Summary
Warning: This article contains spoilers for late-game content in Starfield.Bethesda sought to make its latest action role-playing game,Starfield, into its most ambitious title yet. Now that the game is in the hands of players everywhere, a fair number of them are inclined to say that the goal withStarfieldwas reached as the game delivers a living, breathing universe for fans to explore. This can easily be seen by how the space exploration RPG is constantly breaking records, including itsconcurrent player record on Steam.
However, the very same ambition that Bethesda was aiming for also comes with a fair bit of cons to it. While the amount of time it’ll take players to clearStarfield’smain campaign will differ due to many different factors such as side quests and customizing things like the Frontier or the player character, being able to see everything inStarfieldwill take hundreds of hours, and a good handful of playthroughs easily.
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How Starfield Sets Itself Up to Be a Never-ending Journey
Starfieldwas always developed with the freedom of players in mind, according to Todd Howard. It sought to be a game where an entire living universe could be explored, and with roughly 1,000 planets in-game,Starfielddelivers and leaves it up to players if they wish to explore the entirety of the blackest sea. However, once the main campaign is completed, fans may have more time on their hands to explore than they think asNew Game Plus has rewardsfor playing around in the multiverse quite a few times, extending the playtime considerably.
It can easily be said that the sheer size of Starfield’s “base game” goes far beyond what fans expected. As such, it would be understandable if prospective players heard thatStarfieldtakes over a hundred hoursto see in full and decided to pick up other titles instead. The same could be said of fans who have already dived into the game, learned that their adventures weren’t over when the main story was, and decided that they’d had enough. Not everyone wants to spend a fair deal of their time on one game in particular, but to others, that may be the dream. Plus, likeSkyrim, the idea of “finishing” the game might not be most Bethesda fans' goal anyhow.
Starfield and Its Emphasis on Player Freedom
Truthfully, there had been signs ofStarfield’slength from the very beginning. Not only havewords from Bethesda’s Todd Howardhelped sell just how massive the game would be during development, but Bethesda isn’t entirely known for releasing too many short experiences. Indeed, as the game has been repeatedly dubbed “Skyrimin space”, it was rather clear from the start who all the content inStarfieldis made for, and that’s players who enjoy long, immersive experiences.
Starfield’s sheer amount of optional routes and extra choices to all of its decisions that leave an impact on players' experiences with the game is impressive, and those decisions being left completely up to fans would only exist in a game of this scale. No matter what factions players choose, or how many multiverses they start new playthroughs in,everything required and optional inStarfieldis left in the hands of the captain of the Frontier the entire time.
In the end, that sits at the center ofStarfieldthroughout the entire experience; everything is up to the player and their decisions. While the sheer scale of the game may drag and feel like a chore forthose who wish to 100%Starfield,those who wish to see its main quest exclusively also aren’t at all pressured to do anything other than that. Those who enjoy long titles from Bethesda may very well have a game that lasts as long as they want it to, and if other players aren’t fine with that, then they can find their own stopping points and be satisfied at any point they wish.
Starfieldis available now for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
