When Starfield was first announced at E3 2018, I, like many, did not care. The tantalising prospect of Elder Scrolls VI appealed far more to the fantasy and Skyrim fanboy within me than more sci-fi planet hopping could after years at the Destiny grindstone.
Well, what a difference five years can make.
Embracing Life in the Starfield
Perhaps that latent trauma would have been buried a lot quicker if I’d heard Todd Howard’s assessment of Starfield being “Skyrim in space” sooner. Because that’s how Starfield plays – it is a Bethesda game through and through. But the giant leaps they’ve made since Fallout 4 are clear early on. The opening cutscene plays with a little more realism, as characters now move around while speaking to you rather than standing still and staring deep into your soul. Character creation feels the best the studio’s ever put out, with an array of options I could have spent all day editing my character, but there’s top-level accessibility that make it simple to something passably human so you can start playing and visit a geneticist to refine later.
The Oblivion lover in me was happy to see the ‘role’ put back into RPG. The trait options were nicely balanced and helped me to consider my playstyle, while the slew of backgrounds offering different starting skills was wonderful to see as it made the early game more interesting. As my pistol-toting, sliver-tongued, ace pilot “Space Scoundrel” Ziggy Stardust (the David Bowie love runs deep in my family), I felt right at home in combat and conversation. Skills improve with time and investment – after killing 20 enemies with a pistol I had the option to improve my pistol damage with the skill point I got from levelling up. Again, putting that ‘role’ right back into the game after years of mainstream RPGs made being a jack of all trades the default setting is just *chef’s kiss*.
Playing Amongst the Stars
Combat itself is… fine. It’s not what you’re playing Starfield for, and it’s perfectly functional. There are some nice flourishes to it – like melee attacks consuming your limited O2 supply while you’re in a spacesuit – but when exploration is the backbone of the game, combat being perfectly fine is what you want. Spaceship combat is therefore far more thrilling and unique. Not perfect, mind you, but managing multiple weapons and having to divert power to different systems made every interstellar dogfight feel more tense and like I had been dropped right into a scene from Star Wars.
There’s little delay in getting your hands on your first ship and being able to customise it, even if that just means the colour. But there are plenty of early doors ship building options available if you’re ready to spend the credits. All that said, flying around feels a bit more limited than I was hoping for. What’s nice is being able to add multiple companions to your crew and jet around together. While only one can still accompany you on the ground, having a crew exploring the galaxy with you speaks to the best parts of Mass Effect and makes being a part of Constellation, a group of explorers, feel lived-in and not just a main quest gimmick.
The few planets I’ve visited so far all feel interesting and different, and the scale of New Atlantis makes it feel truly city sized, dwarfing anything Fallout or Elder Scrolls have ever done in terms of a settlement. That said, at times it felt too big for the Bethesda player in me, whose instinct is to break into every building and fill his pockets with whatever isn’t nailed down or considered a crime.
But in a way, that’s great. I’ve been playing Skyrim for 12 years now, across five consoles, three different TVs, and on one fridge. I don’t want just “Skryim in Space.” I want the idea of Skyrim… in space. The notion that wherever I go, or whatever I decide to do, there is a story to be found or made there. That my character can operate however they want to in this world and the game will let me play it that way. While Starfield doesn’t quite have the deep lore to weave my character into that Skyrim or even Fallout does, the freedom is there. You just have to find it.
If You Have It, Starfield is Worth the Time
Everyone from Todd Howard to Phil Spencer has spoken ad nauseum about the time they’ve sunk into the game while in development and I’m understanding why. It’s as much wanting to play Starfield as it is needing to. A rare game that doesn’t want to deliver too much too early and instead encourages dozens if not hundreds of hours of playtime to get a full experience.
