Is Starfield value returning to for Shattered Area?

In 2023, Bethesda Game Studios‘ Starfield launched with a lukewarm reception on Xbox and PC. It is the primary new IP developed by Bethesda in 25 years, and acted as a wrench thrown into the machine that created intricate and interesting tales throughout the Elder Scrolls and Fallout collection. Starfield was poised to be bold and bold, and whereas I usually loved the expertise, it is laborious for me to argue that it was the colossal increase for Western RPGs that Skyrim once was. Nonetheless, the new Shattered Space DLC was an opportunity to return to the sport and step right into a world of recent content material and quality-of-life updates.

After 50 or so hours, I walked away from the Milky Approach galaxy late final yr. I used to be content material with my time after rolling credit and experiencing a portion of the surprisingly enriching endgame content material. Nonetheless, I by no means took the time to expertise all the things that got here from the key replace again in Might, which added floor maps, expanded planet boundaries, and extra. In August, Starfield additionally added the Rev-8 land car, enhancing planetary traversal. Then got here the Shattered Area story enlargement — so it felt like the proper storm for me to dive again down the Starfield nicely.

So, did I get what I hoped for, or are some stones higher left unturned?

Shattered Area has compelling bones for a 12-hour expertise

With a give attention to exploration of a sole planet, give attention to the mysteries behind a non secular cult

Shattered Area was an anticipated content material drop for me, because it was the excuse I wanted to reinstall the sport on my Xbox Collection X. Returning to the sport I genuinely loved final yr, I needed to retrain my mind’s each second for the primary couple of hours. Because the captain of the Starborn Guardian, I acquired a misery name from a big starstation often called The Oracle. Upon docking and discovering it had no gravity to talk of, I started operating by way of the gauntlet to acclimate myself to the sport.

Shattered Area focuses on one of many sport’s major spiritual sects, often called the Va’ruun religion. Worshipping the Nice Serpent, gamers are taken on a quest to find the internal workings of this faith and the way the communities of Va’ruun’kai are managed. All through, Shattered Area reveals unusual and haunting anomalies that seem, representing horrors and maddened civilians of Va’ruun’kai. Your complete narrative expertise takes roughly 12 to fifteen hours to finish, and the setting is by and enormous the best feat by Bethesda Recreation Studios’ artwork division within the sport. With a smattering of heat fuschias and shiny blues portray the sky, I could not assist however be enamored whereas enjoying on my OLED TV.

The story enlargement takes on a little bit of a horror tone with area ghosts showing all through missions — good timing with Halloween proper across the nook. With a lackluster array of recent weapons at my disposal, I went up in opposition to new horrors within the type of Vortex-powered members of Home Va’ruun and Vortex Horrors. There are some outright scary moments in Shattered Area, particularly should you’re enjoying with a pleasant pair of headphones, and my time spent on the Oracle felt very claustrophobic at instances. Sure areas on Va’ruun’kai can even really feel such as you’re remoted in a sea the place something can pop up.

Shattered Area goes heavy on lore, however various ranges of participant selection

I will be unhealthy, however does it even matter?

Having a wealthy, drawn-out narrative beat going down in Starfield ought to really feel like a bonafide win. At launch, Starfield was criticized for creating hundreds of procedurally generated planets however missing partaking content material.

To keep away from being as huge as an ocean however deep as a puddle, Shattered Area takes place solely on Va’ruun’kai. Over 12 hours or so, Va’ruun’kai turns into much more of a personality throughout the story than every other planet within the sport — it feels distinctive with extra to see and do all through the enlargement. A lot so that in the whole DLC, I by no means as soon as left. Nonetheless, as quickly as I wrapped up the core narrative, Va’ruun’kai would not actually provide a lot else. There are some retailers and a few smaller POIs, however nothing makes me need to exist on the planet as a member of Home Va’ruun.

One of many facets of Starfield that I will proceed praising Bethesda Recreation Studios for is its potential to craft deep and interesting lore. The Va’ruun spiritual governance is launched through the base sport, however Shattered Area is an opportunity to discover the theocratic cult. The enlargement covers lots of attention-grabbing story beats, with typical Bethesda selections peppered all through. There is a critical quantity of participant company in how sure missions play out — to a various diploma.

