Bethesda responding to negative Starfield reviews on Steam

Bethesda's customer support team has been responding to negative Starfield reviews on Steam.

[__y2jb]

That's pretty pathetic but also kind of the standard expected from XBox these days.

Why struggle to create compelling content when you can just tell users they are wrong?

[notachance]

currently people flocked to the comment section of those reviews to mock the AI template response lol

probably used their "advanced" engine to procedurally generate those comment 🤣

[OtterX]

Someone should do a YouTube video of Starfield NPCs reading these "developer" responses, with their bland awkward faces. 😂

[OtterX]

Most small indies don't even grovel this much for approval. It sounds kind of unprofessional really, "oh you didn't play it right", like a teenage employee at Gamestop. Usually developer responses on Steam thank the person for their feedback, tell them that they'll consider this feedback towards future improvements to the game. This just comes across as, "our product is fine as it is, you're just not playing it right". Man, I'm starting to read these in a snarkyTodd Howard voice. 😩

[anast]

"Man, I'm starting to read these in a snarkyTodd Howard voice. 😩"

This means it's time to get out of this relationship.

[MrBaskerville]

Maybe they saw how much goodwill New Blood got from being snarky in Steam reviews. Just reads different when you aren't funny and you are writing on behalf of a trillion dollar company.

[Michiel1989]

ofc it's unprofessional because they get trained in customer support, not in game design. I worked in customer support for a bit over a year and often you just get presented with questions or problems that you don't have much to do with or knowledge about, but still have to answer. It doesn't take away that the person gave probably the most awful response they could have, but its also not such a drama that this twitter Karen makes it out to be. It's funny though.

[Ra3030]

Naw....this is just Microsoft out trying to collect that Xbox tax! A Trillion Dollar Corporation out there working them streets bullying, intimidating gamers, maybe paying that actual tax of other former friendlies but naw not pathetic its Microsoft being Microsoft doing what Microsoft do there's no level they won't stoop to.

[0hMyGandhi]

Me: I tried the bike but it seems to fall apart when I try to ride it: the brakes stop working, the tires keep rapidly deflating, the handlebars turn in place, and the seat pops off when going over small bumps.

Bethesda: You're just riding it wrong.

[Abracadabra]

Gamers are entitled little shits... always complaining about something.

[Godmars290]

Standard for Bethesda you mean. Fallout 76 aside for having as many issues, failing to live up to official hype, not even Tod Howard could simply brush them off.

[anast]

I also heard they were going to heavily monetize the modding scene.

[crazyCoconuts]

These responses are so Microsoft - lean into the fail.
"I don't like this game"
"Are you sure you don't like this game? Could you perhaps actually like this game? I think you might! You do like this game after all!"

[OtterX]

"TELL ME YOU LOVE ME!!!!!" ((growled in a deep sinister voice)) 😭🤬👹

https://i2.wp.com/www.nerfe...

[MrBaskerville]

You can't find it boring, it's fun!

[Dirty_Lemons]

Excellent 😂😂😂

[gold_drake]

its just so wild to me that they actually defend the loading screens and empty planets.

we've see other games that have more complex infrastructure with less loading time in this gen.

[dumahim]

The funny thing is that some of those loading screens aren't even needed. There's places you can trigger the loading screen with a door but then go around where there isn't a door, and there's no load screen. I can't remember the exact example but I did run into one of them in my playthrough and I think Alex mentioned it in one of the DF videos.

[sweendog]

@dumahim
Yeah there's a building in akila city where you have to load to go through the door but you can get to the roof and jump back into the open city with no loading screen

[mudakoshaka]

The entirety of New Atlantis is like that. Loading screen after loading screen. Imagine my surprise when I was able to jump down from like the Commercial District to one of the other districts without any loading screens. This entire game was made by a retarded person with intellectual impairments. The map should be enough proof. Not even the cities have a proper map. Really liked the game for like 30 hours but then the make-up started to wear off and Starfield showed its true and ugly nature. They should have focused on a solar system and not the entire universe. Quality and not quantity! Not following this philosophy will be the end of Xbox and Playstation seem to be heading the same path with their GaaS. The future of gaming will be Doodle Jump and Candy Crush unless this bastardisation of gaming stops.

