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Starfield
Critics Consensus (Play It)
With a thrilling story, well-developed lore, and a massive amount of fleshed out content, Bethesda has raised the bar again for open-world RPGs. Starfield might not deliver in all its areas – inventory management is a big problem, and many of the planets are barren and lifeless – but it’s a universe well worth exploring and investing in.
Game Info
Starfield is the first new universe in over 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. In this next generation role-playing game set amongst the stars, create any character you want and explore with unparalleled freedom as you embark on an epic journey to answer humanity’s greatest mystery.
0%
Recommended
0%
Average Score
Total Reviews: 119
Editors' Choice
Silver TIER
31% of scored reviews fell within the range of 86 to 92 / 100
RELEASE DATES:
- Sep 1, 2023 - Early Access
GENRES:
- RPG, Adventure
DEVELOPER(S):
- Bethesda Game Studios
PUBLISHER(S):
- Bethesda Softworks
- Xbox Game Studios
SERIES/FRANCHISE:
- n/a
GAME MODES:
- Single player
GAME ENGINE:
- Creation Engine 2
Where to Play
WHERE TO PLAY
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RATING & REVIEWS
Ratings & Reviews
119
Critic Reviews
86
Average Critic Score
Where to Play
CRITIC REVIEWS
All reviews are from professional critics. Learn more about the critics VSG aggregates.
High Score
100%
Median Score
90%
Low Score
40%
What did you think of Starfield?
Player Reviews2 Votes
7.9
Steven Mills (Destructoid)
August 31, 2023
10/10
I wasn’t sure if it could be done, but Bethesda has managed to raise the bar for sandbox games even higher. In the end, Starfield is an epic sandbox open-world RPG with a beautifully immersive universe, a captivating story, and fun and compelling gameplay the whole way. I’m so happy to have experienced Starfield organically, and I really hope you get to as well.
Eric Hauter (Gaming Nexus)
August 31, 2023
9.5/10
When they are firing on all cylinders, Bethesda games deliver pure video game magic, and Starfield is no exception. Offering an enormous galaxy to explore, a ludicrous wealth of interesting content, well-written characters, and innovative mechanics that push the genre in new directions, Starfield is a (mostly) clean experience at launch that should be experienced by all action/RPG fans. This is a new classic.
Nicole Carpenter (Polygon)
August 31, 2023
Not Recommended
Starfield exists in the push and pull between a carefully crafted world and the vastness of procedurally generated planets. Bethesda embraced the idea of more, and in turn, watered down the parts of space exploration and discovery that are most compelling to me: how humans relate to it. The expanse of Starfield’s world leaves gaps unfilled, and Bethesda has opted instead to simply spread further, rather than flesh out what’s already there. With Starfield, Bethesda has put all of its efforts into exploring the dark, vast corners of outer space. In the process, it has drained a lot of the humanity I was hoping to find in its wake. In trying to do everything, Starfield obfuscates its most compelling mysteries.
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Score Ranges
Read the Reviews (119 total)
| Outlet | Author | Score | Date | Quote | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3DNews | Алексей Лихачев | 7.5 / 10 | 09-16-2023 | With a passable story and a lot of empty planets, Starfield is unlikely to be included in the lists of Bethesda’s best games. There are enough great things about it: many quests outside of the main story are excellent, the cities are lively and beautiful, and the gameplay, for which many people love the games of this company, has retained its qualities. But I expected something more, something that would take Bethesda to new heights. | Read review |
| ACG | Jeremy Penter | Recommended | 08-31-2023 | Video Review | Read review |
| Areajugones | Ramón Baylos | 10 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield is the best Bethesda game there’s been in years. A work of infinite ambition that revisits the company’s classic formula when making RPGs and transports a large part of its design to the depths of the cosmos. In terms of quality, Starfield is Bethesda’s best title since Skyrim. It gives the feeling that it is the work that the studio had always dreamed of doing; a longing that has ended up transforming into the proposal of an overwhelming odyssey in which every old RPG fan can get lost to meet again. | Read review |
| Atomix | Aldo López | 95 / 100 | 08-31-2023 | In conclusion, Starfield is a video game that shows the love on the part of Bethesda, it has enough attention to detail in both its main and secondary missions. Not to mention the open-world sections with an entire galaxy to see, offering hours and hours of content to completist players. | Read review |
| Attack of the Fanboy | J.R. Waugh | 5 / 5 stars | 08-31-2023 | Starfield is the most potent value proposition for Game Pass, being the killer app for the subscription service. It is also the best, most ambitious game in the Xbox Game Studios library to date. It would not be a stretch to say this could be one of the most ambitious games ever made, and that it followed through with many of those goals with relatively low compromise. | Read review |
| BaziCenter | Milad Taher Nejad | 9 / 10 | 09-11-2023 | Even though the first quarter of the main story is boring, loading screens pop-up every time you blink and some gameplay mechanisms are lacking, Starfield is still one of the best RPGs we’ve seen in years and definitely one of the best when it comes to science fiction. Does it live up to the massive hype behind it? Probably not. Will we be playing and talking about it for years to come? Definitely yes! | Read review |
| Bazimag | Matin Nasiri | 8 / 10 | 09-21-2023 | Starfield is a disappointing, uninspired game. If you’ve never played a Bethesda Softworks game or you’re still not tired of the structures and mechanics of two generations ago, congratulations; You can fully enjoy Starfield! But if you haven’t been living in a cave for the past decade and have seen other new RPG titles, you’ll realize that Starfield’s shortcomings and flaws are “as massive as the galaxy.” | Read review |