Nonetheless, all this being mentioned, you are compelled to make key selections whether or not or not they suit your character. Stripping away the RP from the RPG, Shattered Area principally holds everything of the narrative hostage until you agree to affix Home Va’ruun. So, should you’ve spent 100 hours roleplaying as a personality who opts out of any type of religion, you are a bit out of luck in terms of Shattered Area.

Nonetheless, maintaining in step with the darker tone of the narrative, the DLC enables you to be much more evil than the bottom sport. Serving or disobeying the Nice Serpent deity, there’s an opportunity to both play with the Aristocracy or act as a diabolical jerk. In a single occasion, you are chosen to assist prepare a twin between disputing brothers. I discovered myself with the choice to tranquillize each brothers, successfully disarming them through the twin. Nonetheless, I might choose to disregard the pleas to take action or render one motionless, handing victory over to the opposite. Regardless of all of the minor selections all through the storyline, as soon as I used to be requested to align myself with one of many Va’ruun homes, I used to be pretty disinterested as none of them stood out to me in any significant sense.

Starfield feels extra optimized a yr faraway from launch

With high quality of life enhancements and a brand new type of traversal, Starfield feels higher to play

Bethesda Recreation Studios

This may occasionally look like a “no duh” second for anybody who’s caught with Starfield over these previous 12 months. Nonetheless, as a reinstituted fan, I am fairly delighted by the enhancements Bethesda Recreation Studios have made to the sport. In Might, the group dropped its largest replace on the time. Primarily based on an outpour of neighborhood suggestions, Starfield now helps up to date floor maps with present factors of curiosity obtainable to see. There have additionally been tweaks made to hold capability, ship stock programs, customization inside ships, and extra. All of this permits for Starfield to really feel extra like a full-fledged Bethesda sport quite than one which hobbled with one leg tied to the opposite resulting from over-ambition.

The Rev-8 land vehicle is a game changer for traversal. Planetary exploration was a chore within the base sport when exploring exterior metropolis hubs. The Rev-8 handles much like the Halo Warthog, has a mounter turret for fight and a reasonably candy booster system to hit jumps. As it’s Bethesda’s first try at making a land car, it is nonetheless a bit janky to make use of. Nonetheless, for getting from one aspect of a map to the opposite, this can be a step in the best route. The introduction of Rev-8 addresses one of many core ache factors of the sport, which was uninteresting traversal after you land your ship. Starfield’s ambition is spectacular when wanting on the star map. However strolling on the floor of every planet, I ask myself “Why am I doing this?” The land car makes me neglect to even take into account it.

From a efficiency standpoint, Starfield runs objectively higher. The sport now affords much more body fee targets, together with 30, 40, 60 and uncapped body choices. Nonetheless, it is the VRR mode that, if obtainable, is the best choice. It is comprehensible, given the scope of the sport, that Bethesda needed to make concessions, launching with solely 30fps on console. Nonetheless, the studio has proven a formidable quantity of willpower. This ends in a way more fluid expertise on console.​​​​​​​

Does Shattered Area and updates transfer the needle for Starfield?

Starfield had such massive sneakers to fill, it is laborious to position it on the identical pedestal as Elder Scrolls

Bethesda Recreation Studios

I am at the moment coming as much as the 70-hour mark in Starfield. I have been enraptured by a number of the sport’s lore, the character tales, and true moments of exploration within the Shattered Area DLC, and it is these aspects that make Bethesda Recreation Studios stand out within the western RPG market. Shattered Area is way extra targeted on cohesion, making the DLC a must-play for these wanting extra tales inside this universe. That is even regardless of some concluding occasions falling flat for me.

Aside from that, Starfield’s high quality of life modifications and system updates have improved the moment-to-moment expertise. Nonetheless, should you’ve been turned off by the barrage of loading screens, restricted distinctive objects and loot, or rewarding exploration — you may seemingly have the identical opinions immediately. Starfield: Shattered Area is extra of the identical sport I performed in 2023. Solely a bit extra refined, however nonetheless imperfect — which is sufficient for me.