Closing out the Xbox/Bethesda conference during Summer Game Fest 2022, everyone’s favorite Toddfather, Todd Howard, hopped on stage and gave us an awe-inspiring look at Starfield, the next big thing from Bethesda.
We got a lot of information regarding how Starfield will work as a game. First, one of the more important notes is that it will be a true-to-form role-playing game. Choices will matter, and there will be companions as well as rival factions and a character creator unlike any other from Bethesda. Starfield will feature an extensive skill system where you not only unlock skills but can also rank them up to make them more effective.
There will be detailed crafting mechanics and the option to build your own outposts where you can hire characters to inhabit and run said outposts. But even more exciting than all of that is the ability to build your own spaceship. According to Howard, the spaceships will be fully customizable with a comprehensive creative suite. Once your ship is created, you can then hire your own crew, and on top of all that, the vessel is fully flyable.
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Another huge, yet maybe a bit worrying, reveal is the ability to fully explore every planet in the game. Starfield will have 100 different systems comprised of 1000 planets, and all of them can be explored. We’re having flashbacks of No Man’s Sky. That being said, No Man’s Sky has bounced back, so we have faith in Bethesda.
Of course, we got a pretty sizable chunk of gameplay footage. We got to see how the combat system works, as well as interactions with creatures (both hostile and friendly), NPCs (again, friendly and not), as well as the harvesting mechanic used to mine useful and precious from the various planets. Also, a small note, but the new lockpicking mechanic looks really fun.
As far as our first extensive look at Starfield goes, it looks great. From what we saw of the environments and the various planets, the world appears packed. Bethesda’s had issues with faces in the past, but the characters here look pretty good. The game looks like a lot of fun, and perhaps Starfield is now a big reason to get a next-gen console.
Starfield is Bethesda’s first new and original IP in 25 years, and it’s launching in the first half of 2023 on Xbox Series X/S and PC.
