I haven’t playedStarfieldyet. It’s nothing against the game, nor is it part of aSony-infused campaign againstXbox. I still thinkSunset Overdrivewas one of the best exclusives of the last generation. And space is calling to me. But I’ve never been fully absorbed by whatever magic it is thatBethesdahas, and after waiting a month forBaldur’s Gate 3to launch on console, Starfield is at the back of the queue. But damn, you guys are really making me never want to play this game.
It’s not the ‘bad’ points that I mind.The combat’s not great- but it’s a Bethesda game, that’s not the draw.There are loading screensand you can’t walk around a planet in a circle - big deal, I’ll live. It can be repetitive and shallow, with too many resources and lots of filler - yeah, you already told me it’s a Bethesda game. I don’t expect a game to be perfect. People making minor complaints about small issues doesn’t put me off. It’s the people who love it that are pushing me away.
Related:Starfield’s The Lodge Already Feels Like Home To Me
Video games are art, and our reaction to art makes up a deep part of our personality. But I just can’t believe that so many of you care this much about the game already. It’s barely out and you’re prepared to defend it with your life. The staunch defence against any and all criticism makes the game seem weak and flimsy, like the best thing about it are the Xbox and Bethesda logos at the start.
The best games have a confidence to them, and that cultivates a fanbase able to take critique a little easier. MostRed Dead Redemption 2fans will admit that the missions are strangely restrained compared to the freedom of the world.The Last of Us Part 2fans, Troy Baker aside, accept that the game is overlong with poor pacing towards the end. Contrast that withPokemon, where the games have been trading on brand recognition and empty promises for a while, and for every critic you’ll meet three people who can see no wrong in the game.
Pokemon has me in its clutches. I am trapped in this life. But Starfield does not. I am still free of Starfield. And when its fans are so insecure and overprotective, I don’t want to waste my time with it. If someone says ‘this part of the game sucks’ and your reaction is ‘eh maybe, but I care about these other great parts’, it makes me want to check it out. Those other great parts seem pretty great. But when someone says ‘this part of the game sucks’ and your reaction is ‘no, you’re playing it wrong, idiot!’ it makes me think the game really sucks. And right now, I think Starfield really sucks.
It’s free on Game Pass and I love myself a character creator, so I’ll check it out soon. I’ve gotSpider-Man,Mario,Assassin’s Creed,Detective Pikachu, and Lamplighter’s League coming over the horizon after I beat Baldur’s Gate 3, but I’ll make time for Starfield eventually. Bits of it seem decent. Good, even. And I like space, so I might find something to like in the vast eons of the Settled Systems. But the fact its biggest defenders refuse to see any flaws only convince me that there are so many the fanbase has had to retreat into outright delusional denial.
It’s fine to like Starfield. Like I said, there are some tempting elements to it and parts of it intrigue me. Whether it’sthe prospect of becoming a space pirateorthe meaning behind the core narrative, there are things I can hook my interest onto.
But blindly defending it against any and all criticism doesn’t make me think the game is perfect, it makes me think most of the criticism must be true if you’re this desperate. Starfield is a big hit for Xbox and Bethesda, but for some of you that isn’t enough. The game needs to be perfect, and the longer you pretend it is, the less likely I am to play.
Next:Obsessing Over Making My Starfield Character Look Like Me Gave Me An Existential Crisis
