What you need to know
- Starfield launched last year to widespread acclaim, but remained polarizing for a variety of reasons.
- Over the past year, Bethesda has worked to address feedback on the game, adding the Rev-8 exploration vehicle, boosted frame rates, and other enhancements.
- On September 30, 2024, Bethesda is releasing the game's first expansion "Shattered Space," which will focus on the shadowy space cult House Va'ruun.
- Bethesda revealed a deep dive for Shattered Space ahead of its full launch on PC and Xbox Series X|S consoles.
Today, Bethesda shared a deep dive into its Shattered Space DLC, which is set to breathe new life and depth into Starfield.
Starfield is the latest action RPG from Bethesda, known for games like Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Bethesda's Starfield has been something of a polarizing game, with players either loving it or deriding it based on a variety of factors. Starfield missed the mark undeniably in some regards, notably exploration, which didn't really land well given the sparsity of its wide open galactic playground. Some players were also disappointed by the quality of choice and consequence in the game, especially compared to some previous outings. Others were surprised the game took on more of a "PG" story delivery compared to Fallout, despite being a shooter. Still, as I described in our Starfield review, the game's high spots are very high indeed, with some truly spectacular moments wrapped in high-concept sci-fi fantasy, in a game whose ambition may have stretched Bethesda to its limits.
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Over the past year, Bethesda has worked hard to improve the game on Windows and Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. The game saw boosted frame rates finally, even on the "low end" Xbox Series S, up to 60 FPS. We also got a planetary exploration rover the Rev-8, and improved HDR lighting. We got new city maps, addressing navigation criticisms, too.
Note: You may want to avoid the trailer below if you don't want even surface-level spoilers.
Starfield: Shattered Space is the first expansion Bethesda is releasing for Starfield, focusing entirely on House Va'ruun, and a gravitational field experiment gone horribly, horribly wrong.
In the deep dive, Bethesda describes the setting for Shattered Space, which will take place entirely on the hidden planet of Va'ruun'kai, where House Va'ruun worships an intergalatic entity known as The Great Serpent. Little is known right now about what The Great Serpent actually is, with House Va'ruun largely operating in secret throughout the base game. One particular mission takes place in House Va'ruun's embassy on New Atlantis, which has similarly succumbed to a grim fate.
In Shattered Space, Va'ruun'kai has been decimated by an apocalyptic experiment gone wrong, with gravity pockets warping the landscape. Survivors gather in camps outside the city, with the player showing up just a few weeks after it all went down.
Bethesda describes Shattered Space as a dense, hand-crafted experience which seems like a direct address to people who felt much of Starfield's open-world gameplay was too sparse and empty. The entire DLC takes place on Va'ruun'kai, which will have players exploring the cult society and learning more about the extra-dimensional entities the populace reveres (or fears). The expansion will emphasize melee combat to some degree here, as some of the enemies close gaps rapidly and have the ability to teleport into and out of our very reality. Bethesda is undoubtedly striking a horror vibe with this tease as well, which could play out in nice contrast to some of the game's more light-hearted jaunts.
Shattered Space launches on September 30, 2024
A few things Bethesda doesn't address in the deep dive is enhancements to the base game. Some aspects of Starfield that remain relatively disappointing include the variety of "points of interest" exploration opportunities, itemization to some degree, as well as the game's outpost construction features.
Starfield still has so much untapped, untamed potential, I worry that Bethesda is going to lean more on its Creation Club modders to improve upon some of the game's biggest shortcomings, despite the fact their modding platform inexplicably locks out Xbox achievements.
In a vacuum, Starfield: Shattered Space does look incredible, though. Adding more hand-crafted stories to the base game will elevate the overall package, and give players (like myself) a reason to potentially build a fresh save file for another run through the game. Will it bring back the game's biggest detractors and critics? That very much remains to be seen.
Starfield: Shattered Space launches on September 30, 2024, for Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC.
