While I had put around 25 hours intoStarfieldafter it found last September , I had n’t revisited Bethesda ’s challenging sci - fi RPG in about a year . When theShattered Spaceexpansionwas free on Monday , I was excited to finally have a worthwhile reason to pass over back in and reevaluate the secret plan . I was happy to discover thatShattered Spaceleans into some of the best aspects ofStarfield , namely very handcrafted subject matter , even if this expansion ca n’t get away the rocky foundation that it feel like this RPG has lived on .
The play biotic community has not beennearly as kind toStarfieldas it was to previous Bethesda RPGs likeThe Elder Scrolls quintet : SkyrimandFallout 4 . The stem game ’s overreliance on adjective coevals and deficiency of polish are to blame . If the former was your vainglorious problem , then you might actually enjoy a lot ofShattered Space . If the latter bothered you more , tattered Spacewon’t do anything to gain you back . I ’m beaming I render to Bethesda ’s sci - fi universe of discourse one more time , but I ’m not sure I ’ll stick around .
Starfield, one year later
Jumping right intoShattered Space’sstoryline is quite the moth-eaten plunge if you ’ve been out of the loop for a while . This expansion focuses on the religious House Va’ruun faction and the lore that comes with it . The public figure and references to events that took place centuries before the event ofStarfield‘s narration were a lot to take in at first , but after a while , I settled in and happen myself enjoying this DLC ’s tale . That was thanks to some gist potency thatStarfieldhas always had .
Handcrafted narrative moments and writing are often the good feature of speech of Bethesda ’s RPGs , and I thought the same was true forStarfield’sbase biz . I like itsmultiversal twistsand grew to genuinely care for the members of Constellation I spent a lot of fourth dimension with . Yes , House Va’ruun tie into some jolly complex traditional knowledge , but it ’s flesh out in an engaging and well - write way that only a premiere RPG developer could accomplish .
The downside toStarfield’sbase game is that it often pull participant aside from those handcraft minute for procedurally generate planet that need more of an individuality . Traveling is also primarily done in menus in a game all about exploring the universe . Starfieldis at the same time Bethesda ’s most expansive and most restrictive game . One year by and by , that ’s all still true of the base secret plan , even with some helpful additions like city map and a vehicle to drive around planet on .
Starfieldis not as bad as its reputation might make you believe , but it ’s also not as good as Bethesda ’s previous workplace . Shattered Spacedidn’t do as much to dispel that whimsy as it did to reaffirm it .
Shattered Space at its best
InShattered Space , a House Va’ruun science experiment has gone incorrect , resulting in many of its masses turn into phantoms that shift between realities . While the adventure get down on a space place where all of the Va’ruun crowd has either been killed or transformed , the meat of the expansion take lieu on the faction ’s home major planet of Va’Ruun’kai and the urban center of Dazra . It ’s a monolithic questline full of political and religious machination .
Across the independent quests and all of its sidequests , Shattered Spaceis very interested in explore the power dynamic of politics , faith , family , and how those impact our attitude toward others . It has a touch of horror for fans of media like Alien , but it ’s still filled with some bountiful set piece and declamatory combat brush . As soon as I started it , I find attached to seeing this questline through to the conclusion and became nearly intimate with Va’Ruun’kai by the end ofShattered Space .
That ’s because Va’Ruun’kai does n’t feel like it ’s cut from the same textile as most ofStarfield‘s other planet . Its pink - purple hues , gravity - defy energy bubble , and distinct habitant with unique tattoos and haircuts make Va’Ruun’kai one of the best planets in the entire game . My pet earth inStarfield’smain seeking were the unity where Bethesda applied a more personal , creative signature , so it ’s no surprise that an expansion fully committed to that pays off .
It adds credence to the idea thatStarfieldmay have been better had Bethesda concentrate on flesh out a smaller number of major planet rather than procedurally generating hundreds of them . Bethesda is at its best when it guides musician along a thought - provoking questline in a handcrafted fashion , andShattered Spacereaffirms that . It ’s disappointing that this expansion does n’t take a novel fellow traveller or biz - change gameplay system with it , but I ’m content with getting more of the good parts ofStarfield .
Shattered Space at its worst
Of of course , all that in force come with some bad . Shattered Spacecircumvents one fatal fault , but it ca n’t patch up all of the RPG ’s problem . While the relatively new performance manner is appreciated on Xbox Series X and Va’Ruun’kai is a visually stunning planet , Creation Engine 2 still struggles to run at a ordered frame rate and ca n’t keepStarfieldfrom feeling like it ’s falling apart at its boundary .
Visual and gameplay glitches still crop up every 10 minute of play or so . Some are funny , like the one pictured above , where Sarah is lop into story geometry during a conversation . Others are more frustrative , like a premium - refer glitch that made Dazra guards bourgeon me on good deal with no way to stop over it after I accidentally dispatch someone with my Rev-8 fomite . With that effect , Starfieldgave me a literal reason to not revisit Va’Ruun’kai after I finishedShattered Space’smain missions , which is a actual shame .
I was also disappointed with the deficiency of consequence for some of the narrative ’s events . Without cut into into looter , some choices late in the DLC feel like they should have monolithic ramifications on the rest of the game , but they do n’t . Similarly , outside of some arm and armor , there ’s not that much that feels like it would play back into the main account ofStarfield . In some ways , it ’s dear thatShattered Spaceis this ego - contain , but it also give me the feeling thatStarfieldwould hang apart had Bethesda tried to give it even more connective tissue to the base plot .
As an enlargement concentrate on one in - depth questline on a single planet , Shattered Spacedelivers . If you ’ve been look for a cause to reelect toStarfieldlike I was , playingShattered Spacewon’t feel like wasted time . Just know that it ’s not a radical reinvention ofStarfieldthat will change minds or a must - play even if you do n’t manage about this new sci - fi universe Bethesda created .
Starfield : Shattered Spaceis available now on PC or Xbox Series X / S. It can be purchased on its own or as part ofStarfield‘s Premium Edition .
