Ola, everybody, let’s talk about Starfield because this will probably be the RPG that we will play for the next decade or until The Elder Scrolls 6 comes out. But there is light at the end of the tunnel as Bethesda has announced that the game will be released in September this year.
That is some god damn amazing news. And to top it all off, Stearfield will also have a presentation in June this year.. So, to quench your and my thirst for more Starfield, I’ll be taking a look at some of the coolest gameplay features that are coming to the game.
Since this is a huge and ambitious project, there are a lot of new and innovative gameplay features that we haven’t seen in other games before. All of these features sound cool as heck on paper, but let’s hope that the dev team at Bethesda knows how to implement them into the game. So with that in mind, let’s go and take a look at some of the announced and confirmed gameplay features that are coming to the game.
10. Lock Picking Gameplay Feature
“My precious!”
Do you want to be a space loot goblin and get everything for yourself that is in your vicinity? If you do, then you can roleplay as a loot goblin because, why the hell not? But to get to that precious loot and acquire it for yourself, you’ll have to bypass some locks, and what better way than a sci-fi lock-picking mini-game?
Of course, lock-picking is a gameplay feature in many other games as well, but it hasn’t been done in a way like this. It’s some kind of futuristic way to break into a lock and acquire those goods for yourself. But the most unique part of this is how you go about unlocking the container to get all of the loot for yourself.
How It Works: https://youtu.be/i_di9XGOi2k?t=389
9. A Whole Universe To Explore
“So many places but so little time.”
Before I begin, let me state that you’ll be able to explore the whole universe that Starfield has to offer. The whole space will be your little playground. The most fun part about this is that you will be able to discover different planets and find different resources on them that you might need. You’ll also be able to build an outpost on different planets, but I’ll touch on that later.
A fun fact about this huge amount of planets that you can explore is the potential for mods and DLC areas. Another fun fact bros, is that there will be different galaxies that you can explore and each galaxy will have at least 10 planets. Todd Howard has confirmed there will be 100 galaxies and over 1000 planets in total. It’s safe to say that you won’t run out of content while playing Starfield. Let’s just hope that it’s not repetitive.
How It Works: https://youtu.be/i_di9XGOi2k?t=887
8. Resource Gathering
“DWARF BROS! GET YOUR PICKAXES, IT’S TIME TO MINE!”
Now, since resources will play a larger role in the game and will be required in almost everything, logically, the devs will implement a gameplay feature to gather them in a sci-fi way. In the game, you’ll be able to find ore veins around planets, and you’ll be able to gather them with a sci-fi laser pickaxe. If you wanted to roleplay as a space dwarf you’ll be able to.
I am pretty sure that resources will play a much bigger role in crafting, especially if you want to upgrade or customize your ship, which is quite ideal and nice as it pushes you toward exploring different planets to find specific ores that you might need. It gives the incentive to stray off the main story and wander off into different corners of space.
How It Works: https://youtu.be/i_di9XGOi2k?t=302
7. Jetpack
“Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's an astronaut.”
What? A freaking jet pack? Seriously? God damn, I can’t wait to use it and traverse over the planets. I just hope that we get it early on in the game; otherwise, I’m going to be a little bit pissed off. The only other time that I remember having fun with a jetpack and using it a lot is in GTA: San Andreas and that was a goddamn decade ago.
A lot of devs nowadays are focusing on a grappling hook but people jetpacks are the way to go! Just imagine if they added a jetpack to Halo Infinite instead of a grappling hook. How much fun that would have been! Now a fun fact about this jet pack is that it’s going to come in very handy while exploring planets and will allow you for a quicker and easier traversal because some planets will have a lot of mountains or weird terrain that you just won’t be able to get across on foot.
How It Works: https://youtu.be/i_di9XGOi2k?t=428
6. Outpost Building
“This is my planet now.”
Now we have been introduced to this gameplay feature in a previous Bethesda game, Fallout 4. In that game, it was quite vast, and I spent a lot of time building my settlements and decorating them. From what we have seen in the gameplay, they have upgraded the feature and made it better and easier. They remade it with some quality-of-life changes and added different camera options so you can check out your outpost from above.
