Starfield (video game)

The game features an open world in the form of an area within the Milky Way galaxy, containing both fictional and non-fictional planetary systems.The game features an open world in the form of an area within the Milky Way galaxy, containing both fictional and non-fictional planetary systems.The majority of the landscapes within the game were procedurally generated, depending on the star of its system and its atmosphere, as well as locations of interest as the player approaches a planet,[4] with modified and handcrafted content developed around them.[8] As the player progresses, they gain experience and level up, allowing them to unlock abilities found in five distinct skill trees: Physical, Social, Combat, Science, and Tech.[17][18] By the 2150s, a method of faster-than-light travel called the "Grav Drive" is invented; however, around this time, Earth's magnetosphere begins to destabilize, gradually rendering the planet uninhabitable.[17][18] Other factions include: House Va'ruun, a growing destructive cult;[20] the Ryujin Corporation, a near-omnipotent conglomerate with dubious ethics; Ecliptic, a shadowy and mercurial group of mercenaries;[21] and the Crimson Fleet, a band of space pirates and outlaws.The player assumes the role of a space miner working for the company Argos Extractors, who has been commissioned by the enigmatic Constellation—a famed group of galactic explorers—to locate an Artifact with strange gravitational effects buried underground.Shortly after meeting the client and defending the mining operation from a Crimson Fleet attack, the player travels to New Atlantis, the capital of the United Colonies, to deliver the Artifact to Constellation's Lodge.The player then joins Constellation's benefactor and fellow member Walter Stroud in his efforts to obtain an Artifact from the pleasure city of Neon.In an effort to increase their scanning range to locate more Artifacts, the player is directed to help fix The Eye, Constellation's satellite in orbit.Constellation surviving members escape with the Artifacts, much to the surprise of the attacking Starborn, "The Hunter", who allows the player to leave, promising that they will meet again.After entering the Unity a second time, the player might encounter one of several variable universes, featuring changes that can affect the main plot for that playthrough in myriad ways.[24] Starfield is the first new intellectual property (IP) by Bethesda Game Studios in over twenty-five years, and has been described by director Todd Howard as "Skyrim in space".[3] Bethesda's team began writing a fictional narrative of events by decade of the approximately 300 years from development to the game's present, in order to ask "And now man is living amongst the stars: what does that mean?[42] An in-engine trailer demonstrating the improvements of Creation Engine 2 was presented at E3 2021 during the combined Microsoft-Bethesda press event, and a release date of November 11, 2022, on Microsoft Windows and Xbox Series X/S as a console exclusive was announced.[43] The London Symphony Orchestra previewed the game's title theme, "Starfield Suite" composed by Inon Zur, at The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - 10th Anniversary Concert in November 2021, while it was released as a standalone track on various streaming services in April 2022.[49] In July 2023, Bethesda released an anthology series of three animated shorts titled Starfield: The Settled Systems, which chronicle the daily lives of specific characters inhabiting three major cities in the galaxy: A delivery pilot based in New Atlantis, Jemison, an orphan in Akila City, Akila, and two young adults residing in Neon on the planet Volli Alpha.[51] Starfield was playable during the week of Gamescom, with Todd Howard and Xbox CEO Phil Spencer also holding an exclusive demo to the press, showcasing the first fifteen minutes of the game.[56] In June 2023, Bethesda announced AMD as the exclusive PC partner for Starfield,[57] who hosted a giveaway in August 2023 for 500 limited edition Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPUs and Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics cards, styled after the aesthetics of the Constellation organization in the game.[62] Leon Hurley from GamesRadar+ praised Starfield for its expansive and immersive world, its varied and creative missions, its solid and stable mechanics, and its graphics.Hurley said that Starfield is the best thing Bethesda has done since The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and that it offers endless discovery and opportunities for players who love exploration and freedom.[clarification needed][83] Several reviewers noted the relative lack of bugs at launch compared to previous Bethesda titles.IGN praised the worldbuilding and number of interesting companion characters, also saying the sidequests were dynamic enough to give the player the opportunity to role-play.[72] On the other hand, Digital Trends found the characters to be disappointingly one-note, though did praise the varied sidequests,[64] while TechRadar said that the main story felt "soulless".PC Gamer said that the game "fails to feel like a grand adventure" and criticized space travel as being too reliant on loading screens and fast-travel between planets.Soon after, Pete Hines of Bethesda responded to the remarks from Kern, criticizing them for being highly unprofessional and reiterating that the menu design had been a standard in previous games from the studio.[102] In December 2023, Starfield's lead studio design director, Emil Pagliarulo, posted a thread on social media platform X in response to negative criticism aimed at game developers.[114] Four months post-launch, Starfield's player numbers on Steam had fallen lower than Bethesda Game Studios' previous works, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition and Fallout 4, dropping to 11,182 by January 11, 2024.