- It will be very difficult for Starfield to make a huge comeback like Cyberpunk 2077 for multiple reasons.
- The game offers a very bland storyline and characters that are hardly memorable.
- Shattered Space will bring back Starfield’s popularity, but it probably won’t last too long.
Starfield was supposed to be one of the biggest games of this generation. The excitement was so high that Microsoft expected it to be the first-party launch that would put Xbox back on top. Additionally, the marketing budget for the RPG was huge.
Microsoft even partnered with big names like Imagine Dragons for the title song. However, despite so much effort and promise, Starfield was a huge letdown. One of the biggest deal-breakers for many was the lack of 60FPS on the Xbox Series X at launch.
While Bethesda has addressed many problems, including the frame rate and lack of vehicles, there’s still a lot wrong with this RPG. With the Shattered Space DLC approaching, can it finally make a huge comeback like Cyberpunk 2077?
Why it matters: Cyberpunk 2077 has a similar story to Starfield. It was massively marketed and set up as the next big thing in gaming. However, the launch was disastrous, and since then, CDPR has done wonders and turned the game from rags to riches.
Starfield Lacks A Solid Narrative & Memorable Characters
In my opinion, even if Starfield’s DLC exceeds expectations, the damage is now beyond repair. It will undoubtedly see a surge in popularity, but that would only be momentary. In my opinion, the RPG has far too many problems to ignore.
I don’t really get Starfield’s narrative decisions. The plot has a lot of potential with all the different factions and planets, but that has been wasted. An advanced species outsmarting humans is something that has been seen many times before.
A much more nuanced narrative with fleshed-out side missions could’ve done wonders for the game. Then, there is the feeling of being unrewarded for your exploration. Starfield has a gargantuan map with over 1000 planets.
During my playthrough, I only found about 10 or so planets interesting. The rest had almost nothing going for them, so there was almost nothing rewarding about the exploration. The companions or side characters aren’t that great either.
As part of a space exploration team, you have a lot of partners. However, not even a single one of them has an interesting story or a memorable personality. Every encounter with them felt robotic.
On the other hand, Cyberpunk 2077 has Johnny Silverhand played by the legendary Keanu Reeves. And for someone you only hallucinate about, he was remarkable and one of the best characters I’ve seen in a video game.
Cyberpunk 2077 Was A Perfect Recipe
There was essentially nothing wrong with Cyberpunk 2077 except that it didn’t run on, well, anything. It was terribly optimized, but the formula CDPR used was phenomenal. The RPG only needed additional polishing before it was ready to be shipped.
With the release of the 2.0 patch and Phantom Liberty, CDPR showed everyone how a modern RPG is done. The same, unfortunately, can’t be said for Starfield, as it was doomed from the very first day.
Still, I won’t deny some of the fun elements with Starfield. For one, space combat and just wandering around in space for the sake of it were two really fun elements. The powers that you gain and the general weapons were also quite cool.
However, when I look back, nothing else particularly stood out. With the launch of Shattered Space, Bethesda is bound to improve on many elements. I also believe the story of the DLC will be decent.
It integrates horror elements, and I’m all for more horror in my sci-fi RPGs. It will also introduce new gameplay mechanics and weapons designed specifically for the expansion.
Before heading to the DLC, you’ll have to go through the story or at least some of it. For me, this is where things start to fall apart. The story only gets interesting in the very later stages of the game, to the point where most will skip it because they are already bored.
Anyhow, Shattered Space comes out on September 30th, and I will be going into the expansion with an open mind. Having completed the base game, I hope Bethesda does a better job with the DLC, but I won’t get my hopes too high.
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News Reporter
Abdullah is an avid gamer who primarily plays single-player titles. If you can’t find him anywhere, he’ll probably be at his desk playing The Witcher 3 for the millionth time. When he isn’t playing games, he’s either reading or writing about them.
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