CG writes: We like Bethesda’s Starfield so far on PC, but can’t help feel that Microsoft should have allowed the game more time to cook in the oven. Some of its first week issues make the game almost unplayable in places when using Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU. The problems we have encountered just within our first 3 hours of playing have been numerous and totally off-putting. The main issue is audio not working properly. This shouldn’t be happening and the fix of restarting the game doesn’t always work. Music stops working, and NPCs lips move with no sound. Terrible, and immersion breaking. The issue is caused by the game being installed on a HDD rather than SSD.
The other issues aside from excruciatingly long loading times is horrible pausing during combat which makes some of the combat a complete dud. This might also be as a result of HDD installation. Controller aiming ceasing to work but movement is fine. Aside from these issues, the game looks fantastic using Ultra settings. 4K resolution, No dynamic scaling, no DLSS or in this case FSR2 being enabled for what that is worth. In the Starfield gameplay video, you can see all of this and how well the RTX 4090 runs in a benchmark type scenario. With the the GPU and CPU being worked quite hard this is some poor but perhaps expected results. We hope a patch is coming fast as some of these issues really spoil the flow of the game and really shouldn’t be happening with such a high-calibre title for Microsoft.
Please note, some of the issues persisted when the fps was capped at 60 with far less load on GPU and CPU. The CPU reached 90 degrees at some points which could have contributed more to the issues in the video. But they remain with the CPU temp at around 70 degrees which is a quite normal temperature.
TNS: "We're shining a light on a bunch of "bad" games that may've been left wanting when it comes to their critical or audience reception."
Good list I've had similar reactions to some games even ones on the list like the order and Callisto
Also I recently grabbed forspoken for, 5 dollars at a eb games Clarence sale and I am actually enjoying it more than I thought I would
Sometimes you just need to give critically panned games a chance
Oh gosh, good shout on Forspoken! Genuinely forgot about that one, and haven't got around to playing it. It's on my to-buy-in-a-sale list!
Knack was great ! Had a blast with the first one. Haven’t tried the second one though due to backlog
The Fight: Lights Out was also a game i enjoyed very much and highly detailed with great motion control when you understand how they work, which is what pushed people away from this game..
Both The Order and Calisto were harshly treated in my view. I am not saying they are perfect, but the were both really solid games. I personally really liked them despite acknowledging their flaws and coincidentally, got the platinum trophy for both games.
Evil West is another really fun game that's worth checking out for sure.
Forspoken was great. Never really understood all the criticism. 2nd best traversal in a game after Spiderman
Yeah gameplay wise I get huge infamous vibes with its combat starting out as low level eventually becoming a unstoppable power spewing killing machine with a wide variety of powers infamous is one of my favourite franchises obviously it's not the same but I love the combat of it so far.
I feel like we’re finally starting to see a sea change in how we treat our favorite games. Sure, we all acknowledge that a game can suck and we can still enjoy it. Hopefully this results in meaningful review scores. Personally, I find a lot of bad games are better if you blast through them on the easiest difficulty. Callisto protocol on the image is a good example of this.
I really liked Calisto, harshly treated for sure and I don't necessarily think it needs to be played on easy to enjoy it. It's not perfect, but it's not the car crash the media portrayed it as either.
I have said it before, but part of the issue is that there is a mind share going on in games coverage, with all the main outfits being personal friends and talking too each other. As such, there is a risk that everyone ends up sharing in the same opinion rather than thinking from themselves. I reckon that's why some games get a universal bashing when consumers actually like the game and equally, games get great reviews across the board and the game doesnt land with consumers.
Actually, I started liking FO76 after the wastelanders DLC ... it has been my guilty pleasure
other games I can think of Order 1886, Driveclub, Resident Evil 6 (only the Leon part), Alpha Protocol (pretty unique, needs a remake), XIII Remake (after patches), Medal of Honor 2010, Medal of Honor Warfighter, Homefront The Revolution, Enemy Front, Legendary The Box, Faces of War, Conflict: Vietnam, Conflict: Global Storm & Codename: Panzers – Cold War
Driveclub was genuinely a good game with a poor launch. Alpha Protocol is superb, just a few archaic design choices for the time.
I want past games with interesting setups/mechanics but having some flaws (due to crunch or budget) to be remade so that the gaming community can appreciate and enjoy them as was envisioned and intended by the developers. In contrast to a successful game being remade again just with prettier coat of paint.
Alpha Protocol tops that and I'll include FO:NV as well as an exception (it is popular but features were cut due to limited dev time). And also Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines I, Singularity, KOTOR II and maybe Daikatana.
There might be others which I can't recall atm.
I loved Enemy Front. I pre ordered it months prior and remember calling the store to check if it came out that day. The guy never heard of it but confirmed my copy was ready to pick up. Game was simple and basic in a good way. Didn’t have any tacked on extras. A simple mission and objectives in each level. Kind of reminded me of the first Crysis in a way
I loved The Order, ridiculous graphics for it's time and a very interesting setting, it was linear but not as bad as people say. Similar thing with Callisto Protocol, i admit that i played it a long time after release so maybe issues were fixed by then, but it was a fantastic Dead Space-like horror game with some of the best graphics i've seen in my life.
Yup, I am afraid to say I waited on Calisto and picked it up for around 30 quid. Once I played it on felt really badly for the devs because the game was really decent.
Thanks to the Starfield Creation Kit, the "Earth Restored" mod has transformed the Earth into a Pine Forest and filled the sea with life.
Shadow of the Erdtree saw a 1000% player count surge at its launch. Will Starfield’s Shattered Space be able to do the same?
loading screens and zones are hardboiled into the game, they would have to remake it to change it. which if they had just made a new engine or used someone else's they wouldn't be in this mess
I played Starfield this past weekend. I enjoyed it and overall was about 30 hours in, but as soon as I got the e-mail about the GamePass price increase, I cancelled my account and deleted Starfield, Halo, Forza and others off my Series X.
If I want to play those games, I’ll just buy them outright - and truth is, I’m pretty sure I won’t. They aren’t worth it to me.
Going by the reports on other places the main issue here is likely not the GPU but rather the CPU. Apparently, Starfield likes cores and there are already at least a couple of reports of that de-syncing happening in 6-core CPUs. Also doesn't help that this computer has an i5 running at over 90ºC. I would check the thermal solution used here first and foremost because that is just not normal for an i5 13600k and it might be hurting the performance even more.
Yeah, I would trust a reviewer that gave this game a 10.
So they can afford a 4090 but not an ssd.........
I'm sorry, but the requirement of any current gen game running properly on hdd is just rediculous.
Ssds are cheap now there is honestly no excuse for people to expect devs to launch games that run on a hdd.
What is this absolute garbage? The game lists a SSD as a requirement, they install it on a HDD and then complain about performance?
I bought the best 65-inch 8k TV money can buy + the best 7.1 sound system money can buy.
And I can assure you that Starfield looks super ugly on my TV due to my RCA cables.
Microsoft should have allowed the game more time to cook in the oven.
Also probably again due to my RCA cable, I have noted several times that the 3d surround wasn't working so again this is unacceptable since I have the best TV and sound system that money can buy.
Let's make an article about this.