Starfield Falls Down to “Mixed Reviews” on Steam, What Went Wrong and What Should Bethesda Do Next?

Starfield had a very successful launch back in September. It quickly rose to the top of the list of most-played titles on Steam. While there are numerous fans of Bethesda claiming that this game is a masterpiece, there are some who ended up being disappointed by it. The lack of seamless travel and a lack of worthwhile explorable locations really hurt the game’s popularity.

The game’s player count recently dipped below Skyrim, another Bethesda game that was released back in 2011. This kind of defeat only means one thing: fans are not finding Starfield to be what they wanted from a Bethesda game. But that does not mean it cannot be fixed. Here are some things that fans did not like in Starfield and want changed.

What went wrong with Starfield and how Bethesda can fix it

Years ago, when No Man’s Sky launched, it was a barebones game with not much substance to it. From 2016 to now, developer Hello Games has worked tirelessly to fix this game. And fix they did. Now it has a substantial story, reasons to explore, a very detailed outpost-building system, and even a bounty-hunting mechanic. They really turned it around. Bethesda can do something similar with Starfield.

Another feature that needs major improvement is Starfield’s inventory system. In an attempt to overhaul and make it better, Bethesda has made this new inventory system confusing and tedious to manage. Fans would love to see it change. Bethesda can also find a way for over-encumbered players to reach back to their ships without having to throw away their stuff. It’s a huge game, and it sometimes takes minutes for players to make their way back to the ship, walking slowly because they are being slowed down by the burden.

Starfield can be overhauled to have a faster loading system, and its loading times can be improved to make traveling feel faster. This game requires SSDs but does not seem to be using them so well.

And Bethesda can actually make all those planets worth exploring. Sometimes players just want to be surprised, and it’s disappointing when they land on a planet and it’s just dust.

It is a big thing to make these changes, but they have done it once before with Fallout 76. Starfield is a better game, and they can put as much effort into it. Here’s hoping they do; it would be sad to see such a great new IP vanish out of existence due to their inaction.

Was traveling between planets was too much for Bethesda?

Bethesda is great at building open worlds; they have built some brilliant ones. And from Fallout 3 to Skyrim to Fallout 4, they have hardly disappointed. Even in Starfield, there are moments when players are exploring those vast cities. But all this washes away when players decide to leave the planet and explore space. It becomes an annoyance and a tedious affair. And to top it all, there are more than a 1000 planets!

What the game needs is more major cities. While the game only has 4, and not more than 1 on a planet, the game needs to have more cities on various planets. This could ease up things on the traversal front. Further, it also opens the door for more quests.

Read More: Starfield Currently Records Less Player Count Than 12-Year-Old Skyrim, but Why?

Either Bethesda was not ready for such a game or their creation engine was not good enough for such a task. It’s a good thing their next title is Elder Scrolls 6, no matter how big that game is, it would surely remain on one planet, which automatically diminishes most issues accompanying Starfield.

With Starfield, did the makers bite off more than they could chew? How do you feel the game could improve? Let us know in the comments below.

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