There were plenty of exciting games spotlighted during 2022's Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase. Fans got a glimpse of Asobo Studio's A Plague Tale: Requiem, which will continue Hugo and Amicia's story; and a trailer for Forza Motorsport was also revealed. However, the game that easily stole the show was Starfield, which is Bethesda's first new IP in over two decades. Although the game has been discussed for a while, this was the most in-depth look thus far, allowing people to see what they can expect from the upcoming space adventure.
From the gameplay trailer, it has been revealed that players will be able to travel between over a thousand planets to craft weapons, mine for minerals, and explore alien landscapes. Starcraft will allow players to carve their own path in the massive open world, but it will also feature a story about humans and their journey to conquer the heavens. Although the story's focus on the early years of human space exploration is interesting, it could limit the story's scope in several ways.
The Good - Starfield Could the Beginning of Something Big
Players have not been given too much information about the game's story, though bare-bones details have been released. The game takes place in the year 2330, and Starfield zooms in on The Settled Systems, located in the Milky Way, where players will find two warring factors called the United Colonies and the Freestar Collective. Although they are enemies, the game begins during a time of relative peace, 20 years after the Colony War. Players are part of a group called Constellation, tasked with exploring The Settled Systems and navigating the war's aftermath. They will also have to choose which side they align with.
While the premise sounds interesting, players were quick to notice something conspicuously absent: intelligent aliens. For as long as science fiction has been around, aliens have been a mainstay in the genre, and it is often the ultimate goal of space-faring humans to find other intelligent species. Sometimes, the aliens are nice and humans can learn from them, and other times the aliens are hostile, forcinh humans to band together against a common enemy. Regardless, no intelligent alien species have been seen or mentioned in Starfield trailers.
The apparent lack of intelligent aliens in Starfield has been a cause of concern for some, as a space game without aliens may seem empty. However, it could also be a sign of good things to come. With humans still in the relatively early years of space colonization, there are huge chunks of the cosmos they have yet to discover. Consequently, while players will be able to explore over a thousand planets, it would not be shocking that humans would not encounter any intelligent life on a realistic scale. Statistically speaking, almost all the planets should be completely void of life.
This does not mean that smart aliens will never appear in Starfield, however. With humans still expanding their cosmic footprint, the discovery of intelligent life forms could be the bombshell reveal that is the springboard for Starfield's sequel, giving gamers more reason to come back to the series. Rather than the discovery of some kind of complicated object or other MacGuffin, the search for intelligent life could be the central plot point that drives the narrative forward, making humans realize how insignificant their conflicts are compared to what more advanced species are up to.
The Bad - Humans and Their Dull Problems
From what has been revealed about Starfield, it appears that humans are going through some growing pains as they enter the space exploration era. Great care has been taken to ensure that the game is as realistic as possible, and director Todd Howard even visited SpaceX to ensure all the minor details of space exploration were correct. The focus on humans and their inter-factional war could be a setup for even bigger conflicts in the future, including ones involving other races. However, as it stands, Starfield's premise has been explored quite frequently in science fiction, which could result in it being cliche.
Warring factions are nothing new, and they are numerous examples of plots revolving around this in fiction. Even within gaming, some force players to pick a side. Taking this trope to space is not enough to make it innovative, especially when media like The Expanse and even Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare have it covered. The lessons artists attempt to convey through these plots have also been done to death, with the observation that a primitive, violent side of humans exists despite the species' technological advancements being told countless times.
Ultimately, with a setting as interesting as outer space, it seems like a waste to focus on the early years of exploration instead of a more advanced time in the story of humankind with greater technology and a connection to intelligent life forms. However, this does leave the IP with the opportunity to extend its story with future titles, allowing gamers to make exciting discoveries in sequels. If this is Bethesda's plan, gamers could be in for plenty of surprises and unexpected reveals.
Starfield has been in development for a very long time, and it has faced delays, but gamers will finally get to enjoy it in 2023. It has been described as a Fallout meets Skyrim in space, which could either be extremely enticing or a concern depending on how one feels about Bethesda games. It is evident that the game will have a massive scope, and will provide an immersive space exploration experience. Many are surprised that the game is not set further into the future, but depending on how Bethesda handles the plot, the near-future setting could either make the game cliche or a springboard for greater things.
Starfield is scheduled to launch in 2023 on PC and Xbox Series X/S.