Summary
AlthoughStarfieldhasn’t yet had the same sort of impact on the gaming landscape as some of its previous releases, Bethesda’s ambitious sci-fi RPG has still won over countless fans with its fresh take on some familiar genre tropes. As work continues on the game’s upcomingShattered SpaceDLC, Bethesda has an opportunity to use the add-on to expand onStarfield’s core conceit in an exciting way. By retooling the most interesting and ambitious element ofStarfield’s unique New Game+ modeand making it a central element of the Shattered SpaceDLC, Bethesda could deliver a wildly entertaining spin on an already compelling mechanic.
WARNING: Endgame spoilers forStarfieldahead
WhileStarfield’s gameplay may have received a lukewarm reception from some, the game’s unique take on the familiar New Game+ formula garnered praise from many players. Rather than returning to the start of the game with all of their items in tow, the end ofStarfield’s main questsees players traveling to an entirely different in-game universe and maintaining only the skills they’d learned along the way. With the release ofStarfield’s Shattered Space DLC, Bethesda should change this multidimensional jaunt from an endgame event to one that players can take with the press of a button.
The Shattered Space DLC Should Lean Into Starfield’s Multiverse
When players travel through Unity to another universe at the end ofStarfield’s campaign, they never know what they’ll find waiting for them on the other end. While the changes between each universe can sometimes be subtle, in other casesStarfield’s alternate universescan be drastically, and sometimes hilariously, different. Bethesda could lean into this mechanic for the Shattered SpaceDLC by giving players the ability to trigger these multiversal shifts on command without collecting all of the artifacts.
Letting players alter the universe around them in sometimes drastic ways could prove difficult from a gameplay perspective, which is why Bethesda could limit this ability to the planets players are currently located on. Whether through the discovery of a Starborn artifact or some impressive feat of human ingenuity, players could come into possession of a device that would let them shift between a planet’s dimensional doppelgangers on demand. Not only could this add some much-needed variety toStarfield’s sometimes barren planets, but there’s already a perfect template for the feature.
Starfield’s ‘Entangled’ Mission Offers a Template for a New Gameplay Mechanic
Taking place during the back half of the main campaign,Starfield’s “Entangled” missionprovides a great example of the type of gameplay a dimension-hopping Shattered SpaceDLC could include. During the mission, players find themselves hopping back and forth between parallel realities in the same location in order to progress. This mechanic could be expanded on in Shattered Space, giving players the ability to quickly jump between different dimensions to change the planet around them.
Not only would this allow for some visually impressive set piece sequences, such as shifting into a dimension where the shimmering spires ofStarfield’s city of New Atlantisare replaced by ruins, but it could further explore some of the game’s central themes. With the Unity already having proven to be a corrupting force for some, players could face consequences for using its power in this new manner. And if some Starborn were already unhappy with players merely having the ability to travel through the Unity, then being able to channel its reality-bending power at will surely draw their ire.
By expanding onStarfield’s multiverse mechanic with the Shattered SpaceDLC, Bethesda could breathe new life into the game’s sometimes stagnant universe. The possibility of being able to reshape the world around them at the press of a button, whether to solve puzzles, complete quests, or simply to see what happens, could even prove to be enough of a draw to get some disgruntled gamers to giveStarfieldanother go.
