The Unrealized Potential of Starfield

Starfield, Bethesda's highly anticipated space RPG, had gamers everywhere hoping for a new genre-defining experience. But why didn’t Starfield live up to the hype and become the next Skyrim? In this in-depth analysis, we explore the reasons behind Starfield's shortcomings despite its grand promises and why it will forever remain the game Todd Howard can only dream of.
Topics Covered:
The unrealized potential of Starfield.
Immersion-breaking mechanics and loading screens.
Comparison with Skyrim and Fallout.
Key gameplay and narrative issues.
Impact of technical limitations on the player experience.
Join me (Trenchcoat) as we take a closer look at what went wrong with Starfield, from the initial excitement and concept art to the reality of the game’s launch. Discover why seamless space travel and exploration fell short and how this impacted the overall experience.
Don’t forget to LIKE the video if you found it insightful, COMMENT with your thoughts on Starfield, and SUBSCRIBE for more gaming video essays and discussions!
#Starfield #Skyrim #Bethesda #Gaming #GameReview #RPG #SpaceGame #VideoGameAnalysis #StarfieldReview #Immersion #GameDesign #GamingCommunity

[@TRENCH-COAT]

Did Starfield meet your expectations? Let me know down in the comment!

[@XKathXgames]

IDK maybe the 700+ hours I have been playing will give you a better answer. Starfield is an RPG in a space setting, and I feel people keep missing it. It's BGS game in space, that's it. People hate it because they expected something different from a BGS game. I've never not had fun with it.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@XKathXgames I totally respect that opinion and don’t get me wrong I also enjoyed my time with it. I just can’t help but feel let down by the games technical limitations. I think you can still have a BGS game but without loading screens that ruin the immersion that’s suppose to come from being in a BGS world.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@jamesdaxawesome, what do you love about it? Glad to hear you are enjoying it. Thanks for watching though 🙌🏻

[@qwertyvypez]

BGS games have always had very long loading screens

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@qwertyvypez yeah but it's 2024. If we can have a game like Witcher 3 that released 9 years ago and that did not have any loading screen minus a few cutscenes. I think it's reasonable to want Bethesda to stop being so outdated.

[@mygetawayart]

i REALLY LOVED the use of music in this video. Started classical, melodic and operatic when discussing the idea of Starfield but becomes distorted, electronic and modern when discussing the actual game and its issues.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

I feel so understood with this comment lol... Thanks so much! Thanks for watching.

[@RabbitWatchShop]

I am conscious to Starfield’s bugs, copy and paste abandoned locations, desolate planets, loading screens, periods of boredom, and even the sometimes cringey dialogue. I still love Starfield for what it is. Present mods and creations have made the game more consistently fun. They’ve dropped free DLC and ones you can buy. I have sentimental feelings towards Vasco. The game has a lot of beautiful visuals. The ending made me tear, something I rarely do; I can’t remember when I cried over a campaign’s story. Yes, the game falled short. Yes, it seems there’s more disdain towards Starfield than positive. The game has a cult following, and I’m one of the members. I can’t wait to see what Bugthedsta does with Starfield games in the future. Bugthedsta has learned a lot from the shortcomings in Starfield, and with the gaming communities’ feedback, I think they will improve on next installment.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

I am so glad you loved it! I think with time the game can only improve. I’ll do a re-review on the game in a years time to see how it has evolved. Thanks for the insightful comment.

[@peterd9698]

I haven’t played starfield but have watched a bunch of reviews because I was interested in the infamous problem of combining a space rpg with infinite worlds. NMS seamless travel would have been nice, but its lack wasn’t the biggest problem to me. Here is my Wishlist: Starfield NewVegas: primarily, no unkillable NPCs, but also some design choices that make FNV excellent for character based roleplay, both in the freedom but also consequences. Skyrim in space, _in space!_ Those 1000 procedural worlds can’t deliver the Skyrim exploration experience, but that experience can be mapped 1-1 to a purely inspace level. Mountain = nebula, dragon = massive warship, bandit = pirate ship.. all handcrafted and discovered through the same organic exploration. Never repeat special locations on procedural worlds. One fix would be a procedural dungeon crawler mechanic, eg using the existing base building mechanic.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

Thanks for the comment! I totally agree. I think from the start Bethesda decided to focus on the wrong things from a game design perspective.

