Months after Starfield‘s launch, some developers are responding to negative Steam reviews, leaving players baffled and upset.
Amongst the sea of incredible games 2023 delivered, Starfield’s arrival felt a bit underwhelming. While Bethesda’s first new IP in over 25 years delivered plenty of neat ideas, such as shipbuilding, outpost creation, and near-infinite spaces to discover, the rest of the package left much to be desired.
Fans have voiced their complaints to the moon and back, as inventory navigation and broken quests have ruined the experience for some. Mods have helped ease some issues, but they can’t fix everything.
It seems Bethesda has seen the criticism fans have shared, and in an odd turn of events, the studio has opted to respond to them with the responses shared downright bizarre.
Starfield devs respond to negative Steam reviews
Starfield holds a “Mixed” rating on Steam, with a modest 69% of players feeling positive about the title. One of the top comments came from UptownMermaid, who wouldn’t recommend Starfield after 29.8 hours played. Their review was critical of many of Starfield’s systems – fast traveling, lack of quest diversity and fulfillment, and the lackluster story.
In response to UptownMermaid’s blistering review, a Besthesda developer replied: “Just consider the amount of data for the expansive gameplay that is procedurally generated to load flawlessly in under 3 seconds,” along with “Try creating different characters with backgrounds and characteristics that clash or are oppositive of your previous character. You will feel like you are playing a totally different game.”
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This isn’t the only review a developer has replied to, as X user JuiceHead33 shared more responses, alongside the studio’s reply to UptownMermaid.
Bethesda is responding to negative Starfield reviews on Steam. Absolutely bizarre if you ask me and despite media attention this hasn't stopped, the last response is from today pic.twitter.com/ay589tg8cc
— JuiceHead (@JuiceHead33) November 28, 2023
For clarity, there’s nothing wrong with developers defending their work, since the amount of time invested in creating such massive projects is well worth defending. Yet, as many of the replies to JuiceHead’s tweet shared, it feels like the studio’s telling players they’re playing the game wrong.
As one reply perfectly captured: “Their responses basically boil down to “I’m sorry you feel that way, but actually, your opinions are wrong, and you just don’t understand the game.”
Bethesda plans to support Starfield for at least five years, but hopefully, this isn’t the type of support they have planned.