| But Why Tho? | Mick Abrahamson | 9 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield is Bethesda firing on all cylinders. | Read review |
| CGMagazine | Steven Green | 9.5 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Despite its occasional bug, unexplained mechanic, or small gripe, Starfield is one of the premiere titles in Xbox’s library and adds to Bethesda’s storied history. | Read review |
| Checkpoint Gaming | Elliot Attard | 9 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield may not be the seamless and faultless persistent open world some may be craving. Though what it does provide is still certainly worthy of elation. Give the title some time to warm up and you’ll uncover a vastly refined and picturesque journey of otherworldly proportions. A game of size, scope, and quality all wrapped into one-the beauty of discovery is but a warp drive away. | Read review |
| Chicas Gamers | Juanma Luengo | Recommended | 09-06-2023 | Starfield is a set of lights and shadows that may fascinate you if you like to build your own adventure. Bethesda has chosen to be very conservative in its design and the game has fallen far short of all those promises that were made during its development. Does that mean it’s a bad game? Absolutely not. If you liked Skyrim, Fallout 4 or The Outer Worlds, you are going to really enjoy this new space exploration adventure and you are surely going to spend many hours taking advantage of all the possibilities it offers us. | Read review |
| COGconnected | Oliver Ferguson | 90 / 100 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield is Bethesda’s most polished game yet. It has a ton to do but falls flat on the exploration aspect. Without vehicles, walking around planets is not an efficient way to travel. The story is fantastic however and the game is visually stunning. It’s a unique experience you shouldn’t miss out on. | Read review |
| Cultured Vultures | Ashley Bates | 7.5 / 10 | 09-12-2023 | A fun space-faring RPG held back by a few glaring decisions, Starfield is a good launching point for a game that’ll become something great in the future. | Read review |
| Destructoid | Steven Mills | 10 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | I wasn’t sure if it could be done, but Bethesda has managed to raise the bar for sandbox games even higher. In the end, Starfield is an epic sandbox open-world RPG with a beautifully immersive universe, a captivating story, and fun and compelling gameplay the whole way. I’m so happy to have experienced Starfield organically, and I really hope you get to as well. | Read review |
| Dexerto | Patrick Dane | 4 / 5 stars | 09-22-2023 | Starfield is truly impressive, and when it allows you to breathe and live out your fate in the stars, it’s a consistently compelling journey. However, the main story and the central mystery act as a black hole, threatening, but never quite succeeding to drag it down into complete oblivion. | Read review |
| Digital Chumps | Will Silberman | 9.5 / 10 | 05-11-2017 | Starfield changes the RPG game by adding a slow burn of a main quest alongside a character management system that keeps players’ power in check. It’s nearly perfect, and I can’t wait to spend another chunk of my life playing another excellent Bethesda RPG. | Read review |
| Digital Trends | Giovanni Colantonio | 3.5 / 5 stars | 08-31-2023 | Starfield isn’t the generation-defining video game that overeager fans might be expecting; it’s a fairly typical, though impressively constructed Bethesda RPG where depth and stability often come at the expense of scope. The surprisingly limited base adventure isn’t so much the draw here, though. The enormous intergalactic playground feels custom-made for modders who want to explore the infinite possibilities of space just as much as Constellation and Bethesda itself. | Read review |
| DualShockers | Emma Ward | 9 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield is an epic space adventure role-playing game set 300 years in the future. It tells an unforgettable story that continues to surprise you every step of the way. The personal choices you make will significantly impact the plot and your closest companions. The combat system is addicting, adapts to your unique character build, and constantly keeps you on your toes with varying gravity and environmental hazards. Although there are some shortcomings with the space travel mechanics, your curiosity as a space explorer is never diminished due to the over 1000 beautiful planets you can visit and the endless mysteries to be discovered throughout the galaxy. Starfield is truly something special that delivers a new standard for space RPGs sure to be talked about for the next decade. | Read review |
| Easy Allies | Michael Damiani | 4 / 5 stars | 09-06-2023 | Starfield is very ambitious, offering the freedom to play through rich and complex stories, but it under delivers on the promises of captivating space exploration. | Read review |
| Echo Boomer | David Fialho | Recommended | 09-14-2023 | Amidst so much ambition and empty space, it’s the small stories and the discovery of new possibilities that do everything to keep us engaged. | Read review |
| Eurogamer | Chris Tapsell | Not Recommended | 09-14-2023 | Starfield pairs near-impossible breadth with a classic Bethesda aptitude for systemic physics, magnetic sidequests, and weird vignettes. But in sacrificing direct exploration for the sake of sheer scale, there’s nothing to bind it together. | Read review |
| Everyeye.it | Alessandro Bruni | 8.5 / 10 | 09-06-2023 | Starfield is a mammoth and enveloping title, which in some ways represents the absolute pinnacle of Bethesda’s production. For quality and size, in fact, the ludonarrative baggage of the work stands a span above the previous role-playing adventures of the American team, from which, however, the title also inherits some of its less convincing traits. | Read review |