[@robmexx]

Great video. All points are valid and thought through. Subbed

[@TRENCH-COAT]

Appreciate you taking the time to watch and thanks for the sub!!!

[@wafeeqrox885]

for being your second video this is actually pretty good, keep it up bro

[@johnathanodendaal7909]

Indeed this man knows how to make a good quality video

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@wafeeqrox885 appreciate it bro! 🤙🏻Thanks for watching!

[@aaron_aplin]

lol now take into account the No Mans Sky Worlds Part 1 update. Hilarious how outclassed starfield is.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

Totally man, Bethesda really didn't get the memo lol. Thanks for the comment!

[@brandongarrett2309]

Good video, nice pace, and informative, thank you.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

Thanks so much for taking the time to watch!

[@janeshepard9549]

Try playing Spacebourne 2 - fraction of Starfield's budget, exact same blueprint, seamless travel, minimal loading screens, mass effect 1 type combat and basic missions, multiple factions, companions which actually boost stats, faction raids, intergalactic politics, organized space navy battalion battles, an interesting mc backstory, hilarious dialogue like Fallout New Vegas, space walk, mag boots, land your ship, fight aliens, enemy mechs and creatures. The only gripe? Silent protag, placeholder NPCs, AI voice generated NPC dialogue.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@janeshepard9549 Thanks for the suggestion, sound great! Did you enjoy Starfield?

[@peterd9698]

I was wondering if the maker had any plans to open that game to modding, or otherwise make it easy for anyone to add quests. I would be happy to go with zero voiced dialog since it would make that simpler.

[@anonymous_dot_com2326]

Made by 1 dude

[@lovveen431]

I looked up starbourne 2 and it's not even out... You got me baited 😔

[@TheMagicNicBicycle]

Im very happy to have discovered your channel, I wish you the growth you deserve!

[@TRENCH-COAT]

Thanks so much! Did you enjoy Starfield ?

[@secondchance6603]

Very well put together, kudos to you!

[@TRENCH-COAT]

Thanks so much! Did you enjoy Starfield btw?

[@isthatyoursomnomnom]

I re-downloaded Starfield (series s) to see if mods could make Starfield fun. Unfortunately, what I discovered was that no matter how many assets or skins I install, it's STILL STARFIELD. I can dress like Anakin Skywalker, populate the universe with Star Wars aliens and build an amazing ship - but the moment I try to DO SOMETHING, the reality of awful writing/quest design/loading screens is still a huge obstacle. I have tried, so hard, to brute force fun into this game. Even with mods, this game is so shallow and not worth the space on my hard drive. I deleted it (again) and downloaded NMS instead.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

Yeah… everything I wanted Starfield to be can never be realized due to the bad game design. On a fundamental level the game is just badly designed.

[@dark_architect1644]

“Finding something…. Anything….” Interesting and not boring

[@dark_architect1644]

And you know what you will find. A whole lot of emptiness and a main quest that is just a fetch quest done 25 times in a row so you can go through the unity to do the same boring fetch quests all over again and land on empty copy and paste planets.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

Haha yeah man… saying I am disappointed in Starfield would be an understatement. Thanks for watching!

[@dark_architect1644]

@@TRENCH-COAT great video! Great constructive criticism.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@dark_architect1644 Thanks so much!

