Starfield is Bethesda’s first foray into a new IP in 25 years. The studio has famously stuck to famous franchises like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, leaving many fans very curious about the different ways the new sci-fi RPG could play out.
Leaked screenshots supposedly from Starfield make the game look like a crossover between BioWare’s Mass Effect series and Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky. While the two sci-fi games are very different, what looks like Bethesda’s attempt to synthesize elements of both could make for an interesting and original RPG premise for a few key reasons.
One of the leaked Starfield screenshots shows who appears to be the player character in a third person view similar to the over-the-shoulder style of the Mass Effect games. The setting, however, appears to be a barren moon, and it is likely that Starfield will include a large open world galaxy where players will be able to explore a far larger map than was included in Mass Effect. The inclusion of playable space travel is one sense in which the game may incorporate elements of No Man’s Sky.
However, the screenshot also shows that elements like oxygen and CO2 levels, and possibly gravity, will be included in the game’s UI. This implies that, like No Man’s Sky, Bethesda’s new game will also incorporate space travel but also more survival elements than previous RPG outings by the studio. Shaking up the sci-fi RPG formula with elements from other genres could work well for Bethesda, particularly after the recent disappointing outings from BioWare’s Mass Effect series, which could leave a gap in the market that Starfield could fill.
The Mass Effect franchise has struggled to return to the series’ heights ever since the ending of Mass Effect 3. Mass Effect: Andromeda struggled to balance a desire to include elements from the original trilogy, such as the main Citadel races, with the desire to tell a new story with cause and effect unrelated to the events of the original Mass Effect games and the choices Shepard could make.
As a result many of the characters except for Jaal the Angara fell flat, with players no longer compelled to get to know characters of alien species they already had an in-depth understanding of. The story also had to be necessarily set far in the future and far away from the events of the original Mass Effect games to avoid the big differences the endings of Mass Effect 3 imply for the future of the Milky Way galaxy.
When it comes to survival elements, they have often been one of the first things that modders add to Bethesda games. Skyrim’s modding community found great success with mods like Frostfall, which added survival elements to make the already large world feel even larger and intimidating. Players gained hours more fun as they planned dangerous journeys and found new dungeons and ruins as they fled for shelter from the elements.
With the disappointment of recent Mass Effect content and the easy adaptability of the usual Bethesda RPG formula to survival elements, a space-set RPG which has elements of both could be a huge hit for the company that could help reestablish its RPG credentials on the next-gen consoles. As a brand new IP, the studio has an opportunity to craft a world without worrying about stepping around pre-existing lore.
Starfield is Bethesda’s riskiest endeavor in years, but it also has the potential to make a bigger splash that either of its older franchises, drawing in a new generation of players. Whether or not it will be a success remains to be seen, but between Bethesda’s acquisition by Microsoft and the development of Starfield, many fans will be keeping a keen eye on the studio’s future as the next-gen consoles launch.
Starfield is in development for next-generation platforms.
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