The game is scheduled for release on November 11, 2022, as an Xbox Series X exclusive. Little is known about the new intellectual property (IP) aside from its interstellar setting. The teaser trailer released during E3 2021 didn’t give viewers much of a glimpse of what to expect. However, fans are so starved for the otherwise prolific development team it’s sure to fill the Skyrim-sized gap in our hearts. It’s time to trade in the saddle on your undead horse or your nuclear-powered Power Suit for a fully equipped space shuttle set for a planet-hopping adventure, complete with intergalactic cities, desert terrains, and alien wildlife. “We love to create experiences that, through art and technology, transport you. We’ve brought that to many worlds, but never to what’s above us,” Todd Howard, executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, said in a video released in conjunction with the trailer.
A Long Time Coming
We haven’t gotten a proper title for major fans of The Elder Scrolls series since Skyrim’s release a decade ago (no, Elder Scrolls Online does not count). I came to the series a bit later than others with the Game of the Year edition of the series’ fourth installment, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, when I was a wee lad. The aforementioned Skyrim was my deep dive into the series to the point that now, Ten years later, I’m still playing the game—albeit a fully modded one—on my gaming PC. I bought Fallout 4 on release day in 2015, looking for an alternative to Skyrim, but it was not the game I and many fans thought it would be and failed to satiate our appetite for another open-world Bethesda game. Starfield is the company’s first foray back into the genre since Fallout 4’s release half a decade ago, and I could not be more excited. I finally get to retire my Breton battlemage on my 12th playthrough of Skyrim and trade her in for an intergalactic explorer à la Star Trek. The in-game visuals of the trailer look like they’re straight out of a cutscene with stunning detail and clarity. According to Howard, the new Creation Engine 2 allows for more dynamic game animations and larger, fuller worlds; Starfield is set to break the mold for Bethesda. The open-galaxy video game marks the gaming giant’s first new IP in 25 years. Players like me have never quite been the same since our introduction to the lore-heavy fantastical world of Mundus in the Elder Scrolls or the post-apocalyptic wastelands of Fallout’s not-so-distant future Earth. Aside from the utter failure of Fallout 76, the team’s first attempt at multiplayer, players have been waiting for a new open-world game, which seems to be a dying genre.
Next-Generation Standard
Gaming is filled with first-person shooters and character-driven action-adventure games. I miss the character creation screen. I miss the third-person option for exploring the world. But Bethesda is good at blending the intricacies of first-person gameplay with a third-person option for those who truly love the role-play aspect of gaming. Call me crazy, but if I spend four hours creating a character and equipping the latest armor I scavenged from an unfortunate enemy combatant, I want to see what my character looks like. Hopefully, the success of this game and Bethesda’s return to form will motivate other studios to resurrect the dying genre of open-world, third-person RPG games with in-depth character customization. Let the shooters and first-person-based action-adventure games sleep for a minute; the people have more than enough to keep them preoccupied. I want to enjoy a new adventure into a wholly self-created character. It’s unfortunate to say that as a long-time gamer, this is the only game from the entire E3 event that I’m actively looking forward to. Starfield is bringing that Bethesda magic back into the fray of the gaming world that many of us have missed. Let’s explore the stars!
