The main thing Starfield nails…

There is a thing that is difficult to explain that I think Starfield does better than any game I’ve ever seen.

Diversity of experience.

When you sit down to play you have no clue how your play session will go!

This isn’t just because of the multiple overlapping systems though, it’s also because of what I can only assume is a carefully crafted reward and stimulation pacing.

Many planets are dull, but some are lush and amazingly picturesque. Sometimes you are trudging around yucky ugly scenery, and then the sunrise makes your heart skip a beat.

Sometimes you are peacefully minding your settlement when the bad guys attack, sometimes combat goes one way, sometimes it’s different. The unexpected happens frequently and you never know if that feature on your map will be a boring mining outpost, or send you into a cave system filled with horrors for the next hour.

In short the game keeps you guessing and you don’t know what to expect, which in a world of “curated experience” games or “Always online grind-fest” the broken up and divergent pacing and play experience makes this more than just another game.

Somehow this makes the world feel more alive, and more real.