Starfield Impressions After 32 Hours (Patreon)

Some asked for this so here you go.
This is not Skyrim in space. This is more like Bethesda's take on a Mass Effect game, with more Bethesda elements, like expanded exploration and customization options. It's the first BGS game I've played where the main story (so far) overshadows the world exploration for me.

I haven't done any faction quests even though I want to, because of how pressing the main story feels by comparison.

It's the smoothest Bethesda game at launch I've ever played. It runs better on my PC than Elden Ring did at launch. The graphics are an impressive leap from Fallout 4.

Explorability feels limited mostly because points of interest in space feel disconnected compared to past BGS games.

Combat feels easy, but maybe I'm just good at video games. Difficulty sliders don't change enemy behavior, just statistics like old BGS games did.

If you like it will depend on what you like in games. I'm loving it a lot because I love space, exploration, and the themes are interesting to me. The gameplay flows once you learn the shortcuts allowing you to minimize loading screen cuts. There's a lot the game doesn't tell you about this that you just end up learning by paying attention to options within the interface.

I haven't delved into crafting and building very much. It feels like it has a lot of obstacles in the form of required research and resources as a barrier to entry. This is obviously gamified, where in a real market you'd be able to just purchase upgrades like suppressors from shops, here you either find them on existing weapons (they aren't transferable btw) or have to do research to stick them on your weapons as mods.

Enemy drops of unique items are so numerous as to make crafting feel unnecessary.

Overall, great impression. Don't go in looking for Skyrim or No Man's Sky. Go in looking for Starfield and you'll probably like it too, unless you just really dislike these kinds of games.