It Took 20 Hours, But I Finally Started Liking Starfield

Starfield didn’t start off on the right foot for GL staff writer Shaz Mohsin. But 20 hours later, and he can’t seem to stop playing Bethesda’s new RPG.

[OmegaSoldati]

LMAO!

[Jin_Sakai]

A good game doesn’t take 20 hours to enjoy it. That would be called a mediocre game.

[PhillyDonJawn]

It's the size and scope of the game. The first 10 hours is just experiencing the basics of everything.

[goldwyncq]

FFXIV takes playing through the entire base game before it starts getting good.

[neutralgamer1992]

Why do you feel the need to tell us that? I guess good for you that it only took 20 hours

Jin

It depends man. We all like different things. This game isn’t a 9/10 but it’s also not a 5/10. It’s a good foundation that Bethesda can build from if they choose to ( I have my doubts about Bethesda since they barely fix their games with patches)

I feel like for me this is a game that I want to wait a while before playing. There are some major changes that are needed and I hope Bethesda works to fix those quickly. Just watching a lot of coverage these are some things I feel like Bethesda should focus on short term and long term wise

1- The options menu need overhaul. It’s kind of funny MS can’t get their UI right on Xbox and now Bethesda can’t get it right on starfield

2- please add some more hand crafted side content and less of AI generated quests

3- possibly unlock 60FPS on XSX

4- more freedom during exploration and instead of cut scenes let us fly and land our ships

[Armaggedon]

Some things take time. Its a big game.

[wiz7191]

@Jin I mean it’s a RPG , like any RPG the beginning is always a drag lol it’s once you develop your character and get access to more equipment does combat start to really open up more

[KillBill]

@Crows90 & @Jin_Sakai

You are missing the point. A huge difference between someone hating on the game and being on every post and someone that enjoys the game and being on every post. If you don't know the difference then you might be one of the problems here on N4G?

[PapaBop]

FF14 took about 40-50 hours in before it goes from being a decent game to one of the best FF games. I don't get the whole complaints on the early game in Starfield though. Maybe it depends on the route players go, I choose to go the Vanguard mission route as soon as it unlocked which was like 2 hours in and the story from them and distinctive Alien vibe I got from it carried me through the early game while I was learning the systems.

[Reaper22_]

You mad? Is it still burning? Don't worry that pain will subside sooner or later.

[GamerRN]

A good game takes a while to like when you have the wrong idea if what is supposed to be.

Took me a day or two to realize it's not a shooter, not NMS. It's Space Fallout.

[fr0sty]

A great RPG gets better with time... but it doesn't start off as crap. It starts off good, and ends up fantastic. This starts off crap, and ends up good.

[Rude-ro]

The topic is called “push impulse purchases” by continue to fluff the reality.
Not knocking those that love chore/loading screen games… but there is literally nothing to this game besides listening to lore, doing chores for monetary earnings, and crafting things.
Xbox fans made fun of death stranding… but that game evolved in two hours more than the entirety of starfield.

[Tapani]

Yeah that is 20hrs too long for me. And I'm patient.

[Flewid638]

I echo this sentiment.

[Abnor_Mal]

I remember a time when people were upset with a game called Days Gone because it took less than twenty hours to really get into.

*Eats a Pepperidge Farms cookie*

[BrainSyphoned]

And Days Gone reviews correctly reflected its issues. Where as Starfield's shill/fanboy reviews ignore everything.

[DarkZane]

For some reasons, Bethesda games always get a pass even though they're the most buggiest games and the most broken games, yet Days Gone which weren't nearly as bad got shit on.

It's why the Bethesda fanbase is by far the worst. Bethesda keep giving them shit, yet they keep eating it with a smile and they ask for more.

[Jin_Sakai]

Days Gone wasn’t without issues and quirks but it was an amazing looking game and enjoyable most of the time.

[Crows90]

Well I'd say it was entirely unfairly reviewed. So is starfield.

Days gone minor issues were exaggerated. Starfields huge issues are swept aside.

[SyntheticForm]

Days Gone had an awful launch with character dialogue either non-audible or completely out of sync with the animation. Pure and utter game-crippling jank all around. That aside it was a pretty nice game with great visuals. The hordes were a ball and using the environment and your arsenal to take them down was a lot of fun, as was scavenging, sneaking around, and taking care of your bike. The bike was also fun to use.

Unfortunately the game received a load of unfair criticism due to the protagonist, Deacon, being a "gruff biker dude" (oh the horror) and the game just wasn't woke enough to make these lefty "journalists" happy.