[frostypants]

Freaking No Man's Sky has better procedurally generated planets (by a massive factor) and it was made at a fraction of the budget.

[Armaggedon]

Like what?

[Good-Smurf]

Pathetic of a response lol.
I just read some of the responses and never cringe this hard before.

[Sonic1881]

Before Microsoft acquired Bethesda, they were already going downhill and struggling. Microsoft actually saved the ship from sinking, but not knowing that Bethesda lost their touch in quality and great games. A lot of young bloods are working there now. The only good developer that's still there is Arkane but it also looks like they're struggling as well with the release of Redfall.

[LoveSpuds]

@Sonic
Shout out to Tango Gameworks too, although now they have lost Mikami their cache may have taken a dent.

In general though, I agree that Bethesda are not quite the powerhouse they once were.

[il-JumperMT]

last good Bethesda game was Oblivion, though Morrowind is still their best game.

[jznrpg]

New Vegas was good and bad at the same time. A technical pile of junk but was a fun game with some cool mechanics though Obsidian made that and not Bethesda. I agree about Morrowind it was a great game with a horrible boss ending but still overall great. Oblivion I enjoyed but had a good amount of disappointment in it as well when they took out athletics acrobatics and a chunk of spells. It has been downhill after those games and now they focus on making games for mass market casuals with hype and advertising over substance.

[Doomeduk]

70% of arcanes talented developers had it away on their toes at the time of acquisition

[purple101]

Arkane made deathloop before that so they are capable of making a wiked good game

[phoenixwing]

That's it. I'm not buying elder scrolls when it comes out. This company is disgusting. They think they can manipulate the review section. How underhanded is that? I don't even want to buy any of their games now.

[Michiel1989]

any proof of them manipulating reviews? Haven't heard of this yet

[Kornholic]

MS manipulated Starfield's pre-release review score by withholding review copies from multiple reviewers inflating the metascore before release.

Starfield's metascore was artificially high, around 88-89, for an extended period of time before the score finally settled on 83. It still has only 90 reviews on Metacritic. Usually a game of that caliber gets around 120-130 reviews.

[Barlos]

This is the way I feel about ABK. Horrible company with terrible practices. They'll never get my money again either.

[Plague-Doctor27]

"When astronauts went to the moon there was nothing there. They certainly weren't bored"

This the most hilarious defense I've ever seen

[jznrpg]

Bethesda has gone with the MS way. Spin, lie, deny. We made a great game you just don’t see it , what’s wrong with you?! Redfall also scored double digits higher internally!

[phoenixwing]

@above
Remember when they said they had 250 working on it? I think we found them in the review section.

[Hofstaderman]

Ooooof

[TheColbertinator]

Bethesda executives sound like they need to be stuffed into a locker these days

[mastershredder]

Bethesda should show up to their house and stream it on ticktok for clicks and flex.

[Hedstrom]

I thought it was a joke!

[badz149]

those 250 people still working on the game got to have something to do, right? this is it

[Hedstrom]

Lol 😄

[MrDead]

I just want to know when the game will be completed so I can finish the ******* thing!

[Magog]

Did they really just mash a mudkip and a radscorpion together like that? Creatively bankrupt...

[Petebloodyonion]

Steam reviews are probably one of the most reliable sources to evaluate the quality of a game for the simple fact that you need to have a copy of the game in order to produce a review.
Meaning that the majority of them are ppl who were looking forward to playing the game.

I can understand Bethesda's point of view about scope, what you can do, etc. but at the end of the day the question is still: Is this fun?
And clearly, lots of paying customers find this lacking.
Now the good news for Bethesda is that Steam reviews are dynamic and they can be turned into an overwhelming positive by improving the game just like Cyberpunk, No Man Sky, etc. did.

I'll give a shout to Bethesda dev for taking the time to respond to reviews
I do post reviews from time to time on Steam and it's damn nice when a dev replies to your critics.

