REACTION - Starfield has gone gold, and we’re mentally preparing for the discourse
Douche bag detector.
By Jonathan Garrett
16/08/23
Any platform defining title is going to be subject to intense scrutiny, especially when the turnaround from announcement to release has been so substantial. Starfield has the dubious privilege of also being caught in amongst a period of turbulent discourse around Xbox, PlayStation and general game exclusivity, which has been exacerbated by the CMA’s ongoing investigation into the Microsoft / Activision deal.
Furthermore, Bethesda did misfire with Redfall. While I don’t think that Starfield is some kind of critical knife edge moment for Xbox as a brand, it would be helpful for their wider perception if it landed strong. It would certainly help to mitigate the arguments against Game Pass as a general proposition for big budget projects, and kick off the back third of this year on a positive note.
We’re entering a particularly jam packed September to November release calendar, and even though Starfield is a megaton, there’s potent competition from all sides. We’re looking forward to the game, and debating the strengths and weaknesses of a title so epic in scope will make for a fascinating back and forth. Whether said discussion will avoid console warrior dick measuring remains to be seen.
TARPS?
At the bottom of some of our articles, you’ll see a series of absurd looking images (with equally stupid, in joke laden names). These are the TARP badges, which represent our ‘Totally Accurate Rating Platform’. They allow us to identify specific things, recognise positive or negative aspects of a games design, and generally indulge our consistent silliness with some visual tomfoolery.
