Starfield, in its current state, is nothing more than a combination of bland reviews and crossed fingers for a better future. The game was in development for over 7 years, and even with all the marketing in the world, it failed to garner a strong and positive presence.
The player count has fallen off, and the negative reviews are piling up. In the midst of it all, there’s that dying hope for the next The Elder Scrolls game, and fans aren’t sure if the community should even hold its breath.
Steam Reviews Aren’t Doing Starfield Any Favors
The trickiest part of Starfield’s narrative is how it’s perceived on different platforms. No thanks to the not-so-detailed reviews on Game Pass or Xbox Store; the game saves itself from the harsh written word, and console players simply dive into the experience without considering reviews much. However, it’s a different story on Steam altogether.
The latest update introduced about 500 fixes, but some elements that players have asked for from the beginning, like ground exploration and navigation, are still quite lackluster. Clearly, some players have had enough of Bethesda’s so-and-so title.
Take, for instance, a review by user King_Deadpoolio that has received more than 6,000 ‘helpful‘ votes:
Elder scrolls 6 is gonna suck isn’t it?
If you’ve been a longtime Bethesda fan, it might have hurt a little to read that. After all, Skyrim is one of the most revered RPGs of all time, and the pressure on the studio to make something ever larger and better is something beyond our comprehension.
Unfortunately, the ‘Mostly Negative‘ is not helping fans have a healthier mindset towards keeping their expectations high for The Elder Scrolls 6. Who’s to say that Bethesda is magically going to reframe its vision, and have a passion inclined towards building a game that sets a generation apart?
Can Starfield Ever Truly Redeem Itself?
In our review of the game, we pointed out that simple things in the game feel like a task, and what should feel large feels minuscule at best. As if, there’s simply no soul to the game. However, there’s a subsection of the community that believes that if new storylines, mods, and quality-of-life changes are introduced, the game can feel like it’s worth your time.
But that too is a far-fetched dream. After all, mods aren’t going to change the core gameplay loops of Starfield, which have been problematic to begin with.
me booting up elder scrolls 6 on march 8th 2029 and seeing settlement building, radiant quests, procedurally generated environments, the ability to join every faction as a single character, no classes, no politics and no racial tension pic.twitter.com/IInXXkhLdF
— Elden Lord Laura❗️ (@THEME0FLAURA) March 11, 2024
Unlike a Cyberpunk 2077 comeback story, Bethesda can only truly redeem its reputation by making sure that the next game is up to the generation’s requirements for excellence. Fans wouldn’t want something perfect if the studio didn’t already show the potential of being one of the greats.
Could The Elder Scrolls 6 be capable of that? At the time of writing, it doesn’t seem like the community would really like to place its bet on that.
What are your thoughts on the future of both of these titles? Let us know in the comments below.