| Explosion Network | Ciaran Marchant | 8 / 10 | 09-17-2023 | Starfield is not for everyone, but it is a game that can be truly special individually when players try to make their adventure within it. Unlike the Bethesda blueprint that appears at the game’s foundation, there is no blueprint for how to play Starfield. | Read review |
| Fextralife | Fexelea | 9.4 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield is a compelling and engaging interstellar adventure that successfully blends core RPG mechanics with open world exploration and deep questing. A complete delight from start to finish and an instant classic for any gamer that enjoys Sci Fi and is ready for adventure. | Read review |
| Forbes | Paul Tassi | 9.5 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | I really do love this game. Yes, Bethesda doesn’t match some of its peers in many places, but in part that’s because it’s trying to do everything, all at once. But if you wanted a giant Bethesda RPG set in space with better combat and a whole lot of time to level and build things and explore and find secrets, yeah, this is it. They did it. Enjoy. | Read review |
| Game Informer | Matt Miller | 8.5 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Go in with the expectation that it will take some time to find your footing in such a vast gameplay space, and there’s a universe well worth discovering here. | Read review |
| Game Rant | Dalton Cooper | 5 / 5 stars | 08-31-2023 | Starfield delivers on everything it promised and then some. | Read review |
| Game Revolution | Jason Faulkner | 3.5 / 5 stars | 09-28-2023 | When scoring Starfield, I considered that many of my issues with the game were totally subjective. However, the game does have technical and design issues that can’t be ignored. Ironically, it has many of the same problems people relentlessly criticized Cyberpunk 2077 for, like lifeless crowds, a hollow wanted system, and glitchy animations, but it’s largely getting a pass. Bethesda deserves kudos for pioneering the modern Western RPG format, and I don’t think every game needs to be some innovative revolution. Despite this, Starfield is backed by Microsoft and produced by one of the biggest game companies in the world. There’s no reason it should feel and play like Fallout 4 in space. | Read review |
| Gameblog | Unknown | 10 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | https://www.gameblog.fr/jeu-video/jeux/tests/test-starfield-xbox-series-rpg-455786) | Read review |
| GameCrate | Paul Semel | 9 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | But then, these issues with inventory management and navigation really only annoy me because of how I play games like Starfield: as deep action games with first-person shooting combat. And that’s one of the other great things about this game (and, honestly, this genre of game): you have so much choice in what you do and how you do it that you might not be bothered by having overflowing pockets or being unable to find a store. Heck, bring a knife to a gunfight if you want. You do you. Me, I’ll be exploring the stars, with a gun in my hand, a song in my heart, and a grin on my face. | Read review |
| Gamefa | Mehdi Maleki | 7.9 / 10 | 09-12-2023 | Starfield is a huge game that raises some of the standards of Bethesda’s previous games and leaves others obsolete. The companion characters, combat and gunplay, side quests, art design, physics and sound of the game are very impressive. Unfortunately, this argument does not apply to the main quests, exploration, and space battles, as well as the depth of the game’s RPG system. So while Starfield falls short of Bethesda’s ultimate gaming artistry, it offers a very entertaining experience. | Read review |
| GameGrin | Pezh J. | 7 / 10 | 10-02-2023 | Starfield shines through some glaring issues that definitely dampen the experience but don’t ruin it altogether. With plenty to see and do, sheer immersion will be enough to carry you through to the end of Bethesda’s latest offering. | Read review |
| GameMAG | Unknown | 6 / 10 | 10-09-2023 | Some would say that the modding scene will solve the game’s most glaring problems, and that may be true. But it’s still worth noting how many problems there are, and how lots of them managed to escape Bethesda’s attention. We’ll hope that game will have extensive content support in the future, as was promised by the dev team. | Read review |
| GamePro | Dennis Michel | 82 / 100 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield is not a new The Elder Scrolls, but it will keep fans of Bethesda RPGs happy for dozens of hours. | Read review |
| Gamerheadquarters | Jason Stettner | 9.8 / 10 | 09-06-2023 | Starfield is the ultimate space adventure, a game I often dreamed of being possible in my youth and finally fully realized by Bethesda. | Read review |
| Gamers Heroes | Blaine Smith | 9.5 / 10 | 09-17-2023 | Simply put, Starfield is Bethesda’s greatest-ever RPG. The living, breathing universe they have created is one of the most impressive in the gaming space and the sound effects and musical score push the immersion to near perfection. If only I could stop speaking to the back of NPC’s heads. | Read review |
| Gamersky | 心灵奇兵 | 9 / 10 | 09-01-2023 | Starfield is a masterpiece that unites the creativity and experience that Bethesda has built up over the years. Even after hundreds of hours of play, there is still fresh content waiting to be discovered. Just as TESV and Fallout 4 still have players making modules and discussing details, I believe that ten years from now, there will still be a large number of players who will be travelling in the universe created by Starfield. | Read review |
| GAMES.CH | Joel Kogler | 90 / 100 | 08-31-2023 | Quote not yet available | Read review |
| GamesBeat | Rachel Kaser | 90 / 100 | 08-31-2023 | More than anything else, I’m curious to see where the Bethesda audience takes Starfield. Each game from the company has its own dedicated community and I want to see what Starfield’s community will look like in a few months’ or years’ time. | Read review |
| GameSkinny | Jason Rodriguez | 8 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield is a massive game with countless mechanics and features that reach for the stars. | Read review |
