Starfield – the source of a lot of online arguments (pic: Microsoft)

A reader explores the psychology of gamer fandom and how the arguing over Starfield is already starting to seem strangely familiar.

The internet has been a rough old place the last couple of weeks, if you’re a gamer, with so many opinions about Starfield and so many still to come, since it only became available for everyone on Wednesday. A lot of the arguing is just from PlayStation 5 fans who are upset at an Xbox exclusive getting the limelight, while others are hardcore Bethesda fans who don’t want to admit that their idols could make something disappointing (I guess they didn’t play Fallout 76).

Then there’s all the controversy over Bethesda withholding review copies, which some people have tied themselves in knots to pretend is some kind of mistake or not exactly what it seems to be: an attempt to manipulate the Metacritic score before launch.

I’ve got Game Pass so I gave it a go as soon as it became available, because why wouldn’t you? And what’s my verdict? It’s… okay. It’s nothing amazing, and pretty much what I expected, and while I’ll play it some more I can already tell it’s going to be a pretty flawed and forgettable experience. As far as I’m concerned that’s not the end of the world, but I think it’s the mediocre games that always cause the most disagreement.

If it’s undeniable that a game is good (Zelda or Baldur’s Gate 3) or bad (Redfall and Fallout 76) there’s rarely that much argument, as if you push your opinion too aggressively it’s obvious you’re just being a troll. With something in the middle, though, it’s open season, because there’s already no agreement and it’s hard to tell whether you’re making a serious point or just enjoying the chaos.

I would say it’s impossible to describe the combat in Starfield as anything more than average but because it’s not terrible, and there are plenty of options and weapons to point to, you could make an argument that it’s better. Or use the old classic that you know it’s not great but everything else around the game makes it more interesting/enjoyable than it is.

These are, after all, all old arguments, that come around every time, which is why I always assume they’re usually just people being trolls and/or contrarian. Although sometimes I think they’re not doing it on purpose and the problem is they’ve hyped themselves up so much for the release that they just won’t or can’t see the game’s faults and pretend it’s exactly what they were hoping for, whether it is or not.

I mean, who wouldn’t be disappointed to find out how Starfield’s space travel and exploration works, with the inability to travel directly between space and the surface? And yet you see tons of apologists pretending that’s actually perfectly fine and you shouldn’t expect anything else, despite, as GC pointed out, there being plenty of games that were doing exactly that more than three decades ago.

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I’m not saying Starfield is a terrible or even a bad game. I’ll probably play it for a dozen or more hours, but I am saying it’s not a particularly good one. And that’s where all the argument and disagreement is coming from. Especially with Bethesda acting as if they’ve just made the best game ever and not showing once ounce of humility (or honesty) about anything.

As predictable as all this is, the only thing I don’t know is where it’s all going to end. Will it blow over in a few weeks and Starfield will be slowly forgotten or are Microsoft and Bethesda going to keep pushing it, pretending it’s had universal praise? Until they have something else to push, I fear it’s probably the second option, which is only going to mean more arguing for a long time to come…

By reader Growls

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

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A reader explores the psychology of gamer fandom and how the arguing over Starfield is already starting to seem strangely familiar.