Critiques – Page 7 – My Game Reviews

Starfield: Overcoming Skyrim’s Shadow in Video Games

Oblivion character screen — Oblivion was better than Skyrim in many ways

Starfield is in the shadow of Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was released some 12 years ago this year and yet it seems to be no less than relevant than today. The game has sold millions upon millions of copies, putting it up there as a gaming phenomenon that can hold its own with Street Fighter and Super Mario Brothers. It has been truly a game of the Millennials who have often been in the shadow of the Gen Xers. However, unlike the games in the 1990s, the games today seem to be taking longer to have sequels. The length of time between sequels is getting longer and longer and it is taking a toll on video game development. Some of my favorite games are taking so long that I am wondering whether these games will ever be released before being cancelled by executives who are trying to show their stockholders that the company will actually make money. This is the great dilemma that all big video game companies face. While smaller companies can make quirky games that enhance the medium, it is very difficult now to have a small company be able to make a game that will move the medium. It is very important to not be overly cynical about the Rockstars and the Bethesda’s in the gaming industry; they play vital roles in making video games even more important in the eye of the public, especially among more skeptical parts of the public who still believe that video games are simply electronic toys.

I believe that this issue is often overlooked by many gamers. The video game industry had to overcome many stereotypes and hurdles after Atari was flooding the market with poor games in the early 1980s. In spite of all the advancements, video games are still given this treatment of being a something that is immature and not worth the attention of adults who are serious. Independent video game makers are responsible for helping the industry breakout of its dependency on massive teams, corporate meddling and obsession with graphics. However, we still need the AAA games. Many independent games are nostalgic rather than moving the medium in another area. We need both AAA and independents, but it is truly the games with the big budgets that will change how people perceive video games.

However, the issue arises when a game has not had a sequel for so long that people seem to attach so many sentiments to that game. People no longer seem to have a rational opinion on the game and seem to think that the game was the holy standard upon which every game was built. This is the problem that Rockstar Games faces with Grand Theft Auto VI. The previous game has been out for so long that the expectations are really high for the next game. I worry that Rockstar has peaked with the previous game, Red Dead Redemption II and that they won’t be able to meet expectations.

The absolute beauty of Oblivion — Oblivion excels at creating a magnificent environment to play in.

The YouTube Aristocracy and Video Game criticism

This is same problem that Starfield faces. The game was a passion project of Todd Howard and people are constantly criticizing the game for not being Skyrim. It isn’t supposed to be Skyrim and I think that people are unfairly comparing the game to Skyrim.

Skyrim was produced long before Starfield and I think people have got to give Starfield a chance. This is one of the reasons that I continue writing about this game no matter what people say about it. It is important that people who love this game speak up about this game.

Skyrim has been with us for so long that it seems that the whole RPG genre seems to revolve around it. Rockstar’s games are also contributing to this idea that the genre needs to be prefect and that every imperfection means that the game is not worth playing. People have to stop having such unrealistic expectations.

Bethesda did release the Elder Scrolls Online but players are waiting for the real sequel to the Elder Scrolls. By spending so much time on developing this game, Bethesda may setting up for even greater issues with the release of Elder Scrolls VI.

Starfield has had to deal with the YouTube aristocracy trying to call this game a mediocre game that will go nowhere. People have to understand that Skyrim was being heavily criticized in 2011 and 2012 by the YouTube critics as well. There were many people on the forums who were saying that this game was terrible and wasn’t anything like Oblivion.

Of course, it seems that the people who love Skyrim now and the positive vibes that it gets from people are probably Millennials who seek to claim Skyrim as a part of their popular culture identity. This is one of the reasons that Skyrim has been so dominant for so long in the imagination of the Millennials. Starfield is having to go up against years upon years of people trying to hold to onto this ideal of Skyrim and what it meant to them.

The statue in the Imperial City: Arena District area. — The Elder Scrolls Oblivion has incredible architecture that is much better than Skyrim’s rather rustic approach.

Appreciating an Imperfect game and supporting it.

Skyrim is a great game, but I find that it is inferior to Oblivion in many areas. People are going to need to give up on the symbol of Skyrim as being this prefect game to compare everything to and start thinking realistically about how games are made. Whenever a new game is made, there are going to be changes to it. Not everything can be made into the most realistic game ever made. Skyrim even at the time was considered to have poor quality graphics compared to some other RPGs on the market.

I think in general that we players have become more and more cynical about the type of games that are coming out these days. I just wish that people would give Starfield a chance instead of constantly criticizing the game. Starfield may have NPCs that may look strange, but we have to understand that this is a game that has a lot going on under the hood. We have to respect that. When we consider that this game was released at all. We have to respect the endurance of the game developers who brought this game to life. Starfield could have easily been cancelled. Instead, it has been released into the public’s hands and we are having some very interesting mods being made.