| GameSpace | Brau3er | 8 / 10 | 09-13-2023 | Overall, Starfield is fine. It’s a Frankenstein’s monster of other sci-fi games and references, and it doesn’t do any of those things better than existing products. The battle? Cyberpunk 2077 is smoother. Mining and geological exploration? This is all No Man’s Sky. Controlling the ship? FTL still reigns. RPG story? Can’t compare to Outer Worlds. But even after all this, the game is good and will keep players engaged for a long, long while. | Read review |
| GameSpot | Michael Higham | 7 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Bethesda’s spacefaring adventure has its moments with impressive scale, satisfying combat, and some worthwhile side quests, but its shallow RPG systems and uninspired vision of the cosmos make for a journey that’s a mile wide, but an inch deep. | Read review |
| GamesRadar+ | Leon Hurley | 5 / 5 stars | 08-31-2023 | With this kind of freedom ‘avoiding the main mission’ is the main mission. | Read review |
| Gaming Nexus | Eric Hauter | 9.5 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | When they are firing on all cylinders, Bethesda games deliver pure video game magic, and Starfield is no exception. Offering an enormous galaxy to explore, a ludicrous wealth of interesting content, well-written characters, and innovative mechanics that push the genre in new directions, Starfield is a (mostly) clean experience at launch that should be experienced by all action/RPG fans. This is a new classic. | Read review |
| GamingBolt | Shubhankar Parijat | 10 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | As unfathomably vast and boundless as the subject matter it covers, Starfield raises the bar for its genre and for the medium as a whole in countless ways | Read review |
| GamingTrend | David Burdette, David Flynn, Ron Burke | 90 / 100 | 08-31-2023 | Bethesda Game Studios has reached new heights in Starfield. A thrilling narrative, loaded with an entire universe to explore and backed by sublimely polished systems, has ushered in the ultimate Bethesda experience. It’s truly hard to summarize just what makes Starfield special, and that’s because so much of it is. You’ll be glued to your screen for hours, going where no explorer has gone before. | Read review |
| Geek Culture | Wong Si Jia | 8.5 / 10 | 09-01-2023 | 10 years in the making, Starfield is shaping up to be a bright glow in a sea of stars. More than just Skyrim in space, it offers some genuine enjoyment in the face of both familiar and novel elements, namely with exploration and player choice. Bethesda’s latest isn’t flawless, and that’s perfectly fine (some may even find its faults charming), because it has a little something for everyone. Free-roaming fun? Check. The thrills of battle? Double check. Customisation? Triple check – the list goes on. | Read review |
| Generación Xbox | Jose Angel | 9.9 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield is one of those games that define an era. When Todd Howard said in an interview that he wanted it to be what Skyrim meant to video games at the time, he wasn’t wrong. Hundreds of hours ahead, huge amounts of actions connected to each other, skills, conversations, missions, customizations, mechanics and a giant world that invites you to imagine how Bethesda is going to make it grow, make this title a work of art that I would recommend to any player. I can’t believe this is in Game Pass at launch. | Read review |
| God is a Geek | Chris White | 9 / 10 | 09-08-2023 | Starfield is filled with possibilities for who you can become and what you can do, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in gaming. | Read review |
| GRYOnline.pl | Mikołaj Łaszkiewicz | 8.5 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | I was drawn into the story surprisingly quickly. This one is full of understatements and develops as you delve into the game, and discovering subsequent pieces of the cosmic puzzle is simply fun. Unfortunately, traditionally for Bethesda, it waters down after some time and, for example, discovering new temples with special powers is simply boring. They all look the same, they are found the same way, and when each is revealed, the same sequence of combat against the same enemy follows. | Read review |
| Guardian | Simon Parkin | 4 / 5 stars | 09-06-2023 | Bethesda’s long-awaited space epic is a vast interstellar canvas full of glorious sights to see and intriguing threads to pull – if you can keep patience with its fussy systems | Read review |
| Hardcore Gamer | Adam Beck | 4 / 5 stars | 08-31-2023 | Starfield is a momentous RPG, even if it doesn’t quite deliver in all its areas. | Read review |
| Hey Poor Player | Andrew Thornton | 5 / 5 stars | 08-31-2023 | Starfield isn’t a perfect game. No game is. That said, for a game to have this much ambition and actually pull off almost everything it set out to accomplish is a remarkable achievement. I haven’t even talked about some of the game’s most interesting elements, such as how it approaches New Game+, which I can’t wait for more players to see. Starfield is a triumph that I’m confident players will be exploring for years to come, not only because it will remain incredibly compelling but because it will take that long to see anywhere near everything it has to offer. | Read review |
| Hobby Consolas | Daniel Quesada | 94 / 100 | 08-31-2023 | The best Bethesda Game Studios has conceived a huge, colossal and exciting game, where each adventure can be different. It’s not perfect, but it’s certainly one of the games of the year. | Read review |
| IGN | Dan Stapleton | 7 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield has a lot of forces working against it, but eventually the allure of its expansive roleplaying quests and respectable combat make its gravitational pull difficult to resist. | Read review |
| IGN Italy | Andrea Giongiani | 9 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Starfiels is an incredibly ambitious game that hits almost every target it is aimed at. If you love space, science, and the undeniable spirit for discovery innate in every human being, you will love this game. | Read review |
| IGN Spain | Rafa Del Río | 10 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield is, in a nutshell, everything it needed to be and much more than we could have hoped for. | Read review |
