Starfield is one the most anticipated games in the year and arguably even beyond that since developer Bethesda is known for creating absolutely massive games that go on to receive a ton of DLC. Their games have a certain similarity to them, in a good way, whether it be The Elder Scrolls, Fallout or even Starfield itself.
However, it seems like Starfield is breaking away from the grain in one very crucial way: exploration. And for fans going in with expectations that it would be very similar to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the last core game in the franchise, they could well be disappointed by the latest update on the game.
What did Todd Howard have to say about exploration in Starfield?
According to game director Todd Howard, the approach that developer Bethesda has taken to exploration in Starfield is fundamentally different from their other games. Citing the example of Skyrim, Howard said:
“It’s not the same as dropping you in a world like Skyrim. You wander totally differently.”
Howard also mentioned that he understood that not everyone would like this new approach to exploration, before going on to talk about the feeling of disembarking off your ship on a new planet for the first time and soaking in the new world. He said:
“I think that moment works almost every time. When you’re looking over the landscape and the star is setting. That’s all somewhat simulated. In this game it just happens.”
These moments that Howard mentioned, while certainly not for everyone, have the inherent potential to be haunting and beautiful at the same time owing to its vast emptiness, since not all these planets are habitable.
How big a game is Starfield?
Starfield is a big game. So big, in fact, that Todd Howard himself was surprised by the size the game ended up at, which doesn’t really come as a surprise when one you consider that players can explore over a thousand planets in the game. Add to that the fact that it has more dialogue than Fallout 4 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim combined, and you can understand why developer Bethesda refers to it as their biggest and most ambitious game yet.
There’s one caveat with the tag of “Biggest Bethesda Game” though: while certainly true, Starfield is not a big, seamless, integrated world like their past games. Instead, each planet is its own world that all players can travel to and from. Furthermore, each planet has its own unique features in terms of geology, geography, gravity, flora, fauna and much more.
Source: Gamesradar