We should try to look at the positive of what Starfield has managed to accomplish rather than tearing it down. People who are doing that do not understand how difficult developing games are. We need to stop criticizing Starfield so much and start appreciating it for what it has. We have a complete game, and we should proud of the work that Bethesda did on this game. We should be hopeful that they will continue supporting the game and working to make sure that it appeals to everyone out there is willing to take a chance with it.

Starfield is about the journey not the destination

There have been many complaints made about Starfield and how it takes too long to play or truly to get going. Some have criticized the game’s beginning as not making sense.

These are valid criticisms. Some reviewers on YouTube and the gaming press have tended to be somewhat divergent in their criticisms, however. The reviewers on the gaming websites have tended to criticize the game for being too big with no character to it. Reviewers on YouTube tend to be more vulgar in their criticisms and tend to focus on the idea that bigger isn’t necessarily the thing that we want in our games.

It is important to remember that Bethesda wanted to push boundaries and make the biggest game possible. This was what was promised by the developers of No Man Sky and was ultimately a disappointment for many gamers. Bethesda was working hard to make the best game possible but also a game that could actually release unlike games like Star Citizen that are literally being made to milk the pockets of gamers. People have to remember that Starfield was made with no microtransactions. It is important to emphasize that point. Bethesda could have hidden content such as the ship building section of the game behind microtransactions. They decided not to and this should be applauded. However, what’s more important is that people seem to miss the point that this game is not meant to be something that one picks up and then just forgets about it. The ship building aspect of this game is one of those things that will give the game a longevity that will be comparable to Skyrim.

However, that is not main thing that people have to try to understand about this game.

What’s important to remember is that Starfield is a slow burn game. It is not simply a video game but an experience. It allows you go to other planets and be able to experience what is on those realms. That is why it is special as a game.

People can dismiss the planets as not being important but you have to remember that Bethesda did not simply follow the Star Wars approach and make every planet the same. There are multiple biomes that add character to every planet in the game. This is one of the unique aspects of this great experience.

All the planets have their own unique characteristics to them and are worth to explore. It is a game that takes its time and asks that the player enjoy the journey more than the destination.

Starfield is all about the journey and that’s what makes it a standout game.

Starfield is a single-player MMO

I was thinking about the criticisms of Starfield which boil down to these main points.

It is a boring game
The game doesn’t have interesting characters
Starfield has a boring story that does not pull in the player.
The planets are not handcrafted and are boring
There is no character to the factions
Space travel is clunky and not as interesting as in other space games
Combat is not very interesting
The skills are not deep enough
You don’t feel the grandeur of space.

Why Starfield is like EverQuest

All these concerns are valid, but they are missing something very important. Starfield is essentially a single-player MMO game. It is not a traditional RPG game. It is not a Dragon Age or Mass Effect style game. To be honest, I would rather Starfield stick to what makes it great and not become another clone of those games.

Try to be honest here. Starfield is more like EverQuest in 1999 than Mass Effect in 2007. It may sound strange that a single-player game has more in common with a late 90s MMO but one has to consider the many features in Starfield that make it more of a MMO than a regular RPG.

Role-playing is an option in Starfield, but some players complain that your choices do not matter in the game. However, what I think players are missing about Starfield is that the game has some really deep mechanics that go beyond interacting with characters.

Starfield’s strength is not necessarily in its characters but in its ability of the player to build things. That is as simple as it is. Building something over interacting passively is what really distinguishes Starfield from other games out there. It is not a game that is all about the building of a character but of extending the reaches of human society beyond the reaches of the Settled Systems.

Everquest, similarly had a story but was focused on the construction of a virtual community on the planet that it was set on.

This is what the developers focused on in the game. Construction and exploration is the name of the game. While all the traditional RPG elements are there, it is really this sense you have incredibly large galaxy out there for you to discover and tame is an incredibly interesting prospect.

I have barely even started building outposts in Starfield. The idea of building a home on another planet is a highly tantalizing idea that is truly unique to Starfield. It was the same alluring idea that made so many players stay with EverQuest, even when WOW surpassed it in subscribers in 2004.

EverQuest when it was released in 1999, was all about building new worlds rather being a theme park like many later games. EverQuest was all about building community. While Starfield may not have an online aspect, Starfield’s deep crafting systems are really the highlight of this game. Older games like Everquest rewarded players who stuck with the game rather than expecting it to be done in a couple of days. This is one of the reasons that I compare these two games.

Starfield would translate well into the MMO genre. Let’s see what Bethesda has up their sleeves.