| Impulsegamer | Andrew Bistak | 5 / 5 stars | 09-19-2023 | Starfield is a game that needs time and I do mean time. Without time, you cannot do the game justice due to the complex story pathways and exploration mechanics. While the game mechanics are sturdy, there are definitely parallels to Skyrim, however it’s solely a sci-fi experience that fortunately works well with the Creation Engine that was used to build the Bethesda titles of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 76. | Read review |
| INDIANTVCZ | Tomáš Otáhal | 6 / 10 | 09-09-2023 | In general, Starfield delivers an above-average combination of mediocre mechanics. There’s no denying that Bethesda has created a strong core on which they can build content for months, maybe years to come, through updates and mods. And while Starfield isn’t as bad off technologically as it was at the launch of No Man’s Sky, it’s the vision of future updates that can turn Starfield into something better. To be a game that doesn’t just target Bethesda fans but brings a better experience to fans of all space games. | Read review |
| Jump Dash Roll | Derek Johnson | 10 / 10 | 09-07-2023 | Starfield is not only the best RPG since 2010’s Fallout New Vegas, but one of the best video games ever made. | Read review |
| Kotaku | Claire Jackson | Not Recommended | 09-28-2023 | In Starfield, many might see a time-tested, signature charm. Others might see a time-worn, laborious monotony. These are fair perspectives. A game this large is hard to distill into one set of strengths or one set of weaknesses. As in other Bethesda games before it, you’ll likely have to make your own fun here, but in giving us not just a swath of post-apocalyptic terrain or a fantasy realm but an entire galaxy to explore this time, Starfield makes all the flaws and shortcomings of its patchwork world all the more glaring. | Read review |
| LevelUp | Luis Sánchez | 9 / 10 | 09-14-2023 | With all its small failures, today, we suddenly return to February 3, 1994 and that school hall, full of children, who saw Franklin Chang-Díaz, become the first Costa Rican and Latin American astronaut to reach outer space; while we put on the helmet, we turn on our gravitational engine and we see ‘Starfield’ being a true dream come true of that entire generation that grew up admiring astronauts as true modern heroes, who sailed the skies and carried with them, our childhood dreams, of being able to one day reach the stars too. | Read review |
| M3 | Billy Ekblom | 8 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | After almost two weeks with Starfield, the feeling is that there is still plenty to see and do. An epic space adventure in every way that will suck you into a black hole of entertainment. The game has its problems – especially in the weak main campaign – but you’re sure to have other things to do. | Read review |
| Merlin’in Kazanı | Ersin Kılıç | 83 / 100 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield is a game that you’ll play for long hours, you’ll be frustrated by the limitations from time to time, but for the most part you’ll enjoy it just as big as the game itself. | Read review |
| Metro GameCentral | David Jenkins | 6 / 10 | 09-12-2023 | A disappointingly low-tech space exploration game that relies too much on the legacy of Skyrim and Fallout and lacks the innovation and imagination to do its concept justice. | Read review |
| MMORPG.com | Jason Fanelli | 9 / 10 | 09-12-2023 | Starfield is one of the best space-based RPGs ever made, one where hours fly by in minutes, and one where the only hard limit is your imagination. | Read review |
| MonsterVine | Joe Bariso | 4.5 / 5 stars | 08-31-2023 | Starfield is a Bethesda game pushed to the absolute limits, it’s a good thing that Bethesda is still the very best at what they do. | Read review |
| New Game Network | Ben Thomas | 86 / 100 | 09-05-2023 | Starfield is a grand interstellar adventure with exciting pockets of exploration, detailed cities, interesting side quests, memorable characters, competent action, and fun ship building. Despite minor issues, it gracefully blends Bethesda’s trademark gameplay with the wonders of space. | Read review |
| Niche Gamer | Brandon Orselli | 8.5 / 10 | 09-17-2023 | Players that don’t like typical Bethesda RPG tropes like the combat, the skill system, the exploration, or the questing will likely not enjoy Starfield because it’s definitely more of the same. However, if you enjoy Bethesda RPGs and have been itching for them to finally do a sci-fi game, Starfield is quite a fantastic ride. | Read review |
| NoesPaisparaFrikis | Oscar Garcia Mompean | 8.5 / 10 | 09-06-2023 | Starfield carried the heavy burden of the hopes of a user, the Xbox user, who had been on a hard pilgrimage through the desert of brand exclusives for a long time. And it is true that Starfield may not be the exclusive that this user deserves but it is without a doubt the exclusive that he now needed to face the trip again with the joy and excitement of being able to wink at the companion next to him and put a knowing smile on his lips. | Read review |
| Noisy Pixel | Azario Lopez | 8 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield is a true space adventure that only Bethesda can deliver. It’s an experience catered to the fans of large expansive RPG narratives, but this one takes it a step further to stretch across an entire universe. There are minor systems and menus that cause confusion, and the lack of real tutorials paired with a flimsy opening holds back the opening hours. Still, the experience is undeniably memorable, and the writing for NPCs makes up the best moments. Although the many systems can be overwhelming, this is a game full of discovery for all who play. | Read review |
