What We Know So Far About The New Bethesda RPG

By: Daniel Correa

(Featured image from Promotional artwork for Starfield)

Space, a cosmic mystery that has enticed humanity for millenia. It is only natural that humans would dream of what is out there. In Starfield, the new game by Bethesda studios, you will be able to play out those dreams. But what do we know about Starfield? When will it be released? What will it look like? And will it actually be good? 

Starfield is set in the year 2320– humanity has now spread out across the galaxy and has splintered into various factions. Twenty years after an intergalactic civil war, your character finds an artifact that might have information about the existence of an ancient alien civilization, and many people will kill for that information. You, as the character you create, can work with many factions such as Constellation, a group based around exploring uncharted and unknown parts of space. Or you can join the Crimson Fleet, a group of space pirates that act as this game’s “evil faction”. 

Starfield is the first new franchise Bethesda has worked on since they picked up the Fallout series. Additionally, Starfield is the first single player RPG from the company since Fallout 4 in 2015, so many fans are eager to get their hands on it. However, after the massive failure that was Fallout 76, just as many fans are skeptical of the game.

The first major piece of information about Starfield came out in 2018 with an announcement trailer. The trailer only showed an unknown planet and a satellite being consumed by a rift in space accompanied by dramatic music. This was the only thing we knew about Starfield until June of 2021 when Bethesda dropped the official trailer. 

In the official trailer we got to see a lot of new things about Starfield. We were shown the graphics which gave us a look at the art direction (a 70’s era NASA aesthetic) that Bethesda was going with. We also got a look at the new game engine they were using which will allow for space flight and climbing ladders (something that previous Bethesda game engines were unable to do). We additionally got a release date; November 11th 2022, a clear reference to Skyrim’s release date which was on November 11th 2011. With this new trailer Starfield would garner a lot of attention and hype around it, especially on the 11/11/22 release date which would mean that the game would release in only 6 months. However, complications would soon arise…

Image from the Starfield reveal trailer

It was announced a few weeks later that Starfield would be delayed and won’t release until the first half of 2023. As of writing this article in October of 2022, there is still no official release date put out by Bethesda. According to those closely associated with Bethesda, the delay was due to worries of Starfield being released unfinished and that it might become “the next Cyberpunk 77.” Many fans were disappointed due to the long wait but most understood that releasing a game before it was completed would be a bad move by Bethesda. Most accepted that they would have to endure the near year-long wait for Starfield. 

In June,it was announced that Xbox would be having a game showcase, and that Bethesda would show actual Starfield gameplay at the event! Many were at the edge of their seats waiting for the showcase and to have a first look at what playing Starfield might actually look like. On June 12th, the day of the showcase, the world finally got to see real Starfield gameplay. The gameplay trailer showed the player going through an enemy base on an unknown planet and killing bad guys. We got to take a look at the space flight mechanics in the game which looked quite impressive for the engine. You could fly around in real time and walk around your space ship. 

We also finally got a look at the character animations which looked great for a Bethesda game. The characters actually looked human which is quite a departure for the company. We also got to see the combat. It was slow and not as good as other games on the market but the combat has never been an important part of a Bethesda game. 

Character from The Elder Scrolls Oblivion (2007) Character from Starfield (2023)

With this gameplay trailer fans were very excited to say the least, we had all this new information about the plot and game mechanics which were far more RPG-ish than previous Bethesda games. However, there is a group of folks that look at Starfield with a more critical glance. I had the luck of meeting one of these people and asking them about their skepticism.

Interviewing: Zach Geyer

Interviewer: Daniel Correa

What is your experience with Bethesda or their games? Have you played any of them?

I have played some Bethesda(sic),  I have played Skyrim, I have played a bit of Morrowind, and I have watched a lot of interviews with Bethesda game employees.

Do you believe Starfield will be the next Cyberpunk? If so, why do you think that?

I do think that it will be the next Cyberpunk because although it wasn’t rushed like Cyberpunk is so it might not be quite as buggy, it might fall into the same trap that I think Cyberpunk fell into, which is not trying to do one or two things really well. It is trying to do everything well but it can’t focus on anything so they are all gonna end up being mediocre.

Have you seen any of the Starfield footage? If so, what do you think of it?

I have, I think it looked kinda bland and uninteresting, the combat doesn’t look super new or interesting, it looks like No Man’s Sky with guns.

If Starfield does turn out to be good, would you buy it?

I like Space games, sure.

Do you have anything to say to the Starfield Fans?

Don’t set your expectations too high, Todd Howard is lying to you as he has many times. Don’t listen to what he says!

The biggest concerns about Starfield was that it would do too many things and fail at all of them, a “jack of all trades master of none” situation. Ultimately, early skepticism is as valid as early praise, and we must wait for the full product to release. We must wait anxiously until Starfield releases in 2023 as Bethesda continues to trickle out new info and show more of the game. Bethesda has a lot to prove since the disastrous launch of Fallout 76 and their acquisition by Microsoft, and hopefully this game is able to satisfy the fans and the haters. 

If you wish to continue keeping up with news about Starfield here are a few links to official Bethesda/Starfield sites.

Official Starfield website: https://bethesda.net/en/game/starfield 

Official Bethesda Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/bethesda 

Official Starfield Twitter: https://twitter.com/starfieldgame