- Starfield was expected to be Bethesda Game Studios’ biggest title after years of built-up hype.
- The game is currently rated ‘Mixed’ on Steam, making it worse than Fallout 76, Fallout 4, and Skyrim.
- Steam reviews have criticized the frequent loading screens, hollow open-world, and poor main quest.
Starfield was one of the few games in 2023 that had five years of hype and excitement behind it. Bethesda proudly touted that this project had been 25 years in the making, with eight years spent on development.
Unfortunately, the end result may not have lived up to expectations. As a game with mostly positive critical reception, Starfield had a strong start. Its launch was also surrounded by a lot of buzz, encouraging 10 million to venture into space.
Nearly three months later, the dust has settled, and gamers appear to have collected their thoughts about this release. Disappointingly, this has led to a dip in its rating on Steam.
Why it matters: Starfield was Bethesda’s first major RPG since 2015’s Fallout 4. It also had support from Xbox, leading many to believe that this combination would result in something special for the RPG genre.
On Steam, Starfield’s reviews have fallen into the ‘Mixed’ category. This makes it the worst modern Bethesda Game Studios title on Steam.
While a number of negative reviews had already pushed it below Fallout 76 in late September, the game has reached a new low two months later. Of the recent reviews, only 48% are positive on Steam.
69% of the overall 75,574 reviews are still positive, but the game is not considered good by Steam’s rating system. Still, this percentage means that the RPG has around 52,000 positive reviews.
Going through the reviews, users have pointed to the typical flaws of Starfield that have already been discussed plenty of times. These flaws range from the excessive loading screens to the disappointing exploration.
Users have also complained that the game’s main quest lacks impact and loses its charm in a few hours.
Compared to prestigious Bethesda releases like Skyrim, Starfield’s rating is much worse.
Perhaps this is due to the studio’s willingness to stick to an old design philosophy. Where modern games are pushing for realistic visuals, minimal loading screens, and seamless experiences, Bethesda’s latest title can feel a bit dated today.
This may be the reason it was recently left behind by Skyrim in terms of player counts. Fortunately, there is still hope for Starfield.
Bethesda has introduced several positive changes to the RPG through Steam’s recent beta patch, adding DLSS and performance improvements. Such changes have also provided hope for a console performance mode in the future.
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[Senior News Reporter]
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than 5 years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.
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