Starfield was released globally on September 6th, 2023, and it quickly became regarded as one of the biggest successes in gaming history. Despite some flaws surfacing relatively quickly, it established itself as a powerful titan of gaming that notched up ten million players in just a two-week window. As it’s a Bethesda Game Studios title, there’s plenty in store for the future of the game, but there’s one key question on everyone’s minds – is Starfield good?

There are plenty of gamers out there yet to get involved with Starfield. For the most part, those gamers are on PlayStation – and Starfield isn’t, which puts them at an obvious disadvantage. However, there are also many gamers who have an Xbox or a PC that haven’t invested in Starfield yet – or perhaps they don’t have Game Pass, whereupon Starfield is hosted for free (with a subscription).

So, for the uninformed… Is Starfield good?

Is Starfield a Good Game?

For the most part, deciding what’s a ‘good game’ is considered subjective. As the idiom goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, right? That means that while millions of players are having a fantastic time with Starfield, there are millions who have been left disappointed with what the game is offering – for some bizarre reason. Personally, I’m of the standpoint that Starfield is a fantastic game and have reviewed it as such, but why exactly is that?

Why is Starfield good?

Firstly, I’ll stress that Starfield is massive – but we knew that, right? It’s the biggest world that Bethesda Game Studios has ever made, bringing together 1000 moons and planets and putting countless opportunities for exploration on the table. It’s not perfect, as there is a lot of duplication in the set pieces and landmarks, but it’s still good enough to keep an eager explorer occupied for hundreds of hours.

As a game, Starfield is remarkably well-crafted, both on a large and a smaller scale. Every interior is finely detailed and a wonder to trawl through, and it’s a very ‘looty’ game, which means there are always plenty of items to discover, trade, upgrade, and more. If you’re more a fighter than an explorer, you’ll be happy to know that combat is diverse, satisfying, and entertaining – both in terms of boots on the ground and in space.

Ultimately, it has a fantastic and immersive story and plenty of side content, and it looks good enough on the surface to keep the most visual players engaged for hours on end.

Related: What Happened to Earth in Starfield?

But is That Enough?

NPCs are a letdown, unfortunately.

Starfield isn’t without its flaws – for instance, the NPCs that roam cities and settlements in the game are typically dumb as rocks. It’s one of the game’s biggest pitfalls, and it’s glaringly obvious when you’re exploring a larger settlement like New Atlantis. With that being said, the positives outweigh the negatives in Starfield. From the almost endless options in terms of ship-building to the ability to craft massive outposts on planets, there’s plenty of customisation to be enjoyed in Starfield.

It also facilitates a wide range of playstyles. If you’re a melee player or a traditional ballistic-based combatant, you’re covered. Alternatively, if you’d rather rely on charm and persuasion to get out of a sticky spot, or if you’re more accustomed to sticking to the shadows and being stealthy, there’s a home for you in Starfield.

It doesn’t end there, either – there’s more content planned for Starfield in the form of a first expansion that’s going to drop a some point in early 2024.

And what’s the best thing about Starfield? If you’re on Game Pass, you already own it.

Related: How Big is Starfield?

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