Starfield made its appearance at Sunday’s Xbox showcase with an extended gameplay demo. Along with some of the action, the scope of the sci-fi RPG was on display: More than 1,000 planets across 100 systems will be fully explorable when the game comes out in 2023.
In the reveal, players land on the moon of Kreet. Alien life like the Kreet Stalker roam around and don’t appear to be hostile. A facility used by pirates is in view, and here is where the gunplay action begins. Guns have a traditional feel with machine guns and shotguns. Players can use a jetpack to fly short distances, and there’s a lockpicking mechanic, a common element in Bethesda games.
Constellation is the last group of space explorers, and the players can join them to learn more about certain artifacts. These artifacts are found all across the galaxy and give visions to those who get their hands on them.
Players will have to contend against pirates and alien life to learn more. Starfield has extensive player creation options with backgrounds and optional traits that have their own pros and cons. Skills can be learned and leveled up throughout the game. Players can also build their own outposts and even hire characters to keep them up and running. Spaceships can be built, customized and run by a crew hired by the player. Ships are pilotable, and each will have its own feel and weapon options.
On Monday, Bethesda tweeted how player characters won’t have any spoken lines and will remain mute throughout the game.
“Yes, dialogue in @StarfieldGame is first person and your character does not have a voice,” the developer tweeted.
The sci-fi RPG is the first new franchise from Bethesda in 25 years and was originally slated to be released this year. Bethesda delayed the game, which happened to many other games because of the pandemic.