Starfield has been ruling the news within the gaming community ever since gamers got early access on the 1st of this month after pre-ordering one of the premium editions. From speed-runners ending the game in record time to completionists digging up every detail from the game, gamers and critics have already wrapped up the game multiple times to give honest reviews. Those reviews showcased the game’s visually stunning experience, smooth, immersive gameplay, and near-zero bugs, which has helped Starfield get high ratings from prominent review channels.
Starfield is available since day one release on the Xbox GamePass, gamers in regions where Xbox Cloud Gaming is available are also enjoying the game on other devices. While this might work fine, there are a lot of caveats that gamers must consider for a lag-free, smooth gameplay experience.
Starfield’s Recommended System Requirements Set the Bar Quite High To Experience The Game In All Its Glory
While Starfield is a massive game with planets and galaxies for players to visit and explore, the game’s recommended system requirements for smooth gameplay are also no joke. As listed on Steam and Xbox.com, it’s recommended for gamers to use an SSD (solid-state drive) with at least 125 GB available space, instead of the traditional HDD (Hard Disk Drive), as SSDs are a lot faster and more reliable. The game also recommends using a minimum of 16 GB of RAM and the latest editions of Windows 10 or Windows 11 and Directx 12.
Coming to the processors in the rig, the recommended options are AMD’s Ryzen 5 3600X or Intel’s 10th-generation i5. For a visual treat without stuttering, gamers must pair up the processors with either of these GPUs, AMD’s Radeon RX 6800 XT or NVIDIA’s RTX 2080. These GPUs are not the latest editions from either company, so using the latest versions available would be even better if gamers can afford to do so.
A high-spec rig or Xbox Series consoles aren’t the only devices to experience Starfield, however, as Xbox Cloud Gaming allows GamePass Ultimate subscribers to play the game on any eligible device. The caveat that fans must remember is to have an uninterrupted network for the game for a lag-free experience.
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Gamer Tries Starfield On Handheld Device While On An Interstate Drive, Shares Thoughts
Axios writer and gamer, Stephen Totilo, did not start Starfield the traditional way, as he neither used an Xbox Series console nor a desktop to launch the game for the first time. Xbox GamePass Ultimate subscribers can make use of Xbox Cloud Gaming to stream games from the GamePass library on virtually any of the modern-day devices. Totilo launched the game on his iPhone, after connecting it to a Backbone mobile controller, and shared his thoughts on the overall gameplay experience while using a cellular network to play the game on a highway.
Totilo mentioned that the intro for the game, along with the first couple of missions went fine. Totilo mentioned in his article on Axios:
I also designed the look of my lead character, got into some introductory spaceship dogfights and flew to another planet, all as the game ran smoothly via a cellular connection.
Totilo continued that after taking a brief break from the game, his gameplay was heavily impacted by a poor network. He mentioned how he was in the middle of a gunfight when the game just froze and that the “game’s visuals would freeze”. Totilo got back control of the game and smoother gameplay after restarting the game, post which he mentioned that the game worked just fine.
Totilo neither criticized the game nor the Xbox Cloud Gaming service, as he clarified towards the end of his article that Starfield is one of the biggest games that Microsoft has dished out on its cloud gaming service. Totilo went on to say that Xbox Cloud Gaming has always been a way of testing games before gamers jumped on the games on either an Xbox or PC.
The fact that it’s possible for gamers to launch and play a game as massive as Starfield on a mobile device should still be lauded, while it’s always recommended for gamers to play it on a PC or an Xbox with a stable internet connection for an uninterrupted, immersive experience.
Also Read: Unsurprisingly Starfield is Bethesda’s Biggest Game Ever Even with Game Pass
Starfield Gets Review-Bombed, Slides Down Metacritic Rankings
As if on cue, Starfield started getting review-bombed immediately after a global launch, as the game started sliding down Metacritic rankings. There were several comments left behind by recent reviewers that didn’t make much sense, making it apparent that the overall intention was just to bring down the rankings. Comments called out Starfield for a boring intro, the overall exploration being lifeless, and that the game wasn’t running as expected on desktops, and most of the recent reviews were just one-liners with ratings ranging between 1 to 5.
Starfield still had a successful launch day with a record 6 million gamers having concurrently played the game, as revealed by Xbox Head, Phil Spencer. With the weekend having just started, there will be more legitimate reviews coming as well, as more gamers lift off for the first time once they begin their Starfield experience this weekend.
Source: Axiom
