Starfield (Xbox/PC)
By: Bethesda
LIKE castaways dying of thirst, the Xbox faithful gasping for exclusives have been hoping Microsoft's billion-dollar crusade to buy up the industry will turn on the taps. And, while the first crate to wash ashore isn't perhaps the great white hope fans have been waiting for, it's at least reason to keep that Game Pass subscription ticking over.
Bethesda, now in Microsoft's pocket, apply their open-world magic to the universe for 'Fallout in space': this year's marquee launch for Xbox, Starfield is one of the most ambitious games ever made.
Set in the 24th century during an uneasy peace following the Colony War, players fill the space boots of an intergalactic miner caught up in a plot to discover life amongst the cosmos. The main quest, however, is merely a cattle prod to get players into space, and over dozens of hours they'll hook up with pirates, smuggle drugs and even find love among the stars.
You can land anywhere on any of Starfield's thousand planets – so if you want to see everything on offer, good luck setting up your console in the old folks' home.
While you can finish the main story in around 30 hours, that's just the tip of this iceberg, with a sea of side quests and, well, just stuff. It doesn't put its best foot forward, though, and can be overwhelming at first. Without quests or travel points, the early game is pretty sparse. However, after 10 hours, and with a big gun and bigger ship, Starfield sinks its teeth into you.
Pilfering from Hollywood, there's a funky retro sci-fi vibe here, with themed planets that rip off everything from Westerns to Cyberpunk. Exploration is simple – after landing on a planet, the game generates points of interest – mainly caves and the like – which often contain mini-quests.
Ship-building is incredible, as you tack infirmaries, turrets and the like onto your rig, while classic Bethesda RPG fodder such as lock-picking and persuasion mini-games have never been better. Whether you're blasting through a zero-G casino or engaging in space dogfights, its high points are some of the best committed to binary.
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Yet, given Starfield's promise of a bustling universe to explore often amounts to barren rocks populated with a few wrong 'uns spoiling for a fight, it can feel more like Sprucefield. Worse, trips are hands-off as you fast-travel everywhere, with each journey taking the form of a loading screen.
Still, if you know where to look, there's plenty of space craic to be had in a game that creaks under the weight of its ambition. Falling short of the generational classic we hoped for, Starfield is a universe wide, but can feel an inch deep.
