UPDATE
Whom do you side with on this issue? Do you agree with the critics’ score or the gamer reviews? Let us know below!
ORIGINAL STORY
The wait for Starfield to arrive has been long and arduous. The game by Bethesda was announced years ago, with the note that it wouldn’t be out for some time. Then, every time it seemed to be getting close to release, Bethesda would delay it again, including delaying it earlier this year. But, at last, it has arrived, and if you look at the Metacritic reviews for the title, you’ll see that it’s a respected title with a good score. These reviews undoubtedly influenced many gamers, as the title had the biggest launch in company history. However, that also means there are more opinions out there to hear.
Specifically, Steam reviews have gone up for the title and paint a different picture of the game than critics did. On Metacritic, the game has an 87, but if you go to Steam, you’ll see it has a 7/10. Technically, it’s a bit higher than that, but not by much. Even still, that’s a much lower score than the critical takes that praise the game as Bethesda’s “best title.” So what are the Steam reviews saying that the critics aren’t?
One review noted that the game felt “smaller” than other titles. They said that they had put about 100 hours into the game, and yet there wasn’t “anything new” to see. That’s different from critics’ reviews who boasted that they had spent 200+ hours in the game and yet hadn’t seen everything. The Steam review even noted that they felt the title had no “soul” compared to other Bethesda games. While it’s important to note that every view, whether it be by a gamer or a critic, is just a reflection of their opinion, the Steam review we were reciting was the “most recommended” review to read. That means that plenty of people agreed with that notion.
Even the reviews that were positive and recommended the game noted some of Starfield’s flaws. One review noted that they could’ve put all the content of 1000 worlds into one big world, and it would’ve been much better as a result. Plus, space travel isn’t as fun as many hoped for. That doesn’t even speak on the mods already being built for the game to help facilitate things like optimization and getting rid of certain elements of the game that players have found annoying.
The irony is that while this is a blow to Bethesda, the fact that they got the game proves that they at least wanted to try it, so Bethesda is still going to the bank.
