Or more accurately, Fallout in space.

I bought this at a rather large discount, more curious as to the hubbub than actually expecting disaster. In the simplest of terms, Starfield is one of the better Bethesda games in a very long time, but still less than what was pitched.

I’ll hit the bad stuff first, as it’s a somewhat short list. 

• Yes, there are way too many loading screens, especially those relating to your ship. Learn to use the fast travel option.
• Yes, there are game breaking bugs. I crashed to desktop numerous times, had to reload saves, had everything turn hostile for no reason, quests didn’t work, the Bethesda regular stuff. But, there was less of it than I expected. (The bug where you can’t unlock more powers is gamebreaking and has no fix aside from a console command.) 
• Yes, the game has an absolutely stupid and archaic view on inventory management. Infuriatingly dumb. 
• Yes, the game is complicated rather than complex. Ship building and Outposts (only practical reason is for a bounty terminal) are way too complicated for their own good. Ship stealth is a standout of complicated with no purpose.
• This is a bespoke universe, it is not infinite, it is not random, and 99% of it is empty. This is NOT No Man’s Sky. That means a lot of repetition (Temple puzzles in particular are a lost opportunity.)

And really, that’s about it. There are many more good things here.

• The story line is quite good. 
• The faction quests are generally well thought out (Ryujin excepted).
• There are some very well thought out side quests (I like the concept of Starseed)
• Combat controls are much, much improved. Much. 
• Ship combat works well enough, and with the proper skills, feels generally powerful.
• Levels matter.
• Some space powers are quite cool to use.
• Companion AI is pretty decent. The voice work is really well done!
• The game looks quite good. I found myself at quite a few times just stopping to enjoy the planets or towns.
• Terrormorphs are a really cool idea (Red Dwarf flashbacks) that could have been more present.
• The sense of exploration is there for a good dozen hours or so. Quests randomly pop up based on conversations you hear.
• There was clearly a lot of passion put into world building. Things make sense and aren’t randomly placed. Lore is generally meaningful.

Overall, I’d say there’s about 20-30 hours total of content here, if you’re looking to complete the core content + factions, which I would recommend. The Crimson Fleet one in particular was a ton of fun.

I found zero joy in ship building (this sounds crazy, but Kingdom Hearts 2 has a much better system). The concept is cool, in that you can explore what you’ve built – but the practical part is that you never will because of the mass of loading screens.

Outposts are a mixed bag. I think the idea itself is somewhat sound, but the implementation of too many material types and sub-steps (nearly 90) makes this more complicated than need be. Finding the material is enough of a challenge, getting it from one planet to another is a bonkers logistical, where it’s a 1:1 cargo link. So let’s say you have a main base, and a half dozen mining outposts (which is still low ball). You need a cargo link on each of those outpost (fine), then you need another cargo link for each on the main hub (so 6 in this case). What? I was sure I was doing it wrong trying to connect just 3 together, and simply gave up. No Man’s Sky does it infinitely better.

Is there as much staying power here as in say, Skyrim? I honestly, cannot see that. Is it innovative? It’s Fallout 4 in space (so no) and the piece it tries to innovate (ships & outposts) are done better elsewhere. Is it good? Yes, but not to the point where I’d recommend buying it at full price. Then again, it’s a rare feat for me to recommend any AAA game at full price. Not worth the hype, but also not meriting the hate.