Character-driven storytelling isn’t Bethesda’s strong suit. The Elder Scrolls and Bethesda-made Fallout games have some great lore, expansive open worlds, amusing quests, and a unique focus on player freedom in terms of both exploration and roleplay. What they do not have, however, is the sort of strong storytelling and thematic poignancy that developers like Naughty Dog, Rockstar, and Sant Monica Studio have built their brands on. Starfield, however, could be looking to change that.
While Bethesda’s storytelling is one of the studio’s weaknesses, it’s also part of an important trade-off. Bethesda RPGs tend to flounder when they try to tell the sort of cinematic story better left to other studios. There have already been hints that Starfield may be attempting to tell a more ambitious main story than previous Bethesda games. Here’s why that ambition could be the game’s biggest challenge, and why Starfield’s story shouldn’t get in the way of its world.
Bethesda Stories And Open Worlds
Bethesda is known for its open worlds, and giving the player the chance to explore those worlds as just about any character they can imagine. The Elder Scrolls’ famous prisoner openings are a key part of that formula. The crime – whether one was committed at all – isn’t defined. The main character’s backstory is left completely up to the player’s imagination, as are their motives going forward.
Fallout 3 had a more prescriptive story, establishing elements of the Lone Wanderer’s family and upbringing. It was Fallout 4, however, that attempted to tell a far more character-driven story in an open-world Bethesda game, which showed just how tough it can be to make those two disparate elements work together.
Fallout 4 established huge amounts about its player character for the sake of its story. They were either a veteran or a lawyer, depending on their gender. Before the Great War of 2077, they were in a heterosexual marriage, and had a son, Shaun. They were also the first Bethesda Game Studios protagonist to be fully voiced.
The game had some compelling characters like synth detective Nick Valentine, but overall the ambition of Fallout 4’s story fell flat, and undermined some of the key things that make Bethesda RPGs fun for many players. Those players were no longer able to come up with their own character much beyond that character’s appearance. Exploring the world created a sense of dissonance when players knew that their character was supposed to be searching for their kidnapped child, a singular motive so strong that it was hard to ignore it without simply committing to playing a completely psychopathic Sole Survivor.
Skyrim’s main quest established some key things about the player – they are the last Dragonborn – but it didn’t tell players anything about their character’s backstory, it allowed players to totally interpret their character’s personality. It even released the player into the world before establishing them as the Dragonborn at all, leaving it one of many potential paths they could choose to go down.
Starfield's Story
Although very little has been revealed about Starfield’s plot, there have been some hints that Bethesda will be going for a more thematically ambitious story than some of its previous RPGs. The marketing materials released around E3 2021 mention “humanity’s final journey” and “life’s greatest mystery.” They hint that the player themself made a discovery which will be instrumental in this journey, which sounds like it could be about the search for other intelligent life in the universe.
What Bethesda needs to ensure is that this plot doesn’t restrict the roleplaying opportunities of the player character. Unlike Fallout 4, it needs to avoid setting up the player’s motives, personality, or backstory. Like Skyrim, it should throw the player out into the game’s universe before making the stakes of its main quest so apparent that it’s hard for players to make their own story in the world.
Bethesda might not be the best studio when it comes to storytelling, but it is one of the best when it comes to creating worlds in which players can truly roleplay their own stories. Skyrim’s protagonist can be an orphaned Dunmer refugee looking to fight their way to the top, or they could be a cowardly Imperial attempting to flee south to Cyrodiil who ironically got arrested with the Stormcloaks and carted back across the border. The only limit is the player’s imagination as long as the game’s main story itself doesn’t impose restrictions.
Playing Into Bethesda's Strenghts
There are plenty of ways Bethesda could improve its open-world storytelling while still keeping the trademark freedom its best games are known for. The studio could create a wider away of NPC reactions, for example – players might be able to intimidate a group of enemies into submission, or see a random enemy in the world flee and return later to take revenge in the style of Shadow of War’s Nemesis System.
The focus should be on finding ways to make the player’s own self-driven roleplaying experience feel more immersive, with dynamic stories creating themselves as they explore the game’s world. Compelling questlines can be a part of that, but a focus on single overarching narrative is unlikely to do anything but undermine the player’s roleplaying freedom, reducing the game’s replay value and ultimately playing into Bethesda’s greatest weakness rather than its greatest strength.
For now, there are still some reasons to hope that Starfield might be leaning into Bethesda’s strengths. No voice or voice actors for Starfield’s player character have been revealed so far. The hints at the game’s main story may seem ambitious, but they also seem suitably broad for a Bethesda game, avoiding defining specific relationships or personality traits for now. Many Bethesda fans aren’t just looking for a next-gen RPG, they’re looking to specifically see Bethesda’s formula taken to the next level. Gamers looking for linear, cinematic stories have plenty to choose from. Starfield needs to let them tell their own.
Starfield releases November 11, 2022 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.