haven't played it. My work here on Push Square means I barely have time to touch non-PlayStation gaming platforms, and so I've always just spied on Starfield from afar in the knowledge that one day, Xbox would inevitably slap it on PS5.

I remember the hype before its initial launch back in 2023. There was genuine talk of it being a revolutionary open world RPG, and that Bethesda was about to have a sci-fi Skyrim on its hands.

And to be fair, there were plenty of positive reviews, including the one that I read with much enthusiasm over on Pure Xbox. But it still didn't take long for the negativity to fester.

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.

Starfield PS5 Opinion

Needless to say, my interest did take a knock. But I've been a Bethesda fan for the best part of 20 years, ever since Oblivion blew my mind with the sheer degree of gameplay freedom that it offered.

I don't want to think about how many hundreds upon hundreds of hours I've sunk into Oblivion, Fallout 3, Skyrim, and Fallout 4 combined. For me, there's just never been anything quite like Bethesda's output — these games have always given me a sense of endless adventure, despite the trademark jank.

To be clear, though, my excitement for Bethesda games peaked during the very first Skyrim trailer — and that feeling's simply never returned. It's certainly not controversial to suggest that the developer's been on a downward spiral for close to a decade, but in a morbid kind of way, that makes me even more interested in seeing what Starfield's all about.

Again, I ask: is it really that bad? The game obviously has its fans, because loads of them have reappeared to write articles and make videos aimed squarely at the fresh influx of curious PS5 users. There's an undeniable hype behind Starfield's resurgence, which is being powered by a major update and a new expansion.

Starfield PS5 Opinion

I think there's a hope that Starfield is about to be reborn — at least to some extent — although Todd Howard himself recently came out and told everyone that, despite all the incoming adjustments and additions, Starfield will still be Starfield.

In other words, if you thought it was a "relentlessly, impressively boring" game before — as one of my friends has described it — then this big update isn't going to change your mind.

But surely Starfield is a better overall experience than it was at launch? Bethesda's been updating it for over two years, so there's little doubt that PS5 players are getting the best version yet. Unless it's like... a technical disaster on Sony's system, or something. But let's try not to jinx it.

What do you reckon, then? Am I daft for wanting to finally play Starfield? Is it a game that's deserving of so much hate? Have your say in our poll, and then try to explain yourself in the comments section below.

Will you be playing Starfield on PS5?