Coming into 2023, many gamers expected that Starfield, the new IP from Bethesda, would be on the tongues of many within the community for some time once it came out. After all, Bethesda was one of the best game developers/publishers in the world, and that’s not an exaggeration. They’ve crafted incredible RPGs and worlds, and they spent about eight years making their newest title. Many expected it to be the “Game of the Year frontrunner” upon launch and showcase just how grand Bethesda was at making new ideas and concepts. But it didn’t turn out that way, and gamers have had the title “on their tongues” for different reasons.
Specifically, since the opening weeks of the game’s launch in September, gamers have pointed out the numerous flaws, inconsistencies, and downright boring parts of the title for all to see and hear. Yes, there are always gamers who do that, but these players grew more numerous as time passed. If you look at the Steam page for Starfield, it’s hovering between a 6-7 out of 10, which is not what you’d expect from a Bethesda title.
But what players also didn’t expect was for Bethesda to start “firing back” and trying to convince people they were wrong about the game. On those very Steam reviews, members of the Customer Service branch of Bethesda replied and tried to convince gamers that “they were wrong” to leave such negative reviews. It was an odd move that wreaked of desperation, and now, we can continue that trend via one of Bethesda’s dev team.
Meet Emil Pagliarulo. If you aren’t familiar with that name, he’s the Design Director at Bethesda and was a key member of the Starfield team. After hearing lots of backlash from gamers, he wrote a 15-piece thread on Twitter detailing how gamers aren’t fairly judging the game because they don’t understand the intricacies of video game development.
He noted how companies like Bethesda often have to make “compromises” to get the game to be what they want, so things like numerous loading screens were a part of the title. While he did say that gamers have the right to complain about things, he also said they should stick to stuff they’re “informed about” and not make assumptions about the dev team.
It’s another interesting element to this saga because plenty of gamers understand the video game development process and specifically called out Bethesda for doing things they didn’t need in other titles that were much better than their new IP.
Will this “war” ever end? Who can say?
