The long-awaited Starfield Direct has arrived following the Xbox Games Showcase and it gave us an extensive look at the much-anticipated game from Bethesda Game Studios.
The Starfield Direct lasted over 40 minutes and was packed with gameplay footage and developers discussing many of the game’s features, including combat, exploration, space travel, character creation, companions, outpost building, and so much more. It was a lot to take in, and this guide will break it all down for you!
Starfield Welcomes You to Visit Over 1,000 Planets and Fly Through the Stars on Your Own Ship
Starfield is going to be huge, there is no doubt about that, especially considering Bethesda has re-confirmed there will be over 1,000 planets for players to visit. While every planet won’t be filled with life-changing quests and some will barren besides some resources to collect, Bethesda has crafted a galaxy that is filled to the brim with places to go.
These planets will be a sight to behold, as well, as they will be filled with alien flora and fauna and the lighting on the planet will be determined by the type of star in the system and the atmosphere on the planet.
Bethesda also wants players to have unique experiences that are still hand-crafted, which means players may have different experiences from their friends who have visited the same planet. Bethesda’s planet tech generates the planet “as procedural content, but the hand-crafted content itself comes as the player explores.”
This means that Starfield will build a planet as players approach it by stitching together “a block of terrain.” Following that process, the game will add interesting places to explore and creatures to encounter and more around the planet that will keep things fresh and unique to each player. There will obviously be main story missions that all players will experience the same way, but exploring will be a whole different ball game.
Once on a planet, players will have the choice to build an outpost that can be a home base of sorts. These can be built most anywhere on any given planet and can also be customized to make it a perfect place to relax among the stars. Building has also been given an upgrade and players can craft their outposts via a top down isometric view for building placement and big changes and via first-person for getting those finer details right.
Once they are built, players can assign their crew and companions to work there, set up Extractors to harvest resources, set up a system to send cargo between your outposts, and house crafting and research stations.
As if that wasn’t enough, players will also be able to fly through the stars on their very own ship that can be customized in a variety of ways. To give an example of how flexible the ship crafting system is, the Starfield Direct basically showed someone building a ship that looked like Optimus Prime.
Ships can be obtained in a variety of ways, including simply purchasing them as any upstanding citizen would or by stealing them if you want to get your hands a bit dirty. Once a ship is obtained, players will be able to actually pilot it and travel to their next destination, as opposed to simply pressing a button to fast-travel to a planet, which you actually can do as well.
Space isn’t always safe, and ship battles will come with the territory. Bethesda wants these combat encounters to feel “exciting and dangerous” while also giving players a ton of control with a power allocation system. This allows for players to boost power to the engines to make their ships faster or sacrificing some systems to keep their shields strong. Players also be able to target specific parts of enemy ships for some strategic victories.
Oh, and if players don’t feel like engaging in a dogfight, they can head to an enemy ship and board it to take down the enemies within. After, they can claim the ship as their own and access it at any spaceport.
Creating Your Very Own Explorer, Building a Team, and Fighting Your Way Through the Galaxy
Bethesda games aim to put you as the main character in a world that feels as real as possible and allows you to live out your dream of living in a fantastical world. Living through those virtual dreams is wonderful, but its made even more special when you get to do it with a character you create that looks like you or a design you choose.
Starfield is no different and features Bethesda’s “most in-depth and diverse character creation system yet.” Players will be able to choose from 40 preset templates to be their starting point in character creation, and the customization just expands so greatly from there.
Character creation is also “more than how you look,” as players will be able to also choose their background and traits that will help define who you are in the world of Starfield. The backgrounds give you a little backstory along with three skills. For example, the Explorer starts with the skills Lasers, Astrodynamics, and Surveying. Some others include Beast Hunter, Bouncer, Chef, Cyber Runner, Gangster, Pilgrim, and Ronin.
Players will then be able to choose, if they want, three more traits to further customize their character. These traits come with advantages and disadvantages, so the choice is a bit tougher. One of these includes Hero Worshiped, which will cause an “adoring fan” to “show up randomly and jabber at you incessantly.” on the bright side, however, he can join your ship’s crew and give you gifts!
Starfield also has skills that players can earn through gameplay, and completing challenges tied to them will level up their rank and make them better. For example, the Security Skill can be improved by picking locks, and each rank gained will let you pick even tougher locks.
There are five skill categories – Physical, Social, Combat, Science, and Tech – and they all do their part in making you… well… you!
Getting all powerful and exploring the galaxy is great, but it’s so much better when you have friends beside you. In Starfield, you will encounter a ton of people and robots who can join your crew and come with you on your adventures. These crew members will have unique skills that will be invaluable to you, and some of them are Sarah Morgan (Astrodynamics and Lasers), Sam Coe (Piloting and Rifle Certification), and Barrett (Starship Engineering and Particle Beam Weapon Systems). Some companions can even join you in the field, like Vasco – a robot who was designed “around the core basics of a NASA machine.”
You’ll encounter some crew members as you progress the story, and more can be recruited at spaceports and other areas. And don’t worry, there will be romance options for companions.
Combat also got an overhaul in Starfield and is much faster paced that that found in Fallout. As is clearly a pattern, there is a ton of customization and options in regards to weapons, and this is seen in an extensive mod system, energy and mag weapons, different types of rounds like the explosive type, jetpacks you can use to your advantage in battle, and more.
Battles, and the whole game for that matter, can be player in either first-person or third-person, and some weapons will even shoot you back when you are in zero-g, so it’s important to take into consideration a ton of factors before engaging a foe.
There is so much more to Starfield, and this is only a short look at what will be waiting for players on September 6, 2023.
For more, check out the details from the gameplay trailer at the Xbox Games Showcase, how Bethesda made the watch from Starfield in real life, and the news that Starfield’s more expensive editions grant five days early access.
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
