Starfield Gameplay Is Being Panned Over Its Graphics

Oh we do like a good moan, don't we? Bethesda and Microsoft are fuelling up their rockets and getting ready to take flight with Starfield. While it's sometimes felt like we've been marooned in space waiting for our first look at the Starfield gameplay, the latest Microsoft showcase finally delivered.

Bethesda already has an acclaimed legacy thanks to turning out titles like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, however, Starfield will be the first since the developer was bought by Microsoft. Although Starfield will release in 2023 as a massive Xbox exclusive, some corners of the Twitterverse think it could do with a little longer in the oven. 

Is The Starfield Gameplay That Bad?

We got a full 15 minutes of Starfield gameplay that showed off everything from character creators to factions, gunplay to pilotable ships. It's clearly pitched as a new-gen game, but if you read the responses, they're definitely mixed.

One critic wrote, "Starfield better fix those foliage graphics. Terrible. Low quality and looks like hard-core copy/paste," while another added, "ayo, what about starfield graphics? you xbots were hyping it up." A third said, "So basically Starfield is attempting to do what No Man's Sky did years ago. But in fallout 4 graphics."

Namely, most compared it to No Man's Sky. It seems like something of a redundant comparison and is a bit like everyone comparing Elden Ring to Breath of the Wild. Still, it's one that's stuck, so expect to see a lot more outlets and fans comparing it to Hello Games' 2020 survival outing. Others pointed out that it's likely Sony fans panning Starfield in the midst of an ongoing console war between PlayStation and Xbox. 

Can The Starfield Graphic Improve?

There were plenty of Starfield stans though. One said, "Horizon also had better graphics than Elden Ring but we all saw how that went. Stop thinking that visuals are everything fellas. Your world will crumble again if Starfield gets better reviews despite the characters not looking as detailed." Another concluded, "I don't know how many times it will have to be said, but THE GRAPHICS DON'T MAKE THE GAME. still, starfield is quite pretty on a lot of aspects."

To be honest though, how many of us are really turning to Bethesda games for graphical capabilities? You only have to look at how many people run Skyrim with hundreds of mods to see the story is (rightly) the developer's main drive. Still, Todd Howard reassured us that Starfield will have over 1,000 explorable planets and still target 4K at 30 FPS. With Starfield being pushed from its 2022 release date, Bethesda has a little more time to polish the game. Even then though, there are sure to be those that will never accept Starfield.