[@jammaples]

I play Starfield almost daily. Got a lot of time with it. I love it. But the lack of flight (surface to orbit and vice-versa) in a game that is strongly about spaceflight hurts the game. You can’t remove flight from spaceflight imo. I know other games do it, and I know a game can be great without it. But that is my one true complaint with it. And I think the biggest immersion breaker. Between bodies, yeah grav jump (load screen) through all that, but the idea of burning down to the surface from orbit, leveling out, skimming the tree tops and animals, spotting my objective, maybe a little CAS, pulling a sweet thruster drift move like pimp, touching down oh so soft, and running down the ramp with my homie Vasco to kill and loot EVERYTHING is my dream. But only my dream. I’ll continue sailing the blackest sea. Because this game is something special really. Catch a smile out there. o7

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@jammaples you summed it up perfectly. I wish Starfield just nailed the flight immersion. Everything else I really enjoy. Thanks for the insightful comment and thanks for watching!

[@Xariann]

I feel like I have been watching a BBC documentary. Nice style. I think sometimes the soundtrack could be a little lower in volume in some places though! I get what you and other people are saying about loading screens and truly understand where that comes from. Maybe I have just not moved on, but one of my favourite game franchises had loading screens galore, and that is Mass Effect. I think there was a mismatch of marketing/expectations and I think the problem resides with the story itself. You said the first time you were connected to the game was when you had to make the choice of who to save, but that is not actually early in the narrative as you suggest. Iirc it's somewhere in the second half. That's a long time before you were "prompted" to care for the game. And then the ending makes it all "useless" and unimportant all over again... multiple times. I 100% agree with you that quantity of planets is secondary to the quality of what you find. Also there is this quote from the devs you have in this video, where it says something along the lines of curiosity being rewarded because you never know what you'll find, and my first reaction to that was, "Yes, I do know, it's copy-pasted facilities". It's like drop rates in a game like The First Descendant. Unless you REALLY like to grind through repetitive worlds to find the few gems, you'll just give up with that 3% drop rate.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

I really appreciate that! It's definitely the style I am going for - so thanks for noticing! Yeah in my next couple of videos I have focused on keeping the music a bit more balanced. Definitely let me know if you notice an improvement on those newer videos! Yeah Starfield could have been so much more than it ended up being! Loading screens can be implemented in a way more seamless way I feel. I love many games with loading screens - it's just about how they are implemented in the gameplay. Thanks for the comment, hope to have you in the comments of future videos!

[@belltime2981]

This was a great quality video and well executed. I wish you all the best in your ventures. I do agree, the loading screens killed immersion. However, I still enjoy playing the game because besides the points you brought up, it still is a signature Bethesda game. I'm sure with the modding community as good as they are, will find a way to eliminate some of the loading screens to enhance seamless travel.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@belltime2981 yeah I also still enjoy it. I just wish it was better and more modern! Thanks for the comment and for watching 🙌🏻

[@twitchnunov13]

you have great content for a second video, keep going! New subscribe

[@TRENCH-COAT]

Thanks so much! Means a-lot. More content coming soon.

[@fanofentropy2280]

On PC, with the SFSE script extender, you can mod the game to a pretty good state of immersion. Shame it didn't come like that from the start.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@fanofentropy2280 that’s awesome to hear! Are you enjoying Starfield ?

[@fanofentropy2280]

@@TRENCH-COAT It was rather tedious getting all the mods installed & working together ...and mods don't really fix the main story. But with high res texture, UI fixes and some modders clever animation tricks, it's a beautiful game. I spend as much time playing as I do looking at the planetscapes or watching ships take off and land. And the best part is that now when I jump to a new system, I warp through a nice dark wormhole in 1st person view instead of getting flash banged by a white loading screen.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@fanofentropy2280 That sounds so much better! I am kinda jealous not going to lie haha. I play on console and work on high end Mac's. I have always wanted to delve into the PC gaming side of things cause it offers so much versatility. On a side note - I really agree that if Bethesda made simple different design choices like hiding the loading screens the way you are, it would've helped so much. I love everything Starfield wants to be. Thanks for the comment!