[Zenzuu]

It boggles my mind how Xbox players were saying things like this *Game of the year* or *best game of the generation*

[raWfodog]

And that was before the game was even released lol.

[Lionsguard]

This is why I always wait 1-2 years before playing a Bethesda game. Not because I'm waiting for Bethesda to patch and fix things but for modders to come in and do the heavy lifting for them.

[raWfodog]

I also wait for the complete editions for most games before purchasing but definitely so with Bethesda games because they usually do need a lot more improvements. Also, they tend to release a lot of dlc.

[AdonisIsBeast]

Wowww, how pathetic of them. A good game speaks for itself, guilt tripping paying customers into feeling sorry for developers is a new low. Gas lighting at it’s finest.

Responding to comments apologizing that it did not meet expectations is one thing, which is actually respectable. Trying to lecture them on the “time and effort” put into the game is not. Wow.

[Crows90]

What sore losers...thats hilarious

[RiseNShine]

Best thing about this, hopefully they will learn a few lessons for the next Elder Scrolls game, since that's the one I really care for.

[RhinoGamer88]

250 Developers on it... what are they coding?! Microsoft publishing team...do your job mates!

[Profchaos]

Cringe pr response

[Doomeduk]

6 or 7 loading screens to go buy glue sorry it doesn't pass the acid test
Be gone with you

[EvertonFC]

After reading that, it just screams of "desperate" felt alittle sick reading that 😂🤣

[Chittlins]

Just standard cult of Todd the god spec. You shall obey.

[Lexreborn2]

The tacky in this is crazy, and to repeat the same metric of pretty much saying it’s YOUR fault for not enjoying OUR design choice. Yikes

[Mr_cheese]

Bad attitude representing the lack if effort in change

[0hMyGandhi]

The responses they gave sound like they created a Bethesda Steam Review Copium Bot

[Armaggedon]

The issue is not even the loading screens, its the way players interact with the game. People are running from planet to planet trying to find the “fun” in a game they dont like. If you dont like the game, there is no fun. It was like this for me in Tears of the kingdom. Why am I getting two tapped by phantom gannon with 11 hearts? Why are bosses tanking all of my weapons until they break while I get two tapped? I didn’t actually engage with the games world the way it was intended and designed. Had no armor upgrades or anything, and I didnt pay attention to using the fuse mechanic to buff weapons attack potency and durability . Had a miserable time playing it, because ai only cared about the story. Once I realized that the “story “was not as engaging as I had hoped, I dropped the game and just looked up the ending.

[Brazz]

Imho, they should start working on TES VI as soon as possible.

[repsahj]

The respond about the 1st moon landing is funny and stupid at the same time. XD

[Games1st]

They just made it worse.

[Destiny1080]

can that amount of loading break your SSD

[Profchaos]

"Nuh uh You're not having fun right" - Bethesda

[ChiefofLoliPolice]

And to think this was the game that prompted Xbox to buy Bethesda... 🤣🤣

[ChiefofLoliPolice]

Where is Obscure_Observer defense of this slightly below average game? Oh yeah he know he has none.

[DarXyde]

69% of the reviews were positive. I don't agree with this, but I get it:

No one likes to hear that years of effort aren't unanimously well received. Not everyone is going to appreciate your vision and that's really why games are art: highly subjective and everyone gets something different from it.

But like any other product, once you put it out there, you're subject to critique, and that's fair.

[Father__Merrin]

ive just started a playthrough of FO New Vegas on series x and everything is so seemless when going into map and doing fast travel. starfield is just a pain you are absolutely messing in options screen literally all the time. anyone who has played starfield knows you will be constantly hitting that start button its simply too much

[cammers1995]

The game sucks and so does Xbox under Phil Spencers leadership so that's not shocking.

[Pocahontas]

I’ve said from inception Bethesda games have little to no heart.

[Rols]

Whoever at Bethesda that thought this was a good idea needs to be demoted.

[coretone]

Bethesda <3