A fun fact about this gameplay feature is that you can build an outpost on almost any planet that you find, and you can also survey a planet before you decide to build your outpost. If it seems like a suitable place for you to live in you can build an outpost and place your items on it. Because let’s be real, everyone here is going to be collecting weapons and armor that we think we will use but actually, we will place them in a chest and forget that it even exists.
How It Works: https://youtu.be/i_di9XGOi2k?t=676
5. Ship Building
“Where the hell does this thing go?”
Okay, so this is a brand new gameplay feature that we haven’t seen in any Bethesda game to date. You’ll be able to build and customize your spaceship however you like! But the catch is that you’ll need a ton of materials to do so, some upgrades will probably be locked behind a skill point and some factions will have specific upgrades or customizations.
A fun fact about this is that you can make your spaceship however you like. If you want it to be a battleship, you can do that, or if you want it to be a mining rig, you can probably do that too. That all depends on your imagination and what you currently need.
How It Works: https://youtu.be/i_di9XGOi2k?t=717
4. Spaceship Battles
“Ready the guns!”
Now, what better way to test out your ship that you spent hours building than by leading it into a spaceship battle? That is the only true way to know if something that you build will work and if it makes any damn sense. On top of that, countless pirate ships will try to take your loot and probably kill you in the process.
Just imagine you looted a planet and want to go back to your outpost, but you get caught off guard by a rogue pirate fleet, and an epic spaceship battle ensues! Doesn’t that sound like fun? Because that’s what fun sounds like to me! Also, a fun fact about spaceships is that you will have complete control over them, and all of the control will be in your hands.
How It Works: https://youtu.be/i_di9XGOi2k?t=783
3. Vast Dialogue System
“I am a man of a few words, I let my guns do the talking.”
This is probably the best dialogue system that we will get. It offers a ton of choices, and if you want to go the pacifist route, you can. Of course, you don’t have to, you can just tell everyone to f off and let your weapons do all the talking. In the end, it all depends on you and how you want to play the game. If you’re someone who enjoys talking to NPCs and doing something that doesn’t involve violence, this is perfect for you.
A neat fact about this dialogue system is that it will also affect how your companions react to you. If you have a companion who loves violence but you’re taking a pacifist route, they won’t like you that much, and vice versa. Also, a pretty great thing about this dialogue system is that the game has over 250,000+ dialogue lines alone which are way bigger than in any other Bethesda game to date.
How It Works: https://youtu.be/Jn4qU0SRIQY?t=4
2. Unique Faction Feature
“We aren’t the bad guys here. Trust us.”
You already know that Starfield is probably the most ambitious game that’s coming out this year and that the devs are trying their best to bring us the most immersive experience about space exploration. One major thing about Starfield is that it will have a lot of different factions that you can join with a unique gameplay feature. That feature allows every faction to progress through the story along with the player without you joining that faction.
Do you know how in previous Bethesda games the factions only progress through the story if the player is doing their quest line? That's a thing of the past now. No more is the player the cog for everything. When you join one faction, the other factions will also get stronger and better; they won’t be waiting on the player to start their quest lines so they can have an impact on the story.
That is a unique gameplay feature that I can’t wait to see how they have implemented. It gives off a vibe of being lived in and that the whole game doesn’t revolve around you only. This new faction gameplay feature, along with the new dialogue system and choices, is going to be a huge reason to replay the game over and over again, as every playthrough will be different.
How It Works: Sadly there isn’t any gameplay showcase of this feature as it was only confirmed by the devs that it’s in the game.
1. Character Creation
“It’s time to build that character!”
And the best and coolest gameplay feature that’s coming to Starfield has to be the character creation menu. Bethesda has outdone itself on this one. This character creation menu is the best one we have seen in recent years when it comes to AAA RPG games. Not only can you choose your traits and perks, but you can also choose your background, your story, and perhaps your life path and where you want to start.
There are countless starting skills to choose from and you can build your character however you want the only thing that’s your limit is your imagination. Additionally, you’ll also be able to create your character and pick how you want to look in the game. If, for whatever reason, you aren’t satisfied with those options, just install some mods when they come out, and that problem is solved. That’s what I did for Skyrim and Fallout 4.
How It Works: https://youtu.be/i_di9XGOi2k?t=610
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