[crazyCoconuts]

Hey, since we're on Day's Gone, do you think if you watched some PS4 Pro Day's Gone gameplay from years ago and looked at gameplay, character models, animation, dialog, and compared it to Starfield on XSX today, which would win?

[badz149]

@crazyCoconuts

Graphically, Days Gone looks better in almost evey way. And don't even start comparing the character models and animation. Compared to Days Gone, Bethesda's devs should be sent back to school or retire altogether! They clearly are too stubborn to leave the old days and move on with new tech. Starfield looks too dated out of the gate. I think everybody would agree that that archaic engine needs to go!

[EvertonFC]

Exactly, I knocked off 2 points for starfield for poor enemy AI, map design, no city map, constant load screens, inventory management.
So a good 8/10 for me, a 9 if they improve with updates on the above mentioned.

[Ashunderfire86]

IGN and Gamespot didn’t give Starfield a pass. IThey gave it a 7.

[wiz7191]

@Crows what’s the issues ??

[JackBNimble]

Yeah, they corrected days gone by not making another one... ever again

[EvertonFC]

Exactly, I loved days gone and never understood the it takes 20 hours to get going .
1 minute we slag a game off then another minute give a game a free pass because of it's studio name.

[ChasterMies]

Day’s Gone was fun from the start. It was really, really fun when you could take down a horde with a machine gun. Instead of end game content, that should have been the mechanic from the start.

[Abnor_Mal]

It really was/is a fun game. Thr hordes were fun and I did save them for the end game, but there were smaller hoarded you could come across a bit earlier in the game just not very large in numbers like five hundred strong.

But this is when new game plus comes into effect, as I replayed the game but used only less powerful guns or only hand guns and traps. There’s many ways to tackle the different enemies of the game. Imagine coming across a large horse and all you have are hand guns and limited ammo. Play with or without restrictions.

[franwex]

Omg. Can we just move on from Days Gone? This is the only website that praises that game and laments that people weren’t fair to it.

They were. It was janky, mediocre action game. It’s okay if you liked it, but one can seriously see why others didn’t (though if they can improve on a sequel-it would be potentially really good). What’s next, lamenting that people weren’t fair to Forspoken?

[EvertonFC]

"but one can seriously see why others didn’t"

Same could be said for starfield

[franwex]

@evertonFC

Right, they are saying it…hence the story we’re commenting on…took 20 hours to start liking it…?

[RhinoGamer88]

Agree, Days Gone was a hidden gem that after a few patches was stellar.

[Inverno]

I don't think I can play a game for 20 hours to see whether or not it clicks. The only Bethesda game I played from beginning to end was Oblivion and that game had me lost in its world within the hour. Figuratively and literally cause those compass markers made no sense to me.

[Crows90]

Most Bethesda games start pretty good with some kind of hook. Unfortunately starfield does not

[OMNlPOTENT]

Except it actually does if you happen to.. play the game. It's actually a great game. Admittedly, it took me around 3-5 hours for the gameplay loop to click and it isn't a perfect game, but it's better than this website is giving it credit for. It's a solid 8/10 game, and most review scores reflect that.

[wiz7191]

@Crows I’m 6 hours in and pretty much enjoy the game .. I understand the exploration aspect , which it’s not an endless exploration game. Everything in game as a purpose to it and I can see the more you play the more things become available to you ,

[RupeeHoarder]

I would never play a game this long that I dislike lol.

[Crows90]

It's so damn unfortunate. I didn't lay a dime to play it but I still feel like if I don't I'm losing my money's worth.

Gotta keep going through the main story to see if we can get some kind of interesting plot going.

We're no nerevar or dovakin but hey it's space at least.

[randomvoice]

Bruh what a joke. Feels like people are just forcing themselves to like it because of Bathesda nostalgia. 20 hours is a LOT to expect from people to like a game. Something is really long if it takes that long to get into anything.

Honestly, I would have much rather wanted that they released ES6 as opposed to delaying it for this.

[badz149]

And this is not even counting space travels from planet to planet or system to system (which is non-existent maybe due to their strive for realism as manned space travels doesn't exist yet). It's all gameplay, fast travels and loading screens and it still takes 20 hours to "start liking". Bethesda's lemmings are truly something else!

[Ashunderfire86]

Well I do like that fact that Alien 👾 enemies can ambush you or the character your talking to during a dialogue tree sequence. I have seen funny 😆 videos of some big Spider like Alien thing knock down an NPC while he was talking to me.

https://youtu.be/1oa_x16XkV...

[EvertonFC]

Casuals won't give a game 20 hours, I imagine starfield will have a good completion percentage with the Bethesda die hards but casuals completion percentage will be potentially low.