Performance-wise I have very few complaints. I’m playing on a nice little mid-range gaming PC and everything looks great for the tier I’m at. But what’s most impressive is the lack of the infamous Bethesda bugs. No town guards walking into walls, objects flying across the sky because my arm brushed it, or companions getting caught in a dialogue loop until they make your brain bleed. That extra development time has ironed out all those creases for a title that is well-polished at launch and in no way broken. Who knew?
Starfield isn’t a game you have to play. It’s a game you should play. A wonderful evolution of the Bethesda formula that excites me for what Elder Scrolls VI could look like (in the 2030s probably) but also a game unlike almost any other. It wants to make space feel grounded but exciting, real but fascinating. It wants you to open your mind to all the possibilities available, find your favourite, and put time into it rather than rushing to the finish line.
Official PC System Specifications for Starfield
If you haven’t seen them before, here are the official system requirements for Starfield on PC. Yes, that SSD is required.
| Component | Minimum Specs | Recommended Specs |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 10 version 21H1 | Windows 10/11 with updates |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Intel Core i7-6800K | AMD Ryzen 5 3600X Intel i5-10600K |
| Memory | 16GB RAM | 16GB RAM |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon RX 5700 NVIDIA GeForce 1070 Ti | AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 |
| DirectX | Version 12 | Version 12 |
| Network | N/A | Broadband internet connection |
| Storage | 125GB available space | 125GB available space |
| Additional notes | SSD Required | SSD required |
What Are the Best PCs For Playing Starfield?
With hefty requirements like those, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got a gaming PC that can handle the load! I performed this review on a Refract Gaming Celeste – which you can check out this system as well as all the others in our Refract range of pre-built gaming PCs. Have a look at some of the other great PCs we have here at Overclockers UK perfect for enjoying Starfield yourself!
OcUK Gaming Firefly
Our first PC recommendation is perfect for some planetary exploration and has the name to match. The OcUK Gaming Firefly Enthusiast can be configured to fit your needs, so it can shoulder Starfield’s high system demands. It has an Intel Core i7-11700KF CPU as well as up to 32GB DDR4 RAM. You can play in glorious 4K resolution by upgrading to a powerful graphics card like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070. Like the world you can explore in Starfield, the possibilities with this gaming PC are endless.
Available to order starting from £1,749.95*
OcUK Gaming Osprey
Our other PC recommendation comes with a little something extra – that is, a copy of Starfield itself! If you grab yourself the OcUK Gaming Osprey for a limited time, you can claim the game to download and play on this amazing system! Because like building a ship in Starfield, you can customise the Osprey to better suit your needs – from the case, to the grpahics card and CPU, all the way to that all important SSD.
Available to order starting from £2,399.99*
Xbox Controllers
Keyboard and mouse aren’t always for every gamer – and it wasn’t for me playing Starfield! You can use an Xbox controller to help explore the galaxy if you feel that’s more your lightspeed.
Microsoft Official Xbox Series X & S Wireless Controller – White
Available for £49.99*
Microsoft Official Xbox Elite Wireless Controller v2 Core
Available for £109.99*
Microsoft Official Xbox Series X & S Wireless Controller – Blue
Available for £49.99*
*All prices correct as of the time of writing (05/09/23)
Are You Excited For Starfield?
Will you be playing when Starfield blasts off September 6th? Or are you a lucky person with early access like I am? Either way, let us know what you think of Bethesda’s space-faring outing in the comments below. Be sure to check out all the Starfield content we have here on the blog as you count down to launch!
SSD Required? Why Starfield Needs One
Experience Starfield At Its Best With AMD Upgrades
- 8 min read
Jacob Smith
Author
Jacob is a passionate gamer, plus a noted Pokemon and LEGO nutjob, who emerges only when doing the words here at Overclockers UK. Since starting at the tail end of 2021, Jacob has gone on to write dozens of blogs on everything from the latest games to whimsical Dickens-inspired poetry. Outside of creating content and being the one person in the office daring to champion Nintendo, he is often found fawning over his Pokemon card collection and his trio of lovely doggos.
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