Games Inbox: Should you play Starfield today?

The Wednesday letters page is feeling very positive about Starfield on Game Pass, as one reader hopes Larian Studios is making a sci-fi game.

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Available now
By the time you read this Starfield should be out everywhere, including Game Pass, and I would like to say that despite all the negative comments it is absolutely a game worth playing. I don’t necessarily disagree with anything GC said in its initial preview but for me the chance to explore the galaxy in a big budget video game is worth any other problems.

Not being able to fly on a planet is disappointing but I assume there’s no way they could keep the planets looking as good as they do if you’re able to do that and I think the planets look fantastic when you’re on them, so I’d rather keep it like that.

The amount of things to do is incredible and for me this is a better game than Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom (I haven’t played Baldur’s Gate 3). I love the freedom and the variety and the fact that it’s basically the fantasy of being a space explorer made real. Could it be better? Maybe, but I’ve not played anything I’ve enjoyed more this year.
Canst

Hidden gem
I have to agree that Sony not helping out to push Baldur’s Gate 3 is weird. It’s had much better reviews than Starfield, so they have the perfect counter to Microsoft and yet they’re not doing anything with it. I realise Sony not doing anything is not much of a surprise anymore but this seems taking things to an extreme.

It’s going to be weird when the game of the year, on PlayStation 5 at least, ends up being a game most ordinary people have probably never heard of. I guess maybe Sony thinks it’s not mainstream and not worth pushing, but couldn’t they make it mainstream by helping out with the marketing? Seems a wasted opportunity to me.
Grackle

By design
I’m sure I’m not the only one that had to reread those quotes from Bethesda twice just to make sure I was understanding them right. Did they just admit that they’d made the exploration of the game purposefully boring so its realistic? I mean, faster than light travel is physically impossible so if you’re going to pretend about that surely you can stretch to making your planets have a few more secrets to discover?

Starfield just seems to get worse and worse the more I hear about it. What’s weird about it though is that they clearly understand the game people want, and thought Starfield was (and which they were happy to pretend was) but the real thing is completely different. So… why not just make the game everyone thought it was supposed to be?
Yanger

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Rotating selection
So due to the way in which I live, (financially unstable) I tend to buy and sell my consoles regularly. I’ve had both Xboxes and a PlayStation 5 this gen, as well as a PC, Meta Quest 2, and Switch. Currently I only own a Switch, which brings me to an idea for a Hot Topic, what have you had to part with which was most painful and why?

I was going to repurchase an Xbox Series X once Starfield arrived but after seeing its reception I’ve decided against it and I’ll just wait, as I’ve already played most of the big games that have come thus far and there’s nothing in the immediate future that interests me. Some Switch 2 news could get me excited though.
Phil

Star of the year
Just wanted to say what a great game Sea Of Stars is. I understand it’s selling well, so that’s great, but I wouldn’t have heard about it if not for GC’s review. As soon as I saw the comparisons to Chrono Trigger, and then I saw the screenshots and videos, I was sold and I was not disappointed.

It’s a fantastic game and I would strongly recommend it to anyone, whether they’re a fan of Japanese role-players or not. I’d say it’s easily the best of its type I’ve played all generation and the perfect balance of retro and modern influences. I will be shocked if it doesn’t end up being my game of the year.

It’s still not as good as Chrono Trigger though.
Yojimbo

Digital problems
Game file sizes pushing 200GB is clearly going to become the norm soon, if it’s not already by the end of the year. It’s getting ridiculous, where you can’t afford to keep games you play less on the hard drive, so can’t play them at a moment’s notice anymore.

I don’t know the technical details but given the huge variety in file sizes I find it hard not to imagine that some developers aren’t putting as much effort into keeping the download sizes down as they could. I get it’s maybe not the first thing they’d think of, while rushing to get a game down, but it has a big practical impact on us actual players.

To be honest, I’m beginning to feel like going all digital wasn’t necessarily a great idea. I’m beginning to resent more and more not just the downloading but the fact that I can’t sell games on once I’ve bought them. I’ve beaten Horizon Forbidden West recently and there’s basically no reason for me to keep I now, except there’s nothing I can do with it because it’s all digital.
Casper

Dirty tricks
Sad to know that DiRT and Colin McRae Rally are now just a part of history. I loved those games and while appreciate that the new WRC game will keep the same controls I doubt they’re going to be exactly the same or that the game will play all that similar.

I’d blame EA, except Codemasters bought the licence before they themselves were bought, so I guess they were planning this all along. Maybe I’ll play a bit of DiRT tonight in memory.
Blue Mercury

Too fantastical
I’d love to see Larian Studios tackle a sci-fi game and putting the pieces together I think there’s a genuine chance they could be planning a Star Wars game, which would be wizard. Maybe they could reboot the Knights Of The Old Republic timeline? Not with a remake but a whole new game that was set in the same era and maybe had the game general storyline but different?

I also hope that Starfield will encourage a new wave of sci-fi games as I really can’t be having with fantasy games. The ones that aren’t too out there, like Game of Thrones or Skyrim are fine but things like Baldur’s Gate 3 are massive turn-off for me, with all the really silly races and monsters that make it a completely unbelievable reality to imagine.

How would an ordinary human not die of nervous anxiety after an hour in a place that’s filled with giant tentacle monsters and demons and whatever. Not to mention I’ve never got on with all the made-up lore and silly names and stuff.

I’m not saying I’m right or that these games shouldn’t exist but for me I definitely prefer sci-fi and yet it’s much less common, probably because it’s more difficult to make, I’m not sure, but for me it’s worth the effort.
Tim Rogers

Inbox also-rans
I don’t care what release date is has, that Alone In The Dark reboot is going to be a massive flop if they don’t actually show some proper gameplay. Can’t believe it was meant to be out in less than two months.
Otto

Next time I stay up late playing video games I’m going to tell my girlfriend I’m actaully on guard duty, in case the guy next door lights up a cigar while standing next to a box of dynamite. I can now point to this story as that being a legitimate concern.
Wandle

This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Hammeriron, who asks what is your favourite co-op video game?

Online and local co-op both count but try and give examples of both if you can. Who were you playing the game with and did you choose them for the game or the game for them? How experienced was the other player and how did that factor into the experience?

Do you prefer local or online co-op and would you like to see more of them? Which game that doesn’t have co-op do you wish did?

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The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

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