Though Starfield has had a widely positive reception, many are unhappy with the way exploration unfolds for players and the fact that there aren’t vehicles. NakeyJakey took to Twitter to voice his grievances with the highly-anticipated title, and many agreed with him.
For a game like Starfield that’s had years of marketing behind it, the task of living up to the hype is almost impossible. Creating a game that manages to be everything fans were hoping for is something few developers ever pull off.
And, while Starfield does have its strengths, many have pointed out some of the game’s weaknesses as they’ve played it more and more.
NakeyJakey, a YouTube video essayist and respected voice in the gaming community, tweeted about his frustration with Starfield’s “utterly dreadful” exploration, and many of his fans and fellow YouTubers wholeheartedly agreed with him.
Starfield’s exploration called out for being “utterly dreadful”
One of the big pulls for Bethesda