Summary
Starfieldgives players a seemingly major choice between supporting one of the game’s two major factions, but unique dialogue reveals the choice isn’t as impactful as it might seem. Not only does the choice turn out to not have serious repurcussions, but the lack of major consequences for it serves to undermineStarfield’s narrative. This can leave some players feeling cheated, like theirchoices inStarfielddon’t matter.
Respecting player choice is always an important aspect of an RPG. The backlash to theoriginalMass Effecttrilogy’s endingis one of the clearest examples of what happens when players feel their choices ultimately don’t matter. ThisStarfieldchoice has a very similar feeling to it, asits lack of impact serves to take players out of the game due to its absurd logic.
“An Instant Classic”: Starfield Review
Starfield has plenty of captivating tales and dynamic mechanics that make it an epic science fiction adventure - and an instant classic.
Siding With The Crimson Fleet Doesn’t Stop The UC From Commending Players
The President Of The UC Still Rewards Players For Quests Even After Openly Fighting Against Them
After securing Kryx’s Legacy, players are given a choice of whether to give it to UC SysDef or the Crimson Fleet. When making the choice, the game even tells players thatthis choice will determine which of the warring factions the player is pledging their allegiance to. This would seemingly indicate that, by siding with the Crimson Fleet, players would no longer be able to work with the UC. However, players will barely receive a slap on the wrist from the UC for killing huge numbers of their people.
YouTuberA Bearded Gamershowed off some of the unique dialogue from UC NPCs if the player sides with the Crimson Fleet. Instead of condemning the player or refusing to work with them, the conversation carries out largely the same as it would otherwise, just with a few vague allusions to the player’s betrayal of the UC. Funnily enough,the player can still receive a promotion to Class One Citizen from the UC from the president of the UC herself despite having openly fought against themin favor of the Crimson Fleet.
The Lack Of Consequences For This Choice Is Indicative Of Bethesda’s Worst Habits
Bethesda Is Afraid Of Players Missing Out On Content At The Expense Of Story
What’s frustrating about these bits of unique dialogue is thatit shows Bethesda has the capacity to account for player choice in their narrative, but simply chooses not to have it make a big impact. This is a trend that is frequently seen in the developer’s RPG titles. The company seems far more concerned with not locking players out of specific in-game content than it is with the integrity of the game’s narrative.
Successful RPGs likeBaldur’s Gate 3have proven that players will embrace impactful choices, even if they significantly alter the story’s trajectory. These types of choices also improve the replayability of a game, as players will want to go back and see the big differences that these choices can make. Ironically, thoughStarfieldincludes an in-universe explanation for its New Game Plus, there is little reason for players to revisit the story, as many of their choices won’t create major differences in the experience.