[@willlliorca7024]

It is a failed “space game”. It really doesn’t capture the vastness and loneliness but is also simultaneously a very empty game. Just without the inherent dangers of space travel. I would have preferred a gate jump system like in EVE Online.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@willlliorca7024 I completely agree. Thanks for watching 🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@willlliorca7024]

@@TRENCH-COAT you also gained a sub! Now, back to my heavily modded Starfield/Star Wars 1313 bounty hunter sim. (The game Star Wars won’t make) lmao

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@willlliorca7024 the only good way to play Starfield lol. So sad the bounty hunter game from respawn got canned. Thanks for subbing man 🙌🏻

[@koen5396]

Good video I liked it a lot. Some constructive criticism I would give you because I’d love to see you grow more - Turn down the music a bit during some of your narration, also some of the music didn’t quite match the pacing of the video and felt more intense than what was onscreen. Other than that I hope you get bigger. subbed

[@TRENCH-COAT]

Thanks for the feedback! I really appreciate it.

[@chazefez9625]

@@TRENCH-COAThis feedback is spot on. Starting music was a great choice, however the more aggressive, poppy music you used later, really took away from the overall vibe of the video.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@chazefez9625 I’ll definitely make note of that going forward. Thanks for the feedback.

[@chrismorel2576]

​@TRENCH-COAT Seems like I might be in the minority but I thought the music was fire 🔥 and also matched the tone of your message. It has this disorienting sensation in a minor key like something wasn't quite right, which is a fair summary of Starfield. The musical beats you chose to transition between scenes kept me engaged. I also appreciated how you incorporated the game's original music too. I've watched hours of Starfield criticism, but your sound design alongside your messaging kept me hyped throughout. That might not be the somber intellectual vibe people often get from video essays, but I liked your style

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@chrismorel2576 ah wow! Thanks so much. Yeah I quite like the style I am going for and really appreciate that it resonated with you. I think a balanced audio approach with video essays is fair to expect so I’ll make sure to not go overboard with it but I do want to keep the style. Thanks again for the comment! 🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@Tangomango1720]

Ive honestly had a lot of fun for starfield and it was up to my expectations tbh

[@TRENCH-COAT]

Ah that’s awesome. That’s a totally valid opinion and I too enjoyed parts of the game and still do. Hope with time that they can actually improve on it. Thanks for the comment 🙌🏻

[@TheDioginese]

The loading screens dont bother me tbh. I feel like the internet wants me to hate this game, but to be real, it is one of the only games to keep me playing it. For me the best improvements would be the ability to control and fly my ship while on a planet. I feel like traversing planets would be more enjoyable. Planets need more diverse wildlife, and the ship should be able to explore underwater, with another biome full of wildlife.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@TheDioginese glad you enjoyed it!! I also really did but I can’t help but feel it could’ve been more. Planet traversal is apparently something they are actually working on - so I am excited for that! Thanks for the comment and for watching 🙌🏻

[@itcouldbelupus2842]

Fast Travel Skyrim

[@Xaveth]

If you want immersion play Star Citizen. The scope and detail is incredible. Oh and no loading screens lol

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@Xaveth I’ll definitely check it out! Thanks for watching man 🙌🏻🔥

[@spike238]

Great video! , but the background music is really really annoying, what was the point?

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@spike238 what was annoying about it… thanks for the feedback! Always want to get better at creating videos for the people that take the time to watch it.

[@wblitzw5747]

Hey Trench you should try No Man’s Sky, it’s pretty much starfield without loading screens

[@TRENCH-COAT]

Been meaning to check it out! Thanks for watching.

[@wblitzw5747]

Yeah, it would make for a great comparison video!

[@itcouldbelupus2842]

Loading-Screenfield

[@TRENCH-COAT]

This made me laugh so hard! Lol

[@gobravo123]

It needs to work properly first.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@gobravo123 lol yeah

[@ToadSageTroller]

Another banger, don't regret even 0.1% subbing to you. Don't forget me when u get famous 😁.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

Ah thanks! I'll never forget - promise!

[@chieffalley4955]

You could try out star citizen, an actually space game! but if you dont like much bugs you should wait till atleast 2025

[@TRENCH-COAT]

Thanks, I actually have tested star citizen and it's a great proof of concept. What did you think of Starfield? Thanks for watching!

[@chieffalley4955]

@@TRENCH-COAT i didnt played it yet, but will do sometime when it gets a lil better

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@chieffalley4955 good idea. It’s definitely improving. Give it a bit more time. Thanks for watching 🔥🙌🏻

[@Anythingwilldo296]

Truly pish The Todd geezer should never work in the industry again

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@Anythingwilldo296 but Todd is our lord and saviour? 😂🙌🏻

[@Anythingwilldo296]

@@TRENCH-COAT he comes off as cult leader material 😂 a game made up of loading screens and pretty pictures I’m surprised Toads face didn’t show up in the emissaries helmet 😂

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@Anythingwilldo296 lol 😂

[@patrickbarner1380]

Star citizen and no man sky do it way better and midfield is gonna take years before it gets anywhere close but by then other ips like elder scrolls and fallout are going to be out and there was an interview with matt (KZbin) and todd howard where he said there using the same engine as midfield for tes 6

[@TRENCH-COAT]

Yeah look I think using the same engine is fine but they really need to find ways to make the gameplay experience more seamless. I really think they will take the lessons learnt from the reception to starfield and it's ridiculous amount of loading screens and hopefully learn from it!

[@larryiaquinta57]

Please don't speak for me. I love the game, and understand why they used the loading screens.

[@itcouldbelupus2842]

Ok kid

[@TRENCH-COAT]

I was speaking for myself but okayyyyy

[@adriantcullysover4640]

Honestly, if they just remove the loading screens and add land vehicles, that would make it (almost) perfect!

[@TRENCH-COAT]

It would definitely help but the game still lacks a solid flight system so you can't really fly anywhere.

[@polydypsia6424]

Hahaha that's cute... somebody doesn't know what "fail" means.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

😊😊

[@mattsharpey361]

😂😂😂😂

[@TRENCH-COAT]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😐

[@KevinMole-cj3kl]

Its crap

[@TRENCH-COAT]

It's not 100% crap hehe it's only like 65% crap...

[@KevinMole-cj3kl]

@@TRENCH-COAT sorry it was just so boring and so crap what has happened to them oh dear oh dear

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@KevinMole-cj3kl haha yeah…

[@ummerfarooq5383]

So you want them to spend $1 billion in developing Starfield? Heck your GTA 6 is barely spending $2 billion on production that much for a tiny city area and it will hardly be as detailed as Starfield. Like how fallout 4 was better than cinematic RDR2 when it came to actual game play. Not even Star Citizen can be compared to Starfield even though it's gobbled up $0.7 billion.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@ummerfarooq5383 I want them to make a good game 😊

[@chazefez9625]

You miss his point. Its not about spending more money, its about -as a developer, how and where you spend your money and what you prioritize. Seamless travel is one of those things that should be one of the pillars you build your space exploration game around. So start there, and then choose what else there is budget for. Its not like its impossible and its been proven to be possible with current gen tech by multiple other devs. The game feels like its made with tech from 10 years ago, and it probably is. The cracks show and they made extremely poor design choices. PS. comparison to GTA6 to prove a point makes no sense. Different genre, different developer, different circumstances. PPS gta6 will be 10 times more detailed than starfield.

[@TRENCH-COAT]

@@chazefez9625 what he said! Lol. Thanks for watching the entire video first before commenting. Appreciate it! Yeah it’s all about how the team prioritised the resources for the game. Starfield could’ve been so much more than it is. Thanks again for the comment.

[@NuclearWinter69]

If you cant do it right then don’t. I should be playing ES6 right now.