| NoobFeed | Azfar Rayan | 80 / 100 | 09-10-2023 | Although it’s not as good as Fallout or Skyrim, Starfield is still fundamentally a classic Bethesda role-playing game. The quests change up occasionally and are full of wit and cleverness in spots; unfortunately, this is also the game’s only strength, which we foolishly learn about only after putting in a few hours. The closest comparison would be Fallout in outer space. Shares many of Fallout 4’s and Skyrim’s flaws and triumphs, does some things exceptionally well, and even brings back some of Oblivion’s mechanics. Starfield is like Skyrim and Fallout 4 fused in space. Expect nothing amazing, but give it a shot if you like Bethesda role-playing games and are looking for something with a sci-fi twist. | Read review |
| Oyungezer Online | Sabri Erkan Sabanci | 9 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | This game became my Skyrim. Even though I’ve finished the game and seen a lot of things, there are still a lot of quests I want to do, a lot of planets I want to explore, a lot of people I want to meet. If you like science fiction, I’m almost sure you’ll agree with me. | Read review |
| Paste Magazine | Garrett Martin | 5 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Playing Starfield makes me want to play games that explore space and games that were made by Bethesda, but it doesn’t make me want to play Starfield. It tries to give us the universe, but it’s so weighed down by its own ambitions and a fundamental lack of inspiration that it can’t even get into orbit. | Read review |
| PC Gamer | Christopher Livingston | 75 / 100 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield shares plenty of DNA with Skyrim and Fallout 4, but ultimately falls short of both. | Read review |
| PC Invasion | Noah Nelson | 9 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Though Starfield is an ambitious sci-fi adventure that’s incredibly fun, beautifully nostalgic, and will age like fine wine, there are several fundamental decisions that Bethesda sticks to that makes Starfield feel like it’s stuck in 2011… for better and worse. Ultimately though, Starfield is yet another Bethesda classic. | Read review |
| PCGamesN | Nat Smith | 7 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield is a true behemoth of an RPG, and in many ways it’s the logical endpoint of Bethesda Game Studios’ well-worn formula. However, its massive scope pushes this formula to the absolute limit and the cracks begin to show, from feature creep to the stop-start nature of its exploration. Dedicated Bethesda fans are sure to get their fill, but this interstellar adventure never leaves the atmosphere. | Read review |
| PCMag | Zackery Cuevas | 3.5 / 5 stars | 08-31-2023 | Starfield is a massive space-based RPG with a galaxy of content to explore, but it has a surprising lack of ambition. | Read review |
| PCWorld | Benjamin Kratsch | 5 / 5 stars | 09-06-2023 | Bethesda has finally landed another hit. Starfield is the space RPG epic we’ve been wanting for so long. It has the incredible expansiveness and variance in design of No Man’s Sky mixed with the dialogue depth and creative quests of Fallout or even Mass Effect. The only thing that might bother some people is the heavy reliance on fast travel and that many planets only make sense when you build bases and production facilities there. | Read review |
| Polygon | Nicole Carpenter | Not Recommended | 08-31-2023 | In trying to do everything, Starfield obfuscates its most compelling mysteries. | Read review |
| Post Arcade (National Post) | Chad Sapieha | 8.5 / 10 | 09-01-2023 | Bethesda’s new space opera Starfield isn’t perfect, but its accessible approach to open galaxy gaming should find a wide audience. Read on. | Read review |
| PowerUp! | Leo Stevenson | 6 / 10 | 09-24-2023 | Starfield is a less interesting Fallout in space with some serious design issues. It’s still very playable and easy enough to pick up and play for short bursts but it certainly doesn’t have the staying power of Skyrim or Fallout 3. It simultaneously tried to do too much and does too little. | Read review |
| Press Start | Brodie Gibbons | 9 / 10 | 09-01-2023 | If what you’re hoping for is The Elder Scrolls or Fallout in space, then Starfield is that. Not only does it have countless stories begging to be sought out against a vast and beckoning star chart, it’s also the most polished Bethesda Game Studios title we’ve ever had. | Read review |
| Rock, Paper, Shotgun | Alice Bell | Not Recommended | 09-06-2023 | It’s a genuinely impressive space game that hides its best bits, not in way that asks you to track things down but in a way that asks you to grid search in case you miss anything memorable. The more memorable bits themselves feel like they get cut off too soon, and the fun bits are kneecapped by the limitations inherent in making a game this size. Ambition does not have to mean making something literally larger than anyone else, and you don’t have to build an entire universe to make a game last 130 hours. In fact, I’d rather you didn’t. | Read review |
| Saudi Gamer | خالد أحمد | 7 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield can be described as a mixed-bag experience that combines great features from excellent side mission designs with amazingly world-building potential and an engaging story with suspense elements to offer. | Read review |
| Saving Content | Scott Ellison II | 5 / 5 stars | 08-31-2023 | Starfield doesn’t reinvent the RPG genre, but it does make it quite exciting. It’s a game that feels distinct from the studio’s prior work like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, and this even represents the best of both worlds. Bethesda Game Studios managed to incorporate streamlined systems to make exploring space something fun, and never a chore. There’s just nothing I dislike about it. Starfield is ambitious and magical, capturing the curiosity and vastness of space beautifully, for what feels like a truly next-gen experience. | Read review |
| Screen Rant | Akshay Bhalla | 4.5 / 5 stars | 08-31-2023 | Even though Starfield is slightly rough around the edges, it never detracts from all the fun and adventure. With engaging storytelling, charismatic characters, and an enthralling world, Starfield is an instant classic and a triumphant homecoming to blockbuster gaming for Bethesda Game Studios. | Read review |
