Last night following the Xbox Games Showcase, Bethesda Game Studios held a lengthy Starfield Direct presentation which offered an in-depth look at the sci-fi RPG’s gameplay, systems, worlds, exploration, customisation and much more. Bethesda placed an emphasis on the RPG elements, freeform space adventures and multiple options for creating a character and journey based on your preferences. Starfield is stacked with content – here’s a quick breakdown of everything that you can expect once the game launches in September.
Bethesda director Todd Howard explained that Starfield contains “over 1000 worlds” for players to explore. In one instance, players can see a moon orbiting the planet. Howard explained that you’ll be able to seamlessly visit that moon if you want, which is true for basically every planet in the system. There are dozens of galaxies to explore in Starfield, each with their own number of planets.
READ MORE – Starfield Pre-Order Bonuses, Constellation Edition and Accessories Detailed
According to Bethesda, Starfield can be played in either first-person or third-person, which has been a staple of most Bethesda games. An “all-new animation system” will be implemented too on the overhauled Creation Engine. A deep character creator was also revealed including the new traits system. Essentially, traits come with several advantages and disadvantages depending on player choice, offering a more immersive role-playing experience where choices matter.
The skill tree in Starfield will be broken up into five sections, with each offering four ranks to obtain. Skill points can be distributed on the tree to hone the abilities and professions of your character. For example, some boost your skills in using specific weapons while others let you use a jetpack.
There are multiple ways to approach missions and situations in Starfield. If your speech skills are high enough, you can talk your way through tense encounters. Alternatively, you can also choose to go in guns blazing or take the stealthy route and take out enemies with just a knife.
Ship upgrades and customisation was also detailed in the Starfield Direct presentation. Players can fully customise their ship including the interior and exterior layouts, extensions, boosters and more. Every spaceport in the game’s main cities will come with technicians that can repair your ship, offer specific upgrades and other customisation options, typically specific to that area. If you choose to engage in galactic combat, you’ll need to be mindful of your ship’s various systems and where to evenly distribute resources and power to come out victorious.
NPCs that act similarly to companions in Skyrim can also join you on your adventures. These companions can be brought onto your ship as part of the crew and you can even form relationships with them, complete with romance. Companions can also be sent to outposts across the galaxy that you can occupy for resources, research and other means.
There’s a lot more that Bethesda touched upon including weapon customisation, different gravity levels on each planet and more. You can watch the full deep dive below for everything that this gargantuan game has to offer.
Starfield launches on 6 September 2023 for Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Source: Bethesda
