I’m excited to play Starfield, but that 30fps news took the wind out of my sails

Without sounding like a pompous fool, I have to say that I have a hard time getting excited about a Bethesda game. The last one I enjoyed was Skyrim, and I attribute much of it to receiving it as a gift on the day it was released just as I quit my job and had all the free time in the world.

I’m not going to discuss the merits of Bethesda’s games here, but I’ve always believed that the studio can no longer rely on its old scaling and simulation arguments, not when most major games do a lot of that very well, and see. / run significantly better.

Assassin’s Creed, Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3, The Outer Worlds, just to name a few. All those games are basically derivatives of Bethesda. Open world with light RPG mechanics, lots of dialogue, some good mechanics (either shooting or swordplay), great central narrative, and tons of side content.

I mean, Bethesda games just don’t impress me anymore, which means I only see their flaws when I see them alongside their contemporaries. I can tell you that star field I wasn’t going to change my sentiment towards them, until the 45 minute deep dive the developer showed after Xbox Showcase.

For the first time, I’m looking forward to a Bethesda game. I’m pretty sure it has to do with the sheer volume of fresh ideas and the interesting ways they’re being put into the game. Building a ship, staffing it, flying it into unknown territory, and being free to act in any way you can is something we need more of in the game.

I can board ships instead of flying them. I can land on the surface and deal with problems in person. I can take advantage of the commercial shortage and become a billionaire. All of those possibilities feel tangible, not some of Todd Howard’s hazy aspirations, which is why it’s easy to get caught up in the hype.

But then we got the news that Starfield will be locked to 30fps on Xbox, and I just have to wonder, why? Obviously, the official line is that all the background simulation and visual fidelity (which is honestly not all of that) is the reason. But really, I think it indicates that Bethesda’s technology hasn’t caught up enough with modern games.

One could argue that Bethesda games have always been 30fps on consoles, and I want to stress that 30fps is GOOD. But this being Xbox’s first major AAA mainstream release on its new consoles since Halo Infinite, it should be a miracle not good enough.

Starfield is also much more of an action game than any of Bethesda’s previous projects. There is a lot of shooting, both first person and naval combat. There’s no VATS to rely on here, which makes 30fps even more awkward.

If I play Starfield, it will be on PC, so I’m not as upset as some people about the lack of a performance mode on Xbox. But I also know that the code on PC and console are intertwined, which probably means I can expect the game to work on par with Fallout 4. I mean, it’s okay, but it’s not groundbreaking.

Xbox needs a big win with no compromises. After the Redfall disaster, a game that, by the way, Phil Spencer said would get a 60fps patch, needed a release with no caveats, no stuttering or stuttering. Starfield unfortunately doesn’t seem to be, so we’ll have to wait for next xbox game.