The wait for Starfield is almost over. After around seven years of development, Bethesda is poised to introduce a new IP to its illustrious catalog, accompanied by a variety of exciting features.
Starfield is Bethesda’s first new franchise in over 25 years, having enjoyed serious success with the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series, and the countdown is well and truly on.
Excitement for Starfield is even higher than before due to the fact the last release from Bethesda Game Studios, Fallout 76 in 2018, was disappointing thanks to the online approach to the game, rather than the single-player narrative that the developer has long been associated with.
Starfield is a return to that style, with no online play available, and the focus is solely on your adventure, how you want to play, and what you want to do—with a variety of exciting features that make it all possible.
Here, I’ve selected the seven features I can’t wait to get my hands on in Starfield.
Character customization
Starfield will feature significantly in-depth character customization, which starts with selecting a preset look from one of 40 options that include various ages, skin tones, hair, and more, which can then be adjusted as you desire.
From body to skin tone, nose to teeth, and plenty more along the way, Starfield’s character customization will allow you to create exactly who you want in the game—and it doesn’t stop there either.
After choosing the look for your character, you can then select a background to help provide a backstory for you to build upon, essentially adding some lore to your character before you dive into the game itself.
Such variety is important to promote inclusiveness, allowing anybody to create the character they want, and the possibility of a blank canvas is extremely enticing.
Related: Starfield character creation: All customization options
Ship building
Starfield’s hands-on approach to creativity does not stop at character creation, however, and instead spans into another significant area of the game to allow you to create the ship of your dreams, then build a powerful fleet.
With modular parts that can be added and removed at will, think of Starfield’s shipbuilding as a Lego set, only without specific designs to follow. Instead, you’re giving all the tools and can work from there, which should result in some extremely creative outcomes.
My head is already spinning with pop-culture references I want to build in the game, from The Razorcrest in The Mandalorian to the Planet Express Ship in Futurama, and my goal is to have my fleet full of easter eggs.
Exploration
Exploring is always one of the best things to do in any Bethesda game, whether it’s trawling up the mountains in Skyrim or venturing through the wasteland in Fallout 4, and Starfield is taking that even further.
Starfield has over 1,000 planets to explore, ranging from worlds with big cities and colonies to planets that are barren and have no life. In total, around 10 percent of Starfield’s planets will have life to find, but all will have something to explore.
We have no idea exactly what each planet has to offer, though we can speculate it might include rare materials, enemies to defeat, quests to complete, and potential base-building locations, and it’s that uncertainty for what is around every corner that makes the game most exciting.
Companions
Traveling across the stars is an adventure that would not be fun to do on your own and, with no multiplayer, you are instead joined by companions who fit a number of roles and can even be assigned particular jobs.
There are over 20 companions who can be recruited in Starfield, who come with a variety of skills and experience, and it’s possible to have a different crew on each ship or assign them somewhere else entirely. Again, it’s a relatively blank slate that is being provided.
It wouldn’t be a Bethesda game without romance, and there’s no surprise that it is a feature that is available. So, if you like, those friendships can become something more, although there’s no news yet on whether you can tie the knot like in Starfield.
Related: Starfield romance and companion options explained
Base building
Remember when I spoke about the sheer amount of planets there are to explore in Starfield? Well, any of them can become your home or can be built into an outpost to provide a regular production of materials and resources.
The building system, like the ship-building, is modular and should be easier to use than other games have been in the past. Each Outpost can be a simple home or a sprawling factory, and it may be possible to build an entire town.
Some parts of character customization also come into play here, as the Dream Home trait comes with a small house on a “peaceful little moon” as well as a 50,000 credit mortgage.
Weapon crafting
Are you sensing a similar theme here? Weapon crafting in Starfield is again a customizable experience, with several parts that can be modified including the muzzle, magazine, and optics.
You’ll be able to add silencers, expand the magazine, or equip special rounds, like explosive or armor-piercing, to create a deadly tool that fits perfectly with your playstyle. If you like the silent approach, great, if you want to make explosions, awesome.
I plan on having an array of different weapons that have strengths in several areas, giving me the perfect tool for any approach I want to make in combat.
Related: Starfield combat: Weapon and mods system, explained
Roleplaying
The best thing about a game like Starfield is, although there is a large story and side missions along the way, how you go about them is completely down to you. While every save starts in the same place, the adventure ahead of you is entirely your choice.
Having experienced the wealth of roleplaying fun in Baldur’s Gate 3, a game that was entirely new to me, I can’t wait to take what I’ve learned and apply it to Starfield, a game I’ve followed the development of closely having sunk many, many hours in previous Bethesda titles.
With Starfield being catered for players to enjoy in many different ways, there’s plenty of replayability, should you choose, although given the vast amount of planets to explore, I may well stick to a single save and devout myself to the life I have chosen.
I’ve already got my eye on the Dream House trait, with the plan to be a former space cop that is now looking to enjoy the quiet life in peace but keeps on getting sucked back into his old ways.
