How long we spend in video games is dependent on several factors. First, the type of game it is. Second, how long the game’s story is, should it have a campaign mode. Third, if a title has a long gameplay loop, you can keep diving into it endlessly, such as with several FPS franchises. Finally, how big the world or universe of the game is, which is always determined by the developers. In the case of Starfield, Bethesda has promised a massive universe for gamers to dive into and seek out whatever they want. One person who has felt this “experience” for many hours is Pete Hines.
He recently did an interview with Xbox On, and in it, he noted that he’s been playing Starfield for about 160 hours. But here’s the twist, he felt he wasn’t even close to seeing everything this universe had to offer:
“If I am honest, there’s not an amount of time that I’m comfortable enough, of like, ‘Now you’ve played enough Starfield to get what this game is,'” Hines stated. “There’s so much stuff I have intentionally not done. […] We try and tell everybody how big this game is, and the folks playing it, like, one of the few things they will tell us is, ‘Yeah, you weren’t kidding. I can’t believe how big it is.’ It’s content and exploration. No matter how you want to play, there is so much for you to do in this game.”
That might seem like a “PR line,” but he’s not the only Xbox head to say such a thing. Phil Spencer has also dove into the Bethesda title, and according to him, he’s spent over 200 hours in the game, and he hasn’t even finished the main campaign.
These two accounts give a better vision of the game’s scope and the freedom that you have in it. Not unlike previous Bethesda titles, there will be a “main quest” for you to enjoy, but you can go away from it and have a ball while you’re seeing what else is out there.
Another report that gamers will be happy to hear is that, apparently, the upcoming title will be one of the “least buggy” Bethesda launches. One of their “running gags” is that their worlds are so vast and full of content that they can’t fix all the bugs before they launch. Perhaps this will mark a stark change in that.
We’ll find out when the game launches on September 6th.