| SECTOR.sk | Peter Dragula | 9.5 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | After conquering wastelands and fantasy worlds, Behesda begins to conquer the universe. Starfield offers their biggest RPG yet with a very good mix of story, action and exporation. The Creation Engine still shows beautiful scenery, but also its limits in map size. | Read review |
| Shacknews | Donovan Erskine | 9 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Quote not yet available | Read review |
| Sirus Gaming | Kimberly Mae Go | 10 / 10 | 09-05-2023 | Starfield emerges as a stellar addition to Bethesda’s RPG legacy. It delivers on the promise of a vast, immersive universe teeming with engaging narratives, memorable companions, and intricate character development. | Read review |
| SomHráč.sk | Vojtech Florko | 95 / 100 | 09-28-2023 | Starfield is a love letter to all Bethesda enthusiasts. There is so much content, it’s easy to look past its smaller faults. | Read review |
| SpazioGames | Unknown | Recommended | 08-31-2023 | Starfield aims to be Bethesda Game Studios’ magnum opus: it’s compelling, entertaining and familiar: it feels like spending time with a longtime friend. This also means that it is inherently old in its structure and in how its universe reacts to the player. It’s a shame that it comes with some unforgivable sins, like how dull the planet explorations is, but you will spend tons of hours in the game nonetheless. | Read review |
| Stevivor | Jay Ball | 8 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | For the sheer size of it, the beauty of the hundreds of different landscapes you can explore and the always engaging missions, Starfield is a massive technical achievement. | Read review |
| TechRaptor | Erren Van Duine | 8 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield’s biggest strength is its complimentary content | Read review |
| The Game Crater | Jayden Hellyar | 7 / 10 | 09-08-2023 | Starfield is a game of highs and lows; for every enthralling and captivating moment, there is an opposing element lurking close by. | Read review |
| The Games Machine | Paolo Besser | 8.8 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield is for cautious and patient explorers, not for those who want everything right away. The beginning of the story is rather bland, the sense of estrangement at the highest levels. But as the fog clears, you can sense and appreciate all its potential and the free will left to the player, who really has a thousand things to do as he wants and when he prefers, perhaps leaving the continuation of a mission to better times (and statistics). On the other hand, the slowness of movements on the ground and small design defects have their weight and, albeit reluctantly, this must be taken into account in the global assessment, which remains high in anticipation of future developments. Maybe a few more weeks of playtest would have benefited him. | Read review |
| The Jimquisition | James Stephanie Sterling | 4 / 10 | 09-08-2023 | Starfield is a shallow ocean, hiding its lack of creative ambition behind the physical size of a universe that’s minuscule where it counts. | Read review |
| The Outerhaven Productions | Jordan Andow | 4.5 / 5 stars | 09-13-2023 | Starfield is by a mile Bethesda Game Studios’ best-ever game. It builds on everything they have done before and only improves it. Combat is smoother and more engaging than ever; the sense of discovery across this vast universe is astounding. It just isn’t as perfect as some people had expected and hoped for. | Read review |
| TheXboxHub | Richard Dobson | 4.5 / 5 stars | 08-31-2023 | Figuratively and literally, Starfield is the next evolution for a Bethesda game; taking that framework and that sandbox before applying it 1000 times over. | Read review |
| Too Much Gaming | Carlos Hernandez | 6 / 10 | 09-26-2023 | Starfield isn’t as groundbreaking as one would expect it to be, but the developers held true in delivering the game fans have come to expect from Bethesda Game Studios, and in that regard, they succeeded, as this game has the potential to be relevant to players years after it was released, similar to what The Elder Scroll V: Skyrim is to this day. | Read review |
| TrueAchievements | Heidi Nicholas | 4.5 / 5 stars | 09-06-2023 | Achievement-wise, this game is clearly going to take some time, and that can only be a good thing considering that Starfield seems to have delivered what it promised: an almost endless adventure we’ll still be discovering new details about years down the line. | Read review |
| TrueGaming | Unknown | 9 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield breaks the curse of Xbox and exclusive first-party games, Starfield is a must-have game for all fans of open world games and the most important game for the Xbox platform this generation as of the moment of this writing. There are some limitations and inconveniences, but they will all fade over time and the solid, magical experience will remain firmly in the players’ memories. | Read review |
| TrustedReviews | By Ryan Jones | 4 / 5 stars | 08-31-2023 | Quote not yet available | Read review |
| Twinfinite | Zhiqing Wan | 4.5 / 5 stars | 08-31-2023 | In its second act, Starfield shows its cards as you finally realize what it’s all about, and that revelation is tremendous. You won’t be fighting dragons in this one, but Starfield doesn’t need any of that pizazz or showmanship to excel. The beauty of Starfield lies in its humanity, and how deeply it cares about the Earth we live on and what we’ll do to survive as a race. It’s a game about breaking through the final frontier, about appreciating what we have, about the lengths we’ll go to advance, and while it has its flaws and missteps, Starfield explores these themes with a sense of earnestness and authenticity that’s hard to find in most other titles. And maybe that’s all that matters. | Read review |
| Unboxholics | Σάκης Καρπάς | Recommended | 09-14-2023 | Starfield is a grandiose, overambitious game that doesn’t win you over quickly, but when it does, it does so in a bombastic way. It is a huge journey, full of experiences, full of stories, against the backdrop of vast space and the common denominator of man, his beliefs, his ideals and his passionate need to know what is out there. Defects, The shortcomings and complaints are outweighed by the rest of the total, since at the end of the day, you crave the time to open your console, your PC and discover a little more of this universe. Give it your time, take off company labels, ignore marketing and silly console wars. Starfield is a great game not to be missed. | Read review |
