In many ways, video games are rooted in fan hype and expectations. After all, a video game developer hasn’t done their jobs if fans aren’t excited about their games in one form or another. Even if it’s just a “casual excitement,” that could lead to a game sale later. The flip side of that coin, however, is that if the developer fails to deliver on that hype/excitement, the gaming community will rebel against them and call them out for what they did. We’ve seen many examples of that over the last few years, and many fear Starfield will join those ranks.
While that might sound like some “doomsday thinking,” it’s not without precedent. Bethesda has been one of the best video game developers of the last decade or so, but even they have made busts. Furthermore, their upcoming spacefaring RPG has been developing for so long that it might be dancing between greatness and mediocre.
Another reason for fan hesitation is that they’ve technically been in this position before with another title, No Man’s Sky. The title, created by Hello Games, was another spacefaring experience where you could explore a “vast universe full of millions of worlds” and go where you wanted, whenever you wanted. They also promised that there was loads of stuff to do, multiplayer, and more.
Except, when the game finally arrived, it was a shell of what was promised. Yes, there were plenty of worlds to visit, but many were lifeless, boring, and, most importantly, you couldn’t do multiplayer. The launch was a disaster, and Hello Games spent literal years trying to fix everything.
Fans don’t want a repeat of that, and so many Starfield hopefuls went onto Reddit to note that gamers must keep their expectations in check or else be disappointed if things don’t pan out as they should.
But wait, there’s more. As VG247 notes, there’s a mod team getting things together to make a launch mod for the title so that many of the game’s bugs and other issues can be fixed instantly to help players enjoy the game more.
This shows that gamers are tired of the missed opportunities, false promises, and buggy launches that have plagued them in the past.
To be clear, we haven’t gotten any indication that Bethesda’s upcoming IP will be at the same level as other badly launched titles. However, we also don’t have proof that it won’t be. So perhaps lowering expectations isn’t a bad thing.
