When many high-profile video games are released within a given year, there will almost always be comparisons between them so long as they fit a general mold. For example, certain kinds of sports games will be compared to one another, or if there are a ton of first-person shooters coming out at once, they’ll be compared to one another, and so on. In 2023, multiple RPGs came out, two of which were Baldur’s Gate 3 and Starfield. While fundamentally different on many levels, some have taken the time to go and compare the two and insult one of the dev teams.
Specifically, a former employee of Blizzard, Mike Kern, had some choice words about Bethesda and its newest release in Starfield. The title had been in development for many years. While it wasn’t the best game ever, many have been enjoying it, so much that it’s the biggest launch Bethesda’s ever had, with over six million people already being a part of the universe they made. However, Kern compared it to the fantasy RPG fueled by D&D dice and style, Baldur’s Gate 3, which has been praised by fans and critics alike since it arrived.
As noted by The Gamer, Kern stated that Larian Studios did a better job of developing their game with the “player’s time in mind” versus Bethesda, who made its sprawling title with “no consideration” for the player in key moments. That led to multiple pieces of backlash, including Larian’s director of publishing, Michael Douse, coming forward to state that this wasn’t a fair comparison to do:
“This is a really disingenuous oversimplification, man,” replies Douse. “It’s not true, or right, [to] suggest that the average developer at Bethesda lacks passion. You can respect those folks while disliking the game. But you can’t say they didn’t care.”
That’s a fair and honest thing to note. You can’t simply say that a developer had “no passion” for a game, even if it turns out poorly. Sometimes, good intentions and efforts aren’t enough; that’s a part of life, sadly. Furthermore, if a game were to turn out badly because of “time management” or “faulty designs,” that would be more about the people at the top than those directly making it.
Yes, there have been complaints against Starfield because of how the game is played and handled, but that doesn’t give people free reign to blast those who worked on it and tried to make the title special. Plus, again, the game is already a hit, just like Baldur’s Gate 3.
