With Bethesda and Microsoft’s flagship space RPG just around the corner, gamers everywhere are desperate to know – is Starfield going to be any good?

As Starfield is so close to release, we will only truly know the answer to that question on release day. However, based on Bethesda’s track record we can get a decent idea of how Starfield may fare at launch.

Below we’re going to go over all the possible reasons why Starfield may be good… and why it may end up being a disappointment.

Is Starfield Going to be a Good Game?

Based on Bethesda’s previous beloved titles and series, there are many reasons to believe that Starfield will be a good game.

Also, as an open ‘world’ space RPG, it has the potential to add something fresh to the genre.

Here are some of the reasons why fans believe Starfield to be the game we’ve all been waiting for.

Todd Howard & Bethesda Game Studios

Starfield will be the first game led by Todd Howard and made by Bethesda Game Studios since Fallout 4. This should please fans who were left disappointed by Redfall and Fallout 76. They were not directed by Howard.

It’s been eight long years since Howard took the helm of one of Bethesda’s big releases. This is a pretty big deal considering he was the director of some of the company’s most successful games.

This is important to know, as Bethesda Game Studios created some of Bethesda’s most beloved games and series. The Elder Scrolls and Fallout to name a few.

Starfield is Made By the Same People that Made Elder Scrolls

Bethesda is certainly no stranger to developing massive groundbreaking RPGs. The Elder Scrolls games are some of the best and most celebrated RPGs ever created. Direct your attention to Morrowind and Oblivion – two beloved RPG classics that revolutionized how RPGs are made.

The most recent Elder Scrolls title, Skyrim, streamlined the experience even further. It became one of Bethesda’s most successful games ever, with countless rereleases and over 60 million copies sold.

If Bethesda can implement the same level of detail to Starfield’s lore and quest design, then fans are probably in for a good time.

Fallout 4 and First-Person Combat

The Fallout series is another beloved Bethesda RPG property, which streamlined first-person combat in its last mainline game, Fallout 4.

Though not everyone may agree on the quality of Fallout 4’s story and quest design, most fans do agree on one thing: the combat felt pretty great.

The combat in the previous game, Fallout 3, was one of the game’s only major criticisms and bottlenecked players to rely on the V.A.T.S mechanic. This led Bethesda to completely overhaul the shooting mechanics in Fallout 4, making it snappier and more responsive.

Based on the gameplay from trailers and the Direct, it seems that Bethesda is putting that experience to good use. The shooting looks as punchy and satisfying as you’d expect. There’s also an extensive combat skill tree, which looks to offer a wide variety of gameplay mechanics to dive into

A Space Exploration Game With Wide Appeal

Starfield is potentially more appealing to a mainstream audience than the more typical space sim. It has the potential to merge the wonderous curiosity of space exploration, with Bethesda’s more traditional set of interconnected questlines and deep lore.

This is much more appealing to a wider audience than other space games. Elite Dangerous and Star Citizen have very deep and complicated mechanics which may put people off. No Man’s Sky is a little lacking in its storytelling.

Starfield may be able to solve both of these issues.

Is Starfield Going to be a Bad Game?

On the other hand, there are plenty of reasons to believe that Starfield could be bad based on Bethesda’s history of bug-riddled games and more recent disappointing releases.

Here are some of the main reasons why some fans believe that Starfield will be a bad game.

The Huge Disappointment of Fallout 76 and Redfall

You’ve only got to look at Fallout 76 and Redfall to see how Bethesda can get it very wrong.

Fallout 76 was Bethesda’s first punt at making a Fallout multiplayer game. Boy, did they mess this one up.

From broken quests, a terrible performance at launch, and more bugs to shake a Nuka-Cola at – it was an embarrassment all around.

The more recent Redfall didn’t fare any better. Its much-anticipated release on Game Pass was met with more bugs, god-awful A.I., and an unengaging gameplay loop.

Many players are worried that Starfield will follow suit. However, fans can take some solace in the fact that Redfall was developed by Arkane, not Bethesda Game Studios.

Also, it has been reported that Todd Howard actually neglected Fallout 76 in favor of Starfield. That’s hopefully some good news for those eagerly waiting to jump into the sprawling space RPG.

Bugs, Bugs, and More Bugs

If there’s one thing Bethesda is known for, it’s the overwhelming amount of bugs and jankiness in its flagship titles.

Almost every single Bethesda release has had some form of bug, from the hilarious and stupid to the downright game-breaking.

There’s little reason to believe that Starfield will be any different, though we hope that it bucks this disappointing trend.

Questionable Performance & Optimization

Shortly after the Starfield Direct in June, Todd Howard confirmed that Starfield will be locked to 30 FPS for both the Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S.

Considering the power of the Series X, this is a little concerning for a modern AAA title. It suggests that significant compromises had to be made to make the game run smoothly.

Given Bethesda’s track record with performance and optimization, this is more than a little concerning.

Lack of Marketing

With how much Microsoft has invested in Bethesda and Starfield, it’s very strange that we have seen and heard so little about the game so close to release.

Sure, the Starfield Direct was fantastic, but with Xbox’s make-or-break release just around the corner, surely we should be seeing a little more than what we were given?

This could either be a sign that Microsoft is confident in Starfield’s mainstream appeal… or that they may be hiding something. With the amount of money in Microsoft’s pocket, a fleshed-out marketing campaign seems like a no-brainer.

Starfield’s lack of marketing is a point of frustration for players who want to see the game succeed:

Only time will tell if Starfield is a good game or not – it could go either way! You can find out for yourself when it releases in Early Access on September 1 and for everyone else on September 6.