Recent reviews by SVRCΛSM

I'd like to start by saying that whenever I get a new game, PERSONALLY, I kill all my expectations off and just play the game while I allow my childish whimsy and love for games guide me. So I ask of you, the reader, to do the same if you plan on either getting the game or are in the middle of playing it yourself. I'm not one to typically write reviews, as I'm bad at summarizing things, I rant on subjects, and I can tend to contradict myself. So, with that out of the way I will ATTEMPT to be as clear and concise with this review as I can.

While this game comes with the good old Bethesda charm of things being buggy, in either hilarious ways or in ways that are exceptionally unflattering, overlooking that like I do with most if not all Bethesda games gives me a wonderful look on this new universe Bethesda has made. While it's nothing super groundbreaking, I love enjoying my time and taking my time in this slowburn of a game.

This is a new step into a new universe of Bethesda, meaning cracks certainly show.
- The space travel consisting of still frame loading screens that alot of NMS players will probably get upset with as their loading screens are more built into gameplay mechanics.
- The space battles being a little wonky at times, feeling like I'm flying around what feels like a cardboard box that can fall apart easily. (I'm still do not have many perks pertaining to space battle, so I do not know yet if it improves)
- When encountering groups of enemies, you'll always know who the boss is *not* by the name but by the 15-20 level difference they will have compared to other enemies. These are not boss enemies; their more spongie roadblocks. I understand the need for some sort of "leader" in these groups I'm clearing out in dungeons in the procedural world I land on, but when every other mob dies with 2 shots but the leader (I am not playing this up, this has happened almost every single time) takes my entire inventory of ammo to clear along with being stabbed in the head, it drains the fun out of clearing the dungeon. I don't feel like I "overcame a boss" and I don't feel "rewarded". I feel tired and annoyed that I now have to run back to my ship, change what weapons I have or even possibly go buy more ammo and come back.
-The Ship Builder. I have spent many hours building ships and all in all, it's fun and enjoyable. Building in a 3D space is enjoyable but I can tell Bethesda has a few issues with it, as sometimes while building, the piece your working with will sometimes just outright vanish because you moved your mouse just a hair to the left causing you to have to deselect and reselect it. I do wish they let us rotate Habs and parts to a desired rotation. Only certain pieces have a "flip" function, and I feel like this holds it back.
-I know Bethesda has a notorious issue with NPCS, but something that bugs me is how glitchy the NPCS can be sometimes. Eyes getting glues shut, NPCS staring up at the sky while having a conversation with me, the social camera (the camera that zooms in when discussing with someone) also having some funny angles depending on your position in relation to the NPC, gun sounds getting stuck on repeat after a gun is shot by a companion just to name ones I've encountered.

But it's just as easily to find the light shining behind these cracks.
-The unexpected planet you land on and are blown away by seeing the Gas Giant it orbits in the sky cresting the hill as you land. While yes, the graphics can be taxing, when you can experience them as they are intended, it's almost breathtaking at times.
-Fights feel slow and grueling at times. The only storage you have (aside from your companions and crew) are yourself and your ship. This means choosing your gear and what you bring with you on an expedition is important and of course will have consequences if you don't plan accordingly. (Ammo has no weight and can be hoarded indefinitely in your inventory. What I said above still applies.) These are the battles that feel rewarding as these are the fights that cause you to get creative, whether it means using a crazy NATO violating amount of ordinance, playing for time with the bleed and status effects you can apply, or making yourself impervious to damage with boosters and stabbing everything you can in sight. THESE are the fights that feel rewarding. I try to focus on these parts of the battle rather then the approaching roadblock later in the dungeon.
-The world building. I am rather selective, I won't lie, when I enter a random dive bar looking for someone for my crew. However when I do find them and recruit them, I take pleasure learning their backstories. Not only just backstories but passing comments you can hear while on a planet or the grunts in dungeons simply complaining and talking back and forth, giving them a reason for BEING there in the first place. I remember when I built a ship for the first time and taking a tour inside. Everything clean and orderly and nothing there. After a while though, the ships interior started having small living amenities scattered around. A small detail I full on enjoyed, down to the amount of plates on a table correlating to the amount of human crew mates I had on the ship at the time. (Even if this was a coincidence, don't shatter my dream, I was ecstatic about this detail) I haven't even played through the main story to much yet and I already have so many small little stories I can talk about and small side stories I've encountered that just made me feel for the characters I encountered. One of my favorites include (skip to the next tidbit, this part is basically done) a researcher who I had encountered who hailed me for resources and when I didn't have any resources to give them, they tried to grav jump away but couldn't and proceeded to try their best at small talk (they had been alone for a while) until their faulty grav drive cut them off.
-The perk system. Now Hear me out on this one. Alot of people are rather upset with "the perk grind" to do things in this game but to me it makes sense. Our character WOULDN'T know how to build a fully functional hab on a hazardous planet right off the jump, or they would know how to effectively use and shoot a pistol without getting the certification for it. A question I've had for past games I've played is "Yeah that's cool, but how did the main character know how to do this? How did the Main character know how to effectively snipe with an AK when they haven't shot a single gun in their LIFE." This has always been explained away with game logic. However, now, we have a somewhat reasonable assessment to work off of. Your damage with a pistol goes up after you get certified with it because your character knows how to properly shoot one now.
-The customization. Now, when I say customization, I don't mean character customization as I didn't spend *too* much time on my character to get a desired look. I'm talking about the Ship Builder. When I said I spent hours on ships, I was not kidding. While there are some aspects that left me a little disappointed, I had so much fun building my now current home ship. You have different brands to fly to and buy from, different ways you can build your ship to suit your character and actual gameplay needs. The negatives aside, I love building ships in this game. Like, alot.

Bottom line, the game isn't for everyone. It's a slower burn of a game that took a bit to get used too, with alot of games that have come out recently playing to the fastpaced dopamine rush feedback loop. I fully enjoy Starfield, and believe that you could too. Don't be fast to judging the game nor fast to believing anyones statements on it. Make your own opinion on the game after playing it for yourself.
Games are meant to be played and enjoyed and to have fun.

I love this game for passing the time or challenging my self to get farther, v rage inducing tho...