This game is a lot better than I would have given it credit for, and I'm honestly enjoying myself quite a bit. Now, don't get me wrong here: I'll be the first to state that this definitely isn't a perfect game or such. Heck, I've already experienced a few glitches myself.

Thing is... games don't have to be perfect in order to be perceived as such.

Maybe too high expectations?

Each to their own (!) but I think that one of the issues with people not enjoying this game is setting your expectations too high. See, this isn't "Skyrim in space"; space travel is simply an added game mechanic which exists within the way you normally play most Bethesda games.

So... no, you can't use your spaceship to sour over the surface of a planet in order to map out the location of most structures. Nor can you decide where you're going to land your ship. All of that is a bit static. However... the game does compensate for all that, because once you discovered a location on a planet you can tell the game to go there after which you won't have to go through the whole routine of landing and walking again.

And honestly? I like it this way. Despite the fact that I already discovered quite a few locations I still more than often just refuse to fast travel and instead get into my spaceship, close the door(s), take a seat in the cockpit and then I take off. Only to do the test of the navigation once I'm in orbit. I even perform a (semi-) manual jump into the next system.

No, I'm not "wasting my time", I'm roleplaying. Ever heard of it?

There are a lot of NPC's for you to meet and missions for you to complete, and I really love it. Sometimes small, sometimes silly and sometimes you also need to make a bit of your own fun. And what I love the most here is that not everything gets presented to you or is made obvious.

For example... early on in the game you'll discover the city of New Atlantis and a lot of of the game will be done here or from here. Plenty of missions for you to pick up. And it seems like the perfect playing map... huge city, citizens everywhere and plenty of NPC's to talk with. Dare I say that the layout even gives me "Kotor" and "Mass Effect" vibes?

So [i[then[/i] I wondered... ey... the game also talks about vegetation, fauna and minerals ("resources"). Is there more to all this than the game is showing me? So I decided to hop over a fence, slide my way down and... oh dear: all of a sudden I'm in a whole new (dangerous!) part of the world. And I'm loving every moment of it. I even met other NPC's which got me laughing quite a bit: "I'm sorry, can't you see I'm busy dying? ugh... ", and sure enough; that's exactly what happened (not by my doing btw!).

Experiences like these make me convinced that sometimes... it's also what you make of things. And this game puts plenty of attention into detail.

Destructive tools are also weapons!

I've seen this so many times: you have this powerful tool which is strong enough to tear through rocks, but as soon as you point it to some hostile creature then... "of course" it doesn't work, why would it? This isn't a weapon you silly player!

Starfield does that "a little" different and I was quite surprised when I discovered it. To me it simply adds up to the complexity and vastness of this game.

No, like I said before it isn't perfect... but I'm sure am having a lot of fun so far!

Get the editor too!

Starfield, just like Skyrim before it, is a game that runs on its own so called "game engine". Studios often rely on such 'engines' to help them separate between the process of game design and actual game development. For example.... say I want to add a new datapack ("note")... thanks to the engine I don't have to worry about adding the right textures or having to make my own opening effects: all of that is something the engine can handle for me. So.. I just tell it that I want to add a new datapack ("Book" / "DataSlate") and the engine will handle all the details like the way it looks, how it'll sound when I pick it up, whether I can actually pick it up or not, etc. All I have to do is select what I want to use, add the text I want to add and eventually I also need to place this new item somewhere in the world.

No coding, no making new graphics, just design. And that's what the Starfield creation kit can help you with. If you're going to play Starfield then I highly suggest that you also pick up the editor. Heck... if you're stuck in a mission... you could consider to check it out in the editor to see what you might be missing.

Look, if you were expecting a whole new game with lots of different new mechanics and such.. maybe even secretly hoping for an actual spacesim (?) then sorry to say but you may end up disappointed. But if you can enjoy the idea of being able to travel through space and visit all sorts of strange planets and explore weird locations, meet new NPC's and such then you might be in for a treat.

The world is pretty big, and there's a lot of stuff to discover & do, plenty to keep you busy for dozens of hours to come. The voice acting is very well done I think and although some characters look a bit weird... look, didn't we say the exact same thing for those in Tamriel? Here I was thinking that elves would be the most beautiful beings in the world, not some bizarre looking hags.

Yes, there are loading screens and yes: your spaceship only gets used when you're actually out in space (so: in orbit), as soon as you're on a planet it basically becomes your (static) base of operations. Extra storage space to take with you wherever you go! ;)

But the vibes of old are all here... exploring a planet, using your scanner and seeing "unknown" somewhere in the distance? Let's go check it out! Oh wait, there's another one! Being able to find new loot, upgrade and customize your stuff, meet up with new friends (and enemies) ...

Each to their own, but I'm having a great time with this game, and can definitely recommend it because of that.