[Christopher]

I honestly don't know if I'll ever complete the main story. I'm having more fun just being a space pirate, fighting people, stealing their ship and goods, selling them, and repeating as I try and find harder and harder enemies.

[PhillyDonJawn]

The game is great, but it is long. Time flys by

[Destiny1080]

the first 20 hours is just away to build up your stats but its monotonous and boring is the problem, it gets better after this

digital foundry had a loading comparison between Pc and xbox, Pc was like 10 secs and xbox was 30+secs, loading gets longer and longer as your save file grows

[Good-Smurf]

So they learned nothing since Fallout 3 released on consoles.
I remember on PS3 as you get later in the game it got so laggy and random stuttering and loads much slower or worse it stuck on loading screen because the save file gotten too big and its data too messy to be manageable by both game and console.

[badz149]

"loading gets longer and longer as your save file grows"

it's their trademark. don't you dare complain or you're just a hater!

[raWfodog]

I’m looking forward to what extra content / improvements that Bethesda will deliver via DLC / patches. As it is now, I think they would look to improve menu navigation, city maps, various graphical and gameplay bugs, and NPC A.I. from what I read in various reviews of the game. And these were reviews that gave the game 8’s, 9’s, and 10’s so I would tend to believe they are valid criticisms.

[Good-Smurf]

Those that gave it 10/10 would have to deduct a score soon or they would look like hypocrites giving it 16.5/10 because they improved the game.

[PhillyDonJawn]

Not how everyone calculate a score. Some score solely on how much they enjoyed it flaws and all. Some judge multiple categories and take the average of all categories combined. Others start with a 10/10 and subtract from it based on polish, story, etc.

[SimpleSlave]

It's called Stockholm Syndrome...

[CrimsonWing69]

Gonna throw that on the back of the box?

[Futureshark]

Wow, that's like some sort of insane FOMO.

"I WILL enjoy this game, I must keep playing until I've convinced myself I love it!!'
20 hours later...
"Well I guess I think it's sort of OK, at least I think I'm starting to like it now..."

[Armaggedon]

Some people just dont like Bethesda games.

[Duke19]

I really don’t get the hate this game is getting. I’m only 4 hours in and am enjoying it. Just got to New Atlantis but everything up to this seemed totally fine to me? I was expecting complete shit from the reception this has been getting on N4G

[RedDevils]

Because it boring.

[Duke19]

What did YOU find boring with it while playing? And do you it it’s paced that differently from prior Bethesda games?

[RedDevils]

I found the exploring part to be boring and underwhelming. This is ironic because exploration is supposed to be one of the game's strong points, but it doesn't deliver on that promise.

[goldwyncq]

Because it's an Xbox exclusive.

[raWfodog]

What about the criticisms coming from some of the PC players? I won’t deny the fact that many haters are PS fanboys but there is plenty of negativity coming from people who have access to play the game. I’ve even seen Xbox players complain about some of the game’s shortcomings.

Bottom line: No game will be universally loved by all. I think the game is good from what I’ve seen, and I plan on playing it one day. I wouldn’t even let other people’s opinions get to me. Just enjoy your experience.

[moomoo319]

Just say you enjoy the game… it can take time to get into any good game, book, or movie. But we say “I HATED the first 15hrs now im in LOVE”… like stfu 😂😂

[Deathdeliverer]

I mean… at that point do you like it or have you simply accepted it? Kinda like that unattractive person at work that started to not be SO unattractive after a spending 6 months at 40hrs a week with. They grew on you. That’s it. They’re still just as unattractive as when you first seen them, but time and proximity changes things.

[TicklefistCP]

If it takes you 20 hours to like Starfield then you're just not a fan of the genre or went into it with a negative mindset.

[Manubiggs]

I'm 6 hours in and loving it. It's very much a bethesda game. That said, I work and have kids and probably get at best an hour of gaming a day, domeone grinding to finish for a review may feel differently. But so far have really enjoyed what I've experience so far and I've only played the main quest, haven't done any discovery, side quest or wandering in the galaxy yet.

[Phlacky]

This game made me pick up No Mans Sky for PSVR 2.

[SDuck]

Imagining wasting that much time on a game without enjoying it lol BG3 combat isn't clicking with me and I don't think I'll keep trying. If a game's not for you, just quit it and play whatever else you like!

[YourMommySpoils]

And after 21 hours they disliked it again.

[Dixiedevil]

I made it 4 hours before I deleted the game and unsubscribed to gamepass. The incessant fast travel, 30 fps, crapped out story line, sub par graphics and present day nonsense made my 4 hours enough to realize that going the gamepass route was a great decision.

[PhillyDonJawn]

Did you even make it to New Atlantis?

[Dixiedevil]

The land of staring weirdo’s that you fast travel around to different places to talk to insufferably annoying people until you fast travel (load screen) to your ship then fast travel to Venus (load screen) where you ssssllllooooowwwwllllly fly to the satellite to find out you need to fast travel (load screen)to the base by the moon then docking cinematic (load screen) into the base? Yes.

[PhillyDonJawn]

So would you rather not have fast travel?

[PhillyDonJawn]

You know fast travel is optional for half that right? Your more than welcome.to run to your ship and ppl for missions. And do you really wanna fly for hours in space? I see some trashing fast travel but if it wasn't an option yall would be crying that travel take to long. Hell I remember some was crying about RDR2 travel was too slow

[Soulsborne]

RIP BGS

[Hedstrom]

A bit of a threshold 😄

[gold_drake]

damn, if a game takes me 20h to like it, whats the point lol

i would have dropped it long before that. no matter what it is.

[Profchaos]

To put it in perspective I loved the ending of mafia 3 but I hated the entire build up to the last mission minus a few early missions.

In retrospect I considered the game a total waste of time.

I should have to play 10 hours to like something

[jwillj2k4]

It’s called Stockholm syndrome. Get help.

[MontyeKristo]

That seems crazy, I've been enjoying it from the beginning. Obviously there are things wrong with the game and things I'd like to do in game but have to wait for the skill upgrades, but hey, that's progression. It's been fun so far, I'm not complaining especially for a (relatively) free game. I'm on board with it.

[Walalon]

Oh yeah, I have to pay $70 and endure 20 hours to have fun. Naiiiiceeeee!
Why now we have the obligation to write this kind of things, if you have to endure X hours to enjoy a game...be honest say you didn't enjoy it and move on.

This game for me it's Bethesda after New Vegas at its finest, mediocre at best.. so I just move on and that's fine.

[GameCraves]

I'm at hour 27 and still not hooked, im forcing myself to continue to try and get myself to enjoy it, but in the past 14 hours ive made exactly 5 kills and been just talking and fast traveling to NPC's for quests

[sadraiden]

"I'm not playing Death Stranding! It takes 5 hours for the game to start getting good!"

[ziggyzinfirion]

Wait for updates it will get better.
Wait for mods it will get better.
Wait till you get to 20 hrs. it will get better.

[Petebloodyonion]

Great for him!
I started being good at Dead by Daylight after 600 hours in the game
I should write an article about that.

Honestly, why do we need 10,000 articles trying to defend or attack Starfield?
I'm pretty sure that ppl get it now: If you like past Bethesda games then you will probably enjoy Starfield a lot.
If you like games like No Man's Sky or Death Stranding you will probably like this game a lot.
Now can we move to something else?

[Father__Merrin]

im about 3h in its pretty good just too much fiddling about in menus. really wish this was one large map instead

[nyckrazy]

People forcing themselves to Like a videogame because of hype (10+ hours in) are some of the weakest people on earth.

[mastershredder]

20 hours … to press yourself into enjoying something…because what you have literally nothing else to do at this point. Yeah, this is how games or any entertainment media should be “enjoyed”.

[ChasterMies]

A GOTY contender needs to be fun to play from start to finish.

[goldwyncq]

Not really. RDR2 was a 10/10 game but even it had parts that weren't exactly fun to play. Same as many critically-acclaimed games like TLOU, Metal Gear, and Bioshock. There are very few games even among masterpieces that fit that description.

[Markusb33]

i dont think so, and after 20 hours the mechanics have not changes, the gunplay is not different the feel has not changed, serioulsy what a moronic article and terrible take to have, modern gaming is all about cucking to companies and excuses, rather than some honesty. Sony, XB and Nintendo are not our friends they are companies

[Abear21]

It’s called chasing loses. When you put so much time or money into something to stop and you tell yourself to keep going because things may change and make your investment worth it. All you really did is play yourself by doing something you know you don’t like, but you try to convince yourself otherwise. Grasping at a reality vailed in hype; this is the Xbox way.

[PhillyDonJawn]

Or the games is extremely huge with a lot to experience and progress? But hey what do I know besides playing the game myself

[OneLove]

Everyone playing it enjoys it and that's all that matters. Also a lot of these Starfield articles are dumb as fuk.

[babadivad]

Good for you.

[jonivtec]

It took me 7....but now im hooked and easily can overpass its lakcing feature....

[nibblo]

My experience is it is such a massive game with so many different systems it takes about 10 hours to figure everything out and settle into the game and story.

[tombfan]

The question now is... do you really like it or did you force yourself to like it? It seems more the second one.