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I can’t help it. I’m beginning to build up Starfield in my head. We haven’t seen much of Bethesda’s space-exploration adventure, and that leaves plenty of room for the imagination to run wild. Typically, I would hold a new, unknown game at a distance. After all, what is the point of setting myself up for disappointment. Like I said, though — I cannot help myself even if I see some potential pitfalls for Bethesda.
My excitement for Starfield is due to a couple of core factors. For one, it’s from Bethesda Game Studios. And while that team faltered with Fallout 76, it’s still the developer that created The Elder Scrolls games as well as Fallout 3 and Fallout 4. In a video about Bethesda’s approach to Starfield, the studio emphasized that much of its senior staff have worked together for decades. This isn’t a situation where the studio name is the same but all of the key creative talent is new. That’s not to say Bethesda isn’t bringing in new blood. It is, and the video emphasizes that many of those people grew up on Bethesda games.
Starfield should end up feeling like a Bethesda game even if game director Todd Howard confirmed that many of the mechanics in the game are new. Those additions may change the way players interact with the world, but Howard also confirmed that Starfield will still have its physics-based world where players can pick up and manipulate every object. To me, that suggests a continuity from Fallout and Skyrim, even if Starfield is a drastic change in setting and style.
And that setting is the other major reason for my excitement. I love the fantasy and post-apocalyptic environments of Bethesda’s other releases, but space exploration is even more enticing to me.
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Learn More Starfield will launch in the shadow of SkyrimI’m going to let myself get excited for Starfield. The worst that could happen is that it comes out and disappoints me, and I can live with that. If does live up to my high expectations, it could end up as something special. And maybe that puts extra pressure on the studio, but I don’t think it’s anything compared to the pressure that Todd Howard and his team are putting on themselves. After all, how could anyone make a game that could live up to Skyrim?
The legacy of Skyrim is that it is a decade-old game that has not fallen off with time. It’s something that thousands of people still play every day. And that is without any online multiplayer or live-service components. The world is simply so compelling that people find themselves going back for years.
That longevity is something that Bethesda stumbled into.
“I feel like our games have two lives,” Starfield art director Matt Carofano said. “We create this game, and we put everything that we possibly can into it. When we hand it off to the players, they play it, but then they take it and make it their own. They tell their own stories, but then they make their own stories with our tools.”
But Howard acknowledged that this is now something that he thinks about when designing a game.
“I think we underestimate how long people are going to play,” said Howard. “You look at Skyrim — we sit here 10 years later, and it keeps having this life. It changes how you want to create something.”
That gives me pause. Bethesda did not end up with Skyrim by setting out to build an everlasting world. It designed a dynamic world with the expectations that it would fill out an average playtime of 20-to-50 hours. But now Howard says he wants to change how he creates things to cater to that longevity. What if it’s one of those things that you could lose by chasing it?
Stepping out into Starfield … twiceI have similar worries about Starfield’s “step out” moment. That’s the sequence in games like Skyrim or Fallout where players first step out into the open world. For Starfield, Howard says that the game has two of those. And while that probably looks like stepping out onto a planet and then flying out into space, I hope Bethesda doesn’t elongate its introduction in an effort to double that effect.
Of course, it’s easy for me to fixate on potentially imaginary concerns. This is mostly about my own anxieties. And the reality is that I believe that Bethesda Game Studios knows how to make a Bethesda game.
“Even though we want to make a game that is very big and very long and you can play for years, it’s all the paths you didn’t take that makes it special to you,” said Howard. “So when you finish a quest, you feel like you accomplished something.”
When I hear Howard say something like that, it restores my faith a little. He gets it, and I just hope he doesn’t lose sight of it trying to recapture the magic of Skyrim.
GamesBeat GamesBeat's creed when covering the game industry is "where passion meets business." What does this mean? We want to tell you how the news matters to you -- not just as a decision-maker at a game studio, but also as a fan of games. Whether you read our articles, listen to our podcasts, or watch our videos, GamesBeat will help you learn about the industry and enjoy engaging with it. How will you do that? Membership includes access to:Skyrim Speedrunner Finishes Story In Just Over An Hour To Set New World Record
Skyrim speedrunner Nucular has beaten his own world record for running through Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, finishing the story in just one hour and 12 minutes. All the more impressive, this speedrun was completed without relying on glitches.
As reported by PCGamer, you can check out Nucular's full speedrun on YouTube. Nucular also detailed his speedrunning strategies in the comment section of his video. For example, he plays as a High Elf because they have the highest movement speed.
According to IGN's sister site How Long to Beat, it takes 33 and a half hours to complete the main story. So Nucular's new record is significantly faster.
Skyrim is celebrating its tenth anniversary this month, and speedrunning has been a part of the game's community since the very beginning. Before its launch in November 2011, Bethesda employees held an internal competition to see who could finish the game the fastest. The winner completed the game in 2 hours, 16 minutes, and 10 seconds. So, after 10 years, Nucular was able to cut that original time almost in half with his new world record.
Have you played The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim?
