Recording summary · September 2023
DO NOT BUY Starfield - Very Disappointing...
AI-generated reading aids, not verified accounts.
These summaries describe what appears in the transcripts. A speaker’s claims are not established facts, and transcription or speaker-label errors can carry through. Check the linked transcripts and original recordings for context.
Months and years group recording metadata—not necessarily when an event happened. Undated recordings remain separate.
Read this recording’s transcript →
Overview
Daniel played Bethesda's release Starfield after paying an expensive early access fee, but found it bland, boring, and uninspired relative to its massive hype.
Starfield suffers from severe performance drops, frequent loading screens, repetitive combat, and dull environments compared to Cyberpunk 2077 and No Man's Sky, resulting in a 6.2 out of 10 score and a recommendation against buying early access.
Themes
Technical performance and hardware struggles, including frame drops down to 10 FPS on a Razer Blade Pro gaming laptop with an RTX 3060 and Core i7 despite using low settings.
Frequent loading screens, animations, and menu navigation when traveling between planets or entering buildings, contrasted with seamless travel in No Man's Sky.
Visual design, city hub environments, and barren planets compared to Night City in Cyberpunk 2077, along with janky ragdoll physics glitches.
Ground combat, Bethesda engine jankiness, lack of gore or cybernetics compared to Cyberpunk 2077, and dissatisfaction with lock-on space combat.
Overall assessment, a score of 6.2 out of 10, recognition of complex crafting and skill systems, and advice against paying extra for early access.
Developments
Daniel purchased the Premium Edition early access upgrade of Starfield for approximately £131 or $189.
Daniel played Starfield for nearly an entire day on low settings using a 17-inch Razer Blade Pro gaming laptop.
Uncertainties & gaps
Whether upcoming game patches will arrive in time to resolve performance issues before Daniel finishes playing Starfield.
Whether Starfield had been in development for 15 or nearly 20 years.