Developer Bethesda Softworks is known for its expansive game franchises like Fallout, DOOM, and Elder Scrolls. The developer looks to continue this trend with the upcoming Starfield, a space-themed RPG, which will release on September 6, 2023.
Starfield is the first new universe from Bethesda in 25 years, so fans have high hopes for this new IP. While we already know Starfield will introduce a host of new features and mechanics, we’re also hoping that the action RPG will see the return of much-loved features seen in Bethesda’s previous titles: in particular, 2011’s Skyrim.
Skyrim is an iconic RPG known for its expansive map, various customization options, and the freedom it offers players. But there are several other features, in addition to these, that players hope to see in Starfield.
Freedom and adventure across the open-world
Skyrim offers a seemingly endless open-world experience due to its expansive map. It doesn’t matter how much you explore the world because you’ll always find something new, like a Delve or chests, which are excellent incentives for exploring.
This is a feature that should be incorporated into Starfield. While completing the main questline is fun, exploring the world and discovering new things, like ruins, or maybe in Starfield’s case, a lost race or an abandoned spacecraft, keeps RPG enthusiasts entertained and immersed in the world.
While it isn’t yet known how extensive the Starfield world will be, Bethesda has said that the action-RPG will offer players a lot of freedom in their exploration across the stars.
Crafting weapons, potions, and items
Whether it’s weapons, armor, potions, or tinctures, you can craft most of the items you need in Skyrim. And if you need a recipe, you can often buy them from NPCs, as quest rewards, or from exploring the world around you.
If you enjoy brewing potions and being a mad scientist, you can craft them at one of the tables. But what makes this process fun is that each ingredient has different properties, so when combined with other ingredients, you may get something unique or unexpected.
This feature in Starfield would entice players to explore the open world for ingredients and try different combinations to see the results. And it would be fun to craft your weapons, weapon mods, and items. Extensive crafting features offer a more immersive experience, allowing players to tailor their gear and items to suit their playstyle, personality, and preferences.
Extensive modding community
Since its launch in 2011, Skyrim has been the subject of many mods, with an entire database dedicated to Skyrim mods on the Bethesda website. These mods cover art textures, updates, graphics enhancements, and meme-worthy pop culture changes.
While it may take some time for mods to hit Starfield, it would be great to see some officially supported mods or another mod database for the game on the Bethesda website. This will help create a more interactive and customizable game that will help keep players coming back.
And mods can also enhance the game or fix features or bugs that developers cannot get to immediately.
Vast character customization
One of the best features of Skyrim is the character customization. At the start of the game, you can choose your character’s race, sex, skin tone, weight, complexion, eye color, hair color, hairstyles, and more. Once you’ve chosen these physical characteristics, you can pick a class to suit your gameplay style.
We would love to see these extensive character customization options in Starfield, as it would make the game more enticing—and it looks like that’s exactly what we’re getting. The official Starfield gameplay reveal trailer provides a glimpse at how vast the character customization will be.
Some features include traits, roles, backgrounds, and skill systems, meaning players can create a character that truly represents themselves or who they want to play.
Additional content with unique questlines
In Skyrim, there are several additional content options for players to enjoy, with some of the more popular being the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild. Each has unique quests, rewards, and a storyline that provides a fascinating look at the world.
In Starfield, having features like this would help create a more immersive and interactive world. Whether there’s a questline to become a Bounty Hunter or maybe a Starry Assassin, it would be great to have content like this as well because it would offer additional content to keep players enjoying the game. And it would offer exclusive items that only those progressing through the questlines can enjoy and skill lines for players to customize their character further.
An unforgiving morality system
In Skyrim, you receive a bounty if you do something wrong, like stealing or killing in front of others. And if a guard catches you, you must pay a fine, give up your stolen goods, or you may be killed, depending on the situation.
Having a morality system in Starfield would be great because your actions would matter. So, if you were to steal a ship or kill an alien, you’d be punished for it. So, long as you weren’t seen.
This feature would add a layer of complexity to how players enjoy Starfield, and it would be another choice that players get to make. And being able to make your own decisions and follow your own path is one of the best things about open-world RPGs with morality systems.
Unique and interesting NPCs
The NPCs in Skyrim are funny, unique, and engaging. If you talk with them, they will often give you a piece of their mind, tell you off, or they’re entirely outlandish. Some characters are so odd that they’re unforgettable and appear throughout the Elder Scrolls franchise, like Sheogorath, The Prince of Madness.
Players would interact with NPCs more to learn about these characters and their lives. And having NPCs like this in Starfield would would help strengthen a player’s affinity to the world and the characters.
There are so many great features in Skyrim, such as a vast open world, mods, and entertaining NPCs, that would be great to see in Starfield to make it an enticing and compelling game.