YESNO
Speaking of the game's tenth anniversary, Bethesda recently released The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition, which includes new and existing Creation Club content.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Official Anniversary Edition and Upgrade Overview Video Breakdown
For more, check out our chat with Bethesda boss Todd Howard, where he dives into Skyrim's legacy, and what's coming next with Elder Scrolls 6 and Starfield.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Anniversary Edition Review | Is This 10-year-old Game Worth Getting?
Can you believe that it’s been 10 years since the release of Skyrim? I sure can’t, especially because Skyrim is a game that’s quite close to my heart.
While I played (and enjoyed) Skyrim when it first released back in 2011, it’s a game that I went back to from time-to-time over the years. In fact, there was even a point in 2013 that I was heavily into Skyrim. I remember that two weeks in December of 2013 clearly where I did nothing but play the game (due to some personal reason). My playthrough of Skyrim didn’t end there as I revisited the game back in 2016 when the Special Edition released.
Now, Skyrim once again has a re-release, this time as the Anniversary Edition to mark the game’s 10th Anniversary. So, does this new release of the game warrant another trip back to the lad of the Nords? And is it a game that still holds up to today’s standards? Especially for for players who missed out on when it first released back in 2011.
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Find out here in our Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Anniversary Edition review!
What exactly comes with this edition?Unlike the 2016 Special Edition which remastered the game’s graphics, the Anniversary Edition doesn’t come with enhanced visuals. Instead, it’s a new package of the game that includes the Skyrim Special Edition, along with all previously released Creation Club creations for the game (including new items and storylines). Existing owners of the Special Edition will also get the additional Saints & Seducers storyline, new goods in the Khajit Caravans, the new Survival mode, and the fishing mini game, all for free as part of the anniversary celebration. If you’re an existing Special Edition owner, you can upgrade to the Anniversary Edition for a fee to get all the Creation Club content.
The four free creations for all Special Edition owners are a nice touch, especially as it gives Skyrim veterans a compelling reason to revisit the fifth Elder Scrolls title. The addition of fishing is something that’s surprisingly compelling, especially for players who love to play fishing mini games in other games. As someone who spent way too much time fishing in the Yakuza games or in Nier Replicant, I found this to be a cool addition, especially because you can display your catch as a trophy or in your own aquarium.
The Survival mode is also an interesting addition as it provides a more immersive experience. With this mode turned on, you’ll have to wear proper gear and seek shelter when in cold environments, lest you freeze to death. Survival mode also means that you’ll need to keep your hunger and exhaustion in check when traveling, so you’ll need to eat food and rest regularly. This makes traveling the world of Skyrim less like exploring a theme park and more of a challenging adventure.
These additions are great, but the new creation that I enjoyed the most is the Saints & Seducers storyline. This new questline features an interesting story, as well as a wealth of new loot and new enemies to contend with. What made this the highlight of my Skyrim revisit is the fact that its story and look is heavily inspired by the Shivering Isles expansion from Oblivion; it even features a mage trying to merge Sheogorath’s realm with the main world (aka Nirn). My only complaint with this storyline was that I wish it was longer.
So, what about the rest of the Creation Club? Personally, I didn’t care much for a lot of the items and other that are in the Creation Club, though I did enjoy the questlines such as the Mythic Dawn-themed ‘The Cause’ and the Morrowind-inspired ‘Ghosts of the Tribunal’. As a big fan of the previous Elder Scrolls games, these additions make the upgrade to the Anniversary Edition worth the purchase.
Does Skyrim hold up in 2021?Both the free and the Anniversary Edition upgrade content are great and all, but how does Skyrim hold up in 2021? While long-time fans of the game will probably enjoy playing the game again, what about new players?
For starters, Skyrim may be 10 years old, but I feel that there’s still something compelling about it. Sure, open world games are a dime a dozen now, but most of these games have you play as a specific character with a more “cinematic” story. With Skyrim, what you get is an RPG where actual role playing is encouraged; the game still excels in letting you play how you want (or how your character would act).
As for the world itself, I still find Skyrim to look good thanks to its overall style, even if the graphics have aged upon closer inspection. What can bother newer players is the game’s sense of scale. Sure, the map still feels big, but the cities feel quite small, especially when compared to more modern open world titles with more sprawling hubs.
What about gameplay? Well, here’s an aspect of the game that I found to have aged the most. Even when it was released, Skyrim’s gameplay wasn’t all that dynamic; you either pounded enemies with your melee weapon/magic, or you opted to build a stealth archer. In 2021, this simplistic combat of Skyrim can feel a bit boring, especially if you’re used to games with deeper combat mechanics. On the flip side, Skyrim’s basic combat can make it a great game to play if you want to relax.
Final Verdict – 8/10As an upgrade for Special Edition owners, Skyrim Anniversary Edition is worth it for players who are looking for an excuse to revisit this classic. Sure, there are substantial free additions that mean you won’t need to upgrade to get new content, but the inclusion of more storylines along with the rest of the Creation Club content does make the upgrade a compelling purchase, especially as these storylines feature themes based on previous Elder Scrolls games.
Now, what about for those who are looking to play Skyrim for the first time? Well, the Anniversary Edition is a good package as it includes lots of content. Though the core game does show its age. But if you’re willing to give it a chance in spite of its rather simplistic combat (especially when compared to games today), Skyrim still has some of that Elder Scrolls magic that you just can’t quite get from any other game.
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