Starfield’s first announcement was full of wonder. For the years preceding its release, Bethesda spoke of the game with a certain weight.
“Our first new universe in over 25 years,” studio head Todd Howard proclaimed. Not tens, not hundreds, but thousands of completely unique planets to explore.
Countless life paths, side quests, unique NPC’s, factions to join, resources to collect, weapons to use, clothes to wear — there was nothing they did not boast in the five years between its announcement and release.
The 45-minute Starfield Demo, aired after 2023 Xbox Games Showcase, was a rarity in the current video game industry — a comprehensive overview of what Starfield will have to offer preceding its release.
Though it proved to essentially be a 45 minute trailer, there was little to complain about in it, having in-depth systems, an incomprehensibly vast universe to explore, and incredibly beautiful graphics. I and many others truly began to believe that this was going to be it — the start of the ‘next generation’ of gaming.
Suffice to say, the hype for Starfield was unreal. Bethesda was known not for games, but for universes, expansive experiences sprawling countless locales. Space seemed the perfect setting for their style of game.
“I know how long I’ve been looking forward to it,” Karl Helmerich, a State High senior with a passion for video games, said. “It felt like the culmination of so much different video game stuff in the past few years, like it was gonna be a whole new thing.” Helmerich purchased the 100$ deluxe package of the game, planning to play it the day of release.
Initial reviews for the game came out a few days before Starfield’s release. To me and countless gamer’s shock, the general consensus? Starfield is… decent. Pretty fun. Nothing too crazy. Just… decent.
Though it could be easy to ignore this and play the game nonetheless, it stuck in the back of my mind leading up to the release. 25 years of development, thousands of worlds, beautiful graphics; there’s no way this game could be a dud.
A sad reality in modern gaming is releases filled with glitches, bugs, and countless updates needed for months after before the game is even playable. However in this climate, Starfield was seemingly the exception, with few to no glitches or bugs noticeable through most playthroughs.
And yet, despite the delivery on every promise made by Bethesda, fans and critics alike met the game with lukewarm reviews at best, and flaming criticisms at worst. And yet, no promise was unkempt, and no statement was made that did not end up being true preceding the game’s release.
“The problem wasn’t with the game. The game has been nothing but fantastic. The problem is the fans,” Helmerich commented. “No level of game released was going to match the hype that had built up; nothing was going to be good enough.”
Starfield, leading up to the release, seemed too good to be true- because it was. Twenty-five years with no new game turned out to be far too long, and nothing Bethesda released after such a hefty break would ever live up to the expectations and memories their fans had of their old games.
Maybe Starfield is the new era of gaming people wanted it to be. Maybe it isn’t. Maybe it’s nothing more than a very solid Bethesda RPG. No matter what it is, though, one thing is clear- it was never going to be enough to satisfy the fans.
