Starfield

Space and such

Solid 7/10 in current state okay hear me out, I was a hater until I played it for a decent bit, Starfield is a weird game. It has all the Bethesda RPG elements & jank you would expect from a game their studio, made but it also attempts what games like Elite Dangerous, and No Mans Sky accomplished but on a WAY smaller scale. Those games have a very similar, repetitive game play loops. (ship/ground combat, mining, scanning, exploring, base building, trading, bounty hunting) but companied with a near infinite map these activities can satiate a gamer that likes that kind of genre. Starfield tries to encapsulate those same loops in sidequest and leisure gameplay form but those gameplay loops do not mesh well with how limited the in-game explorable galaxy is, and how Bethesda designs the core of their games. The overall "Skyrimness" of the main/faction mission design often feels disconnected from the typical grindy stuff listed above you usually do in the open space sim genre. BUT after a dozen or so hours it started to win me over. Bethesda has a way of making your level ups and progression feel GOOD. While simultaneously raising the bar with a deadly encounter right when you are feeling at the top of your game. That kind of good ol'e Bethesda progression scaling paired with a (semi) open universe has me roped in. They also updated the game so you can freely cruise around local systems instead of fast travelling everywhere, which is honestly huge it makes everything feel much more connected. The games also looks pretty good graphically noting the idle facial animations. Zero G environments are impressive from a gameplay perspective, and the ship builder is actually pretty insane when you figure it all out. Even with all the Bethesda glitches and acknowledging what it failed to do its still pretty entertaining and a solid 7. Mods will make it a 10.