Starfield reviews drop as Metacritic score is revealed
Starfield reviews are out, and the early verdict is that Bethesda's latest game is very good.
Bethesda is widely known for the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series, and their newest release, which is out on September 6 on Xbox Series X/S and PC, shares similarities with their previous games – only this time, it's set in space.
At the time of writing, the current Metacritic score for the highly-anticipated RPG shooter is 87 on Xbox Series X (44 reviews) and 88 on PC (50 reviews). The OpenCritic average is 87.
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It's a very impressive start, though while there are a lot of perfect scores, there are some outliers with major publications including IGN and GameSpot giving the game 7/10.
One of the big selling points made earlier this year is how there will be more than 1,000 planets for players to explore. While many reviewers have responded with enthusiasm over Starfield's exploration and how it approaches its open world, some have argued that the game has spread itself too thin.
The Metacritic and OpenCritic scores do not include several high-profile UK publications, who did not receive a code until late this week.
Here's what the critics have been saying:
IGN - 7/10
"There are a lot of forces working against it, and the combination of disjointed space travel, nonexistent maps, aggravating inventory management, and a slow rollout of essential abilities very nearly did it in. It was the joys piloting a custom spaceship into and out of all sorts of morally ambiguous situations in a rich sci-fi universe that eventually pulled it out of a nosedive."
GameSpot - 7/10
"When you strip Starfield down to its essentials, it relies on a tried-and-true, but well-tread formula while missing some of the depth of the games that came before it. Starfield is a game more concerned with quantity than quality, and leaves the experience at the surface level."
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GamesRadar+ - 5/5
"Starfield isn't really a game you play to complete, it's more about living whatever sort of life you want in the literal universe Bethesda has created. Whatever you're thinking of doing, you almost certainly can do it, and the scale is almost a release in a way – you'll probably never see or do it all, so just enjoy the moment. There's months, if not years, of discoveries buried away in here, and even after 80 hours I can't wait to see more."
Polygon - Unscored
"Starfield exists in the push and pull between a carefully crafted world and the vastness of procedurally generated planets. Bethesda embraced the idea of more, and in turn, watered down the parts of space exploration and discovery that are most compelling to me: how humans relate to it. The expanse of Starfield’s world leaves gaps unfilled, and Bethesda has opted instead to simply spread further, rather than flesh out what’s already there."
Forbes - 9.5/10
"I really do love this game. Yes, Bethesda doesn’t match some of its peers in many places, but in part that’s because it’s trying to do everything, all at once. But if you wanted a giant Bethesda RPG set in space with better combat and a whole lot of time to level and build things and explore and find secrets, yeah, this is it. They did it. Enjoy."
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Destructoid - 10/10
"I wasn’t sure if it could be done, but Bethesda has managed to raise the bar for sandbox games even higher. In the end, Starfield is an epic sandbox open-world RPG with a beautifully immersive universe, a captivating story, and fun and compelling gameplay the whole way. I’m so happy to have experienced Starfield organically, and I really hope you get to as well."
PC Gamer - 75/100
"After all the hype and hope and anticipation, I'm disappointed to say I don't love Starfield the way I love other Bethesda RPGs. It's similar in a lot of ways, but Starfield never feels as instantly engrossing and transporting as Oblivion or Skyrim or as wild and weird as the Fallout games."
Starfield is out on Xbox Series X/S and PC on September 6.
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