Bethesda has crafted some legendary worlds. Launching their first new IP in over 25 years and one, at that, that boasted over 1,000 unique planets was always going to leave prospective players salivating at the very thought of diving intoStarfield.
In fact, I declared it a rather controversial 10 out of 10 - and I wasn’t the only person to do so. Why? Well, this is what I hadto say: “Starfieldis without a doubt a monumental release - and not just because it’s Bethesda’s first new IP in 25 years. Every now and then, a new game comes along that changes our perception of what the industry is capable of.Starfieldis that game. This is beyond what we’ve come to know an open-world to be. Bethesda has created a universe that, despite its vast scale, maintains interest and an impressive attention to detail throughout.”
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Take a look at the trailer forShattered Spacebelow.
We all know that Bethesda games excel as they develop overtime because the studio is so good at creating these evolving ecosystems. That was definitely a factor that remained prominent in my head as I wrote that original review and now, having attended a press briefing on the upcomingShattered Spaceexpansion at this year’s Gamescom, I remain confident thatStarfieldis continuing to build upon its already impressive foundations.
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I was always somewhat surprised that House Va’ruun played such a small role inStarfieldas, for me, they were easily the most intriguing faction, weirdly relegated to such a small segment of the game. Of course, as soon asShattered Spacewas unveiled, that logic all became clear. If you don’t recall, House Va’ruun is a serpent-worshipping cult. They claim to have encountered ‘The Great Serpent’ during a grav jump.
Credit / Bethesda
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Given that it was a brief hands-off presentation, I can’t comment too thoroughly on the expansion, but I do sense that offering a more focused story set within an intricately designed environment is the best way to win naysayers over. It’s perhaps in offering too wide of a playable universe thatStarfieldlost people the first time around, so this feels like a step into more familiar territory for the studio.
If you haven’t guessed already, it’s up to you to figure out what’s happening to Va’ruun’kai and to assist its remaining survivors. It isn’t simply a new world and a new story thatShattered Spacehas to offer though. If you’ve played the UC Vanguard side quest ‘Friends Like These’ in the main game, you’ll have traversed through the Va’ruun Embassy which is easily the spookiest segment ofStarfield. This area plays around with distorted vision, low lighting, and hallucinatory visions to create something that’s certainly unique and unsettling, unseen anywhere else in the game.
Well, from what I’ve seen, it looks as ifShattered Spaceis wholeheartedly set to build upon that idea. The glimpses of the game that I saw may have been brief, but the various locations across Va’ruun’kai seem to emulate this kind of oppressive environment we saw at the embassy. The enemies encountered are far more alien than they are human, which I think is the exact direction the combat needs to head in. The unpredictability of an unknown creature adds a sense of urgency thatStarfield’s bumbling human enemies don’t always have.
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There’s still a lot I don’t know aboutStarfield’sShattered Spaceexpansion, but I can’t shake the feeling that what’s on the way is exactly what the game needs. I hope that whatever answer lies at the heart of the mystery, that it’s as interesting as the base game’s take on New Game Plus. I hope those gravity anomalies finally allow us to make more use of our jetpacks, perhaps engaging in more airborne battles. I hope this developer-crafted hub is teeming with secrets to be discovered. These are all boxes that I don’t yet know if Bethesda has ticked. But a more horror-centric story centred on the base game’s most intriguing faction, set on a more intensified, unique, and original world? It’s a promising start.
Starfield: Shattered Space launches on Xbox Series X/S and PC on 30 September.
Topics:Starfield,Bethesda,Xbox,Xbox Series S,Xbox Series X,PC,Preview,Opinion