| Use a Potion | Unknown | 9.5 / 10 | 09-11-2023 | Starfield might have imperfections, but it more than lives up to the hype with its wonderful sci-fi world that gives players full control of their journey. The storytelling is rich with intricacies and depth, the quest design is brilliant and lets players approach each objective in their own way, there’s a vast universe to explore that’s full of surprises, and, most importantly, it gets all of the basics right to make for a very, VERY fun experience. | Read review |
| VG247 | Josh Broadwell | Recommended | 08-31-2023 | Starfield’s grandiose scope sets the scene for a few under-developed ideas in an otherwise thoughtful, muddy take on the sci-fi genre. | Read review |
| VGC | Jordan Middler | 5 / 5 stars | 08-31-2023 | Starfield is the ultimate Bethesda game. It takes what people loved about Fallout and Skyrim, and casts it across an enormous galaxy filled with captivating characters. | Read review |
| VideoGamer | Tom Bardwell | 9 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield is the enchantment and wonder of space bottled and fleshed out into something grand and ambitious, thoughtful and attentive, janky at times, often funny, but always charming. | Read review |
| Washington Post | Gene Park | Recommended | 08-31-2023 | The technology may fail, but the human experience as a messy, impetuous thing remains. Because of that, “Starfield” makes the right sacrifices. | Read review |
| WayTooManyGames | Leonardo Faria | 8.5 / 10 | 09-13-2023 | It is a game you will easily be able to spend hundreds, maybe thousands of hours into, and just complete a tenth of everything it has to offer. It can be a swashbuckling adventure, the next big space RPG since The Outer Worlds, a space trading simulator, or even a straightforward relaxing exploratory experience to play while listening to a podcast. The decision is yours. Welcome to space. Enjoy your stay. | Read review |
| Wccftech | Francesco De Meo | 9 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | With an engaging story, well-developed characters and lore, and a huge amount of meaningful content, Starfield is one of Bethesda’s finest games and one of the best role-playing games released in the past few years. | Read review |
| We Got This Covered | Ash Martinez | 4.5 / 5 stars | 08-31-2023 | Starfield may not shake Bethesda’s legendary formula as much as some players wanted, but it defies all but the most unreasonable expectations. Newcomers will easily lose themselves in the universe, and fans of the studio won’t be disappointed. Starfield easily joins Fallout 4 and Skyrim as a titan of a game that will continue to enthrall players long after its release. | Read review |
| WellPlayed | James Wood | 8.5 / 10 | 09-01-2023 | Starfield is a magical, if a little clumsy, first journey to the stars for Bethesda, the RPG maker reminding us of the power of player freedom, engaging writing, and just a little jank. | Read review |
| Windows Central | Jez Corden | 4.5 / 5 stars | 08-31-2023 | With incredible writing, its slow-burn stories snowball into immense moments, and tight RPG/FPS combat thrills in spaceship battles, grounded firefights, and zero-G death ballets — Starfield is a landmark experience with a bright future ahead of it. | Read review |
| Worth Playing | Chris “Atom” DeAngelus | 9 / 10 | 10-03-2023 | Starfield both hits and misses the mark. Starfield has both improvements and steps backward from the previous games, and whether you consider it to be better or worse than Fallout is dependent on what you prized from those games. If you’re looking for more Fallout 4 with bigger and more detailed environments and quests, then Starfield is pretty much everything you could hope for and more. If you’re looking for No Man’s Skyrim, however, it’s disappointing. Almost everything on the ground feels good, while the space travel and exploration feels lackluster. If you’re looking for a Bethesda-style, open-world RPG, Starfield scratches that itch, and Bethesda fans will lose countless hours in scouring every nook and cranny. | Read review |
| Xbox Achievements | Dan Webb | 89 / 100 | 09-11-2023 | Starfield is the perfect example of a video game that is equal parts brilliant, and equal parts flawed. Its open-world is nothing short of staggering, while its animations and dialogue are something best left in the past. Regardless of that, though, Starfield is truly an iconic experience, and will go down as an all-time great | Read review |
| Zoomg | Afshin Piroozi | 8.5 / 10 | 09-14-2023 | Starfield is not a perfect game, but Bethesda once again has created a world that delivers the joy of exploration at its best. Starfield is full of mysteries that can be explored for a very long time and its approach to new game plus expands this joy even more. Well written characters and storylines are there to be found and for all the previous Bethesda fans that have enjoyed playing the likes of Fallout or Skyrim, Starfield is the new game that they can live in for the for the foreseeable future. | Read review |
| ZTGD | Ken McKown | 8 / 10 | 08-31-2023 | Starfield is a great game, but it is not the second coming of Bethesda. This is exactly what I thought it was going to be and if you love their games, you will love Starfield. There is so much to see and do. So many great characters, excellent writing, and plenty of side quests and choices to make. I hate the cliché “if you’re a fan of the genre” but if a game ever matched that quote, it is this one. This is a Bethesda space opera and one of their best games to date. I enjoyed my time and was always excited to dive back in. I don’t see myself going back often now that the main quest is complete, but I had a great time on my journey. Even if it is a bit cliché | Read review |
Awards & Recognition
RECOGNITION
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