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Bethesda’s games are well known for their dense narratives and thorough gameplay mechanics. Considering their latest game has spent nearly 8 years in development, it seems likely that Starfield is going to benefit from this same level of breadth. However, often with games as huge as this, there’s a lot of room for error. Cyberpunk, for example, had an insanely anticipated launch which was severely undercut by underwhelming performance and game-breaking bugs. However, the Starfield developers have reassured fans that they are leaving no stone un-turned ahead of the launch.
Todd Howard, alongside a host of other Bethesda staff including production director Andrew Scharf, lead animator Rick Vicens and studio director Angela Browder were all cited in an interview with GQ revealing their anticipation for the upcoming space opera RPG. Alongside hints of a form of new game plus, Todd Howard revealed that the whole development team at Bethesda is still “checking under every rock,” which can roughly be translated as the team is playing the game, “day in, day out.” Todd Howard’s mantra, according to GQ, is that “great games are played, not made,” which is especially hopeful.
Amid a slew of AAA-games released with uncomfortable performance and game-breaking glitches – see The Last of Us Part 1 for PC and Final Fantasy 16 for reference – it’s refreshing to see a development team investing a wealth of time and resources into polishing off the game ahead of the release. The reality is that first impressions matter, and too many games are put out into the open with paper over the cracks. Most games are deemed unplayable without a day one patch, which isn’t something that consumers should have to deal with.
Starfield was originally scheduled for a 2022 release, before being pushed back to the end of this year to ensure that the best possible game was released. There’s one particular line from the interview that has filled me with hope. Here’s how lead animator Rick Vicens responded when asked if they would release it today:
“F*** yeah.”
