Bethesda reveal Starfield with 15-minute explain-o-gameplay video

Bethesda today gave a first look at Starfield in motion with the "official gameplay reveal" for their upcoming interstellar RPG. It does indeed look like Fallout 4 with spaceships, though a little less colourful than Fallout 4. Watch the 15-minute presentation here below.

Starfield is set in 2330, casting our little wizard as an explorer searching the galaxy for mysterious artifacts. Once again, we'll be exploring big worlds, doing quests, levelling up and unlocking perks, siding with factions, gathering resources, building outposts, crafting, and shooting people, but this time not confined to one world. Game director Todd Howard said Starfield has over 100 systems and over 1000 planets and yup, we'll get to fly to them in our very own spaceship, complete with space combat. I hope more of those planets and moons have interesting looks than the video suggests.

It kills me that after years of anticipation, the big Starfield reveal opens with the most bleak and boring planet then gets straight into gathering resources. But I am probably not the person to look to for enthusiasm about modern Bethesda RPGs. They build vast worlds filled with careful decoration and NPCs living to simulated schedules but almost nothing interesting to do. This could be fine if Bethesda leaned into that—I adore walking simulators—but no, they're crammed full of repetitive quests, bad combat, and bland writing. Nothing would often be better than the something, and that frequent disappointment leaves me frustrated and bored.

Please, tell me to shut up and explain why you're excited to explore space. Put me in the funfair dunk tank and hurl your opinions at the target. I am glad that their games are so exciting to so many! Glad people enjoy them so! Maybe I'll go dunk myself in my bathtub, give myself a thorough soaking as penance for my tired and cynical opinions.

Starfield is due to launch in 2023, having recently been delayed from the Skyrim anniversary. It will be on Steam as well as Game Pass and yeah, of course I'll give it a go on Game Pass. I want to go to that lush planet with the giant armoured spacecow.

Not E3 2022 is in full-swing - see everything in our E3 2022 hub, as well as our complete round-up of everything announced at Summer Game Fest 2022. Many more big game showcases and streams are still to come this summer, so make sure you stay up to date with our summer games stream schedule.