Recent reviews by dabuckles

Very fun launch. Don't know whta this game became though...

like c'mon

Why did I have this sitting in my library for so long?

downvoting because of the movie

Sadly, it's fun.

If you don't really own any of the Call Of Duty games and want to play one, this is a great one to jump into.

It has some of the best multiplayer gameplay of any of the new era CODs.

Campaign and Zombies are easily skippable, but the multiplayer has enough to suck me in.

I have around 100 hours of this game on Xbox/xbox app on PC. I got a steam code bundled with an AMD 6750xt GPU so don't pay attention to the lack of hours here.

Starfield ruined my life for a couple weeks. I was playing it non stop. Bethesda knows how to pull me in, and their gameplay loops are incredibly satisfying and addicting, something I can say about every single one of their games besides 76, but that is an online survival game so not exactly up my alley so I can't really speak on that.

This is really disappointing to say, but Bethesda is kind of washed now. Being my favorite game studio since I was young, this game hyped me up to an extreme amount. The core gameplay here is solid, the gunplay isn't the greatest out there but it is satisfying enough, the dialogue is much better than Fallout 4, and theres some really interesting story telling and side quests... but all of this is buried underneath a clearly aging engine that Bethesda desperately needs to drop.

Before I go further, let me list my specs:
AMD 6750xt GPU (keep in mind bethesda bundled this game with it)
Ryzen 7 3800x CPU
36 GB GDDR5 Memory

I struggle to maintain even 30 frames on low-medium settings in some of the more populated areas in the map, this is the same on my Xbox Series X.
I had this same issue in Fallout 4, which at the time I had recently upgraded to a GTX 1080 GPU, one of the most powerful you could get at that time.
Recently, I have been playing the new Modern Warfare III, Alan Wake II, and Cyberpunk Phantom Liberty, all of which I am running at consistent frame rates above 100fps. These games are all mechanically and graphically more advanced than Starfield.
Not only do these performance issues exist, but the engines age is clear throughout the whole game. Dialogue looks janky as hell, especially next to other RPGs that dropped this year like Baldur's Gate and Cyberpunk 2077. Animations can't keep up with the competition.
Bethesda has always had such great strengths in their art department, which still shows here from time to time. Even their most beloved game Skyrim was not really at the cutting edge of graphical fidelity, but to this day looks so beautiful. Farcry 3 released less than a year later, and included much more advanced animations and graphics, but Skyrim still looks better in my opinion. Why? Because Bethesda has always been so good at hand crafting their worlds with such attention to detail and a true artistic vision. Starfield doesn't allow that. Sure there will be times where the lighting looks just right and a planet can look stunning, but that is a one in one hundred chance. Meanwhile I walk around skyrim and I still stop to see the sights. This is why I still have some hope for Elder Scrolls 6. Bethesda is great with their hand crafted worlds, but this was clearly not in their wheelhouse.
What saddens me so much is that there is a brilliant game underneath all of this, and when it first dropped I was probably its biggest supporter. Today, all I think of when I think of Starfield is the unrealized potential.

This game has some great things:
Some of Bethesda's best level design i've experienced in some quests.
Great characters that I love spending time with.
Unique and very cinematic art style (yes I do like the filters over the game)
Solid gunplay.
Pretty cool story.

Underneath all of that though you have:
Horrid performance issues (which haven't gotten any better)
But ugly environments.
Whack animations.
Constant menu use.
Copy and paste locations...

Starfield puts on display some of Bethesda's greatest strengths, but sadly, their greatest weaknesses. This game is constantly at odds with itself, leaving me feeling so divided about it months after its release. All I can say is that I could recommend this game if Bethesda patches many of its issues, and releases worthwhile DLC.

Otherwise just play Cyberpunk 2077 or Baldur's Gate 3. Both are much more worth your time, and especially your money.

i have a lotta hours on this thing on ps4 and origin. PLEASE buy it. In a year full of incredible shooters like Battlefield 1, Doom, and Overwatch 1, this was easily my favorite. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for fixing the servers. This is the best $3 you can ever spend.

just play it

It's the mass effect trilogy. Not really much else to say.

Top tier