We’ve finally received new details about Bethesda’s highly anticipated new RPG, Starfield. With new gameplay revealed during the Xbox and Bethesda showcase, it looks like Starfield may be the most advanced, extensive, and ambitious project in the studio’s rich and compelling history.
Todd Howard, the game director for Starfield, is on record as having described the new RPG as Bethesda’s ‘most flexible yet.’ If the recent gameplay trailer is anything to go by, you’ll be able to customize almost everything, from the way your character looks all the way to how they walk. Couple that with the most ambitious approach to both scripted storyline and procedurally generated content that Bethesda’s ever done, and you have a game that seems to tick boxes we didn’t even know you could expect.
Unlike in No Man’s Sky, another space exploration title, you won’t be able to seamlessly transition from being among the stars in the sky to being back on solid ground, but this was an intentional choice. When asked about this gameplay feature in a recent interview, Howard responded: ‘No. We decided early in the project that the on-surface is one reality, and then when you’re in space it’s another reality.’
According to Howard, the team couldn’t justify the depth of engineering that would need to be done to achieve a smooth transition so they settled upon two separate experiences instead. This does however provide the team with the opportunity, and expectation, to flesh out both experiences thoroughly so that neither overshadows the other.
In terms of gameplay capabilities, Howard says you’ll be able to do pretty much anything you could want to do while exploring space. As it turns out this includes dogfighting. However, Howard says that he didn’t want the usual twitchy dogfighting gameplay, instead, he’s used the MechWarrior games as a guide for speed and agility.
You’ll also be able to divert power to either defence or weapons, similar to FTL: Faster Than Light. But expect to be able to do far more than that in space. ‘You can steal (the ship), there’s dialogue in space, there are starstations you can visit, there’s smuggling. All the things that we would want.’
We can definitely get behind Starfield, and we won’t have to wait too long to test it out either. The game is due to be released sometime in the beginning of 2023 for PC and Xbox Series X|S.
While you wait, why not head to the beautiful High Isles chapter in The Elder Scrolls Online?
