Starfield is a very different proposition compared to the many Elder Scrolls and Fallout games Bethesda has made in the past: it’s a space RPG where the worst thing about it is space.
Instead of a single open world to explore, there are theoretically hundreds — but you can count the ones actually worth visiting on two hands.
Starfield is not a game where you can mark the main objective on your map, turn around, and explore in the opposite direction. Rather, Starfield is those main objective markers, because no matter how fascinating it might be, the game can’t escape the fact that travelling through space simply isn’t all that interesting.
For so long, Bethesda games have been the definition of the phrase: “It’s about the journey, not the destination.”
Starfield turns the saying on its head. It’s designed around fast travelling to that destination, not living and breathing the journey to it.
None of this is new information; the title has been a known quantity for years now following its original Xbox Series X|S and PC release. However, now the RPG lands on PS5 after more than two years of post-launch support, packing a new Free Lanes content update.
This is the definitive console version of Starfield. It has the base game, two optional expansions, every patch, every update, and new features. It makes use of the entire PS5 feature set, with full DualSense controller support (adaptive triggers and haptic feedback) and fast load times and impressive graphics. Then, on PS5 Pro, the latter are enhanced further in new visual modes designed to maximise the console.
That’s still not enough for it to compete with the Bethesda classics of yesteryear.
In a vacuum devoid of any expectation, Starfield is a solid RPG experience. It’s got the best combat system Bethesda has ever done, faction questlines offer enticing side stories, and the expanded gameplay options of the new Free Lanes update make spaceflight more worthwhile.
Your custom character is one of very few people in the galaxy who can interact with vision-triggering artifacts, which a group named Constellation is researching. The collective signs you up to find more; a quest that leads to new revelations about the universe and the unknowns inhabiting it.
Bethesda efforts rarely have a quality main storyline, and Starfield continues the streak. The core motive is a dull one, even with its twists and reveals. Some strong missions carry grand set-piece moments, but the artifacts at the end never feel like the prize.
The main quest is better seen as a vehicle to tour the galaxy, meet its people, and see its landmarks. Splintering off from the core pursuits are factions with questlines that represent some of Bethesda’s best storytelling.
Working through the UC Vanguard, Crimson Fleet, Freestar Rangers, and the rest’s sets of missions helps flesh out the world of Starfield and its history. Completing their jobs in tandem with the main quests is how you fashion a quality story experience in Starfield, dealing with alien threats for the UC Vanguard, working with Ryujin Industries to sabotage companies, and more.
It’s during the space in between those objective completions that Starfield loses focus.
A series of messy and confusing menus is required for galactic travel, as warp driving from one planet to the next demands multiple screens of selecting a destination and then another to actually land on its surface. This, along with the random nature of those worlds, kills much of your momentum and urge to explore.
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Outside of its hand-crafted cities, the game can’t build any intrigue for locations off in the distance. It’s a randomised wasteland missing the Tenpenny Tower of Fallout 3 and Dinky the T-Rex in Fallout: New Vegas. This is how Starfield quickly starts to feel like a series of objective clears: there’s nothing in between them to satisfy the curiosity of what’s hidden off the beaten path. Starfield doesn’t have one.
The new Free Lanes content does at least help to bring some connecting dots. You can now cruise between planets within a single solar system, which can invite both friendly and hostile encounters with other ships. You can leave your vessel in autopilot and manage your inventory, talk to companions, and more all while edging closer to your destination.
Free Lanes reduces the title’s reliance on menus during spaceflight, granting more role-playing freedom. It then adds more crafting options, extra ship customisation, new collectible action figures, and more to flesh out the gameplay systems that were already there and introduce new ones.
New Game+ also gets some love, a feature the game was already a leader in at release. There are narrative reasons for starting a second playthrough (and beyond), and the Free Lanes update makes one even more viable with devices to bring your gear over.
All these tweaks and add-ons make Starfield its most definitive and comprehensive yet. However, still lacking the connective tissue of Bethesda’s past open worlds, Free Lanes can only do so much to mitigate some of the game’s primary design issues. There’s still little reason to do anything other than fast-track to the objective and get on with the next one; true exploration remains practically non-existent.
Additional weapon mod slots are another part of the Free Lanes update, which feed into the developer’s best combat system to date — the best compliment you can give it is that no kind of VATS feature is needed to make it work.
You’ll kit your astronaut out with a variety of guns and melee weapons, all of which are fully customisable to suit your level. Unlockable powers feed into battles and you can bring your companion with you for further support. The classic Bethesda conversation system returns to let you try and talk your way out of a fight, but should you fail any persuasion checks, then robust combat will finish the job.
The same can be said of Starfield’s visuals and performance: the PS5 version runs smoothly without any of the technical flaws from past Bethesda launches. It’s not perfect; you’ll likely encounter the odd glitch here and there, be it a character standing where they shouldn’t be or items clipping through each other. On the whole, though, Starfield on PS5 is a robust and reliable version of the space opera.
It also looks a little better, too, when compared to the launch edition. Having played the RPG at release on Xbox Series X, what PS5 owners will play boasts sharper and better graphics overall. The flora in New Atlantis has never looked more detailed on a console than now.
Base PS5 users can toggle between a Visuals Mode and Performance Mode, with the former aiming for 30 frames-per-second and the latter doubling the target to 60fps. PS5 Pro owners can go one step further with a Pro Visual Mode, offering a 4K resolution at 30fps, or a Pro Performance Mode with a 60fps target. There’s also a 40fps setting, and PSSR technology is in use.
This is exceptional support that covers all bases a PS5 player — no matter if they’re on the original console or the upgraded system — would want. You even have an extra level of control by being able to manually set the frame rate target yourself.
The PS5 version, as such, is comfortably the best Starfield has ever been on a console.
Yet, it still faces the same problems of old. The experience feels like a Bethesda game in fits and starts, as you move from quest to quest and meet new characters along the way. When you move away from that pace, though, the lack of any worthwhile exploration makes it a struggle to stay invested.
A lot of the pieces of a Bethesda classic are there, but not enough neatly connects them all together. It’s disjointed and stumbles exactly as it seems to have built up a head of steam.
