Starfieldis coming out on November 11, exactly eleven years to the daySkyrimpremiered to the gaming world. The expectations for Bethesda’s new intellectual property are high, especially because it comes at a cost of thenextElder Scrollstitlereleasing a few years late. However, the developers ofStarfieldseem to have confidence in their project, as the game’s marketing has slowly – yet steadily – started to kick into full gear.
Having been postinganimated concept art ofStarfield’slocations, this time the developers sat down, filmed, and edited a five-minute video ofStarfield’sdevelopment process, highlighting their design scope and vision, as well as clarifying what players might expect from the game. This includes how it compares to earlier Bethesda titles such asFallout 4orSkyrim.
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The message is loud and clear:Starfieldis a hard roleplaying game. No, not in terms of difficulty – such asElden Ring– but rather that it represents Bethesda’s return to its roots. Design choices from their older titles likeMorrowind,Oblivion, andFallout 3might find their way toStarfieldafter being omitted inSkyrimandFallout 4. Character attributes, conversation checks, and complex dialogue branches are all a possibility.
In the second “Into the Starfield” video, the focus is all about the player character, and the two chief words are immersion and choice.Bethesda’s goal forStarfieldseems to be to offer an even greater sandbox than any of its past games could provide, and to allow the players to truly define what makes their character unique. A severely upgraded character creator, the inclusion of origin stories and backgrounds, and the return of attributes and stats have all been teased.
However, it’s not all aboutcreating one’s character inStarfield. Players want that character to evolve and grow, and whatStarfieldseeks to provide in this avenue is simple: the ability to join fully fleshed-out factions of varying morality, a rich universe that tackles all sorts of different sci-fi subgenres and aesthetics, as well as complex companion characters with their own stories to tell – a process that started withSkyrim’s Serana.
Between the United Colonies representing the idealistic future ofStar Trek,the Free Star Collective’s rugged charm comparable to space westerns such asFirefly,or the Ryujin Industries providing the dystopian megacorporation feel fromBlade Runner, players will have a lot of freedom to choose the faction that most represents what they want out of their sci-fi adventure. Even the pirates of the Crimson Fleet will be aStarfieldfactionfor the players to join, rather than just being an assortment of themed enemies to kill.
On its own, without mods,Starfieldseems poised to appeal to all sorts of sci-fi fans, and this choice may yet prove to be its greatest asset. No matter the archetype of the character players will want to create, chances are high they’ll still find their place in the stars.
Starfieldreleases November 11 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
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