This summary of the video was created by an AI. It might contain some inaccuracies.
00:00:00 – 00:22:04
The video delves into an in-depth critique of the game "Starfield," emphasizing both its strengths and weaknesses through extensive gameplay experience. Key points include the impressive scale and visual appeal of New Atlantis, contrasted with the immersion-breaking frequent loading screens experienced elsewhere. The procedurally generated planets are critiqued for being barren and repetitive, though outpost building is highlighted as an enjoyable activity. Combat is compared to previous Bethesda games, noted for satisfying gunplay but criticized for lack of variety in enemy tactics. Space combat is seen as shallow, and the dialogue suffers from awkward animations and lengthiness, despite having engaging mechanics inspired by Fallout New Vegas.
The game’s skills and challenges system is also discussed, with some skills being more beneficial than others. The main story, revolving around the discovery of mysterious artifacts, is perceived as inconsistent, featuring a mix of engaging and filler quests, and the New Game Plus mechanic falls short of adding significant value. Companions are largely superficial, with only a few offering depth and romance options. On a positive note, faction quests such as the UC Vanguard and Crimson Fleet receive praise for their high stakes and varied gameplay, in contrast to less engaging side quests.
The final review appreciates improvements in RPG elements and base building from previous Bethesda games but criticizes outdated quest design, unengaging dialogue, and a mediocre main story. Overall, while "Starfield" boasts an expansive world, it is suggested that a smaller-scale game with more refined content could have been more successful.
00:00:00
In this part of the video, the creator discusses their extensive experience with over 500 hours of playtime in Starfield, having completed the main story three times, all 67 handcrafted side quests, and explored all 1,000 planets. They emphasize the impressive scale and visual appeal of New Atlantis, which has no loading screens and is significantly larger than cities in past Bethesda games. However, they criticize the prevalent and immersion-breaking loading screens outside of New Atlantis, which occur frequently for various actions like entering ships or jumping to different solar systems. They argue that the persistent loading screens detract from the exploration experience and critique the lack of effort in disguising them, suggesting that even simple visual improvements could have been made to enhance the game’s immersion.
00:03:00
In this part of the video, the speaker criticizes procedurally generated planets, describing them as barren and repetitive, serving little purpose beyond marketing. The main reasons for exploring these planets are to scan resources, which is tedious, or to build outposts. While scanning resources is mundane, outpost building is highlighted as enjoyable, improved since Fallout 4 with features like a beacon system, resource extraction, and the ability to build elaborate bases. The video acknowledges varied interests by mentioning that players can also decorate apartments if base building isn’t appealing. Combat in the game is compared to Fallout 4 and 76, with a familiar feel to the guns and a variety of enemy factions, though their differences are mostly superficial.
00:06:00
In this segment of the video, the speaker discusses the lack of variety in enemy tactics within the game, noting that regardless of the group (spacers, ecliptic, or Crimson Fleet), enemies either charge with melee weapons or hide and shoot from cover. They express disappointment that different factions do not exhibit unique behaviors despite their backgrounds. However, when it comes to gunplay, the speaker finds it satisfying and responsive, with enemies reacting realistically to being hit. The video mentions improvements in weapon smoothness and responsiveness over previous games, with diverse weapons including pistols, snipers, grenade launchers, and machine guns.
The level design encourages both wide-open arenas and tight bottlenecks, enhancing the combat experience. Despite the improvements in gunplay, the stealth system is criticized for being inadequate due to poorly designed levels for stealth, slow crouching speeds, and many locked doors. Finally, the speaker praises the introduction of fully controllable spaceships in the game, highlighting the variety of ships that offer different advantages and disadvantages in terms of defense, speed, and control.
00:09:00
In this segment of the video, the speaker discusses various aspects of the game “Starfield.” Players have the option to build their own ships from scratch, which has led to a variety of unique designs shared on forums. However, the space combat is noted as being shallow, largely relying on superior firepower to win battles. The game’s dialogue is criticized for its awkward facial animations and overly lengthy conversations, making interactions tedious despite having an interesting overarching story. Positive aspects include the dialogue mechanics, which draw inspiration from Fallout New Vegas, allowing the use of skills, traits, and companions to influence outcomes, though the speaker criticizes the reliance on dice rolls for persuasion. Skills in the game have seen significant changes, with skills now being levelable four times, leading to more advanced skills. However, there’s an imbalance in the usefulness of skills; some, like weightlifting, are universally beneficial, while others, like astronomy, are deemed largely useless.
00:12:00
In this part of the video, the speaker discusses the challenges and skills within the game, noting that while some challenges are logical, others are extremely easy, allowing players to level up quickly. Most skills are simple percentage upgrades that don’t enhance gameplay significantly, which is disappointing compared to Fallout 4’s more interesting abilities. The main story is introduced as starting with the player finding a mysterious artifact, leading to recruitment by Constellation to discover more artifacts over 20 hours of gameplay. The story’s quality is inconsistent, with some quests being excellent and others feeling like repetitive filler. While some missions are innovative and engaging, many involve dull tasks that artificially extend the game. The ending and New Game Plus reveal that the Starborn are predictably mundane, dampening the intrigue built earlier.
00:15:00
In this part of the video, the speaker critiques the main story and New Game Plus mechanic of a game, highlighting that the initial uniqueness of the artifact communicating with the protagonist and another character is forgotten. The New Game Plus offers slight benefits like new dialogue choices and skipping the main story but at the expense of losing significant in-game progress. The speaker appreciates the secret timelines in New Game Plus for adding interesting twists but feels the feature could have been more substantial. Furthermore, the speaker is disappointed with the companion system, noting that only four out of many companions offer depth and romance options, and even these four have nearly identical morals, making the choice of companion superficial. Companion controls are also criticized for being non-existent. However, the speaker hints at a redeeming feature in the game: faction quest lines.
00:18:00
In this part of the video, the speaker discusses the quality of faction quests in Starfield, noting that they sometimes surpass the main storyline in terms of quality. Four main faction quest lines are highlighted, with the RUEN Industries quest being the least favorable due to its clichéd story and poor stealth mechanics. The Freestar Rangers offer better gameplay but an equally uninteresting story. The UC Vanguard and Crimson Fleet quest lines are deemed the best, featuring varied gameplay and high stakes, with UC Vanguard standing out due to its twists and significant stakes like the potential extermination of the human race. The Crimson Fleet offers engaging quests with substantial rewards. Comparatively, side quests are seen as a step down from previous Bethesda games, with many being dull fetch quests. Despite some standout quests like “Operation Star Seed” and “First Contact,” the speaker argues that reducing the quantity of side quests and improving their quality would have benefited the game.
00:21:00
In this part of the video, the speaker delivers a final review of Starfield, highlighting both its strengths and shortcomings. While acknowledging improvements from previous Bethesda games like Skyrim and Fallout 4, particularly in RPG elements and base building, the reviewer criticizes the game’s outdated quest design, unengaging dialogue, and mediocre main story. The verdict is that although Starfield is expansive, it lacks depth, resulting in many hours of gameplay that are not particularly enjoyable. The reviewer suggests that a smaller-scale game with more refined content could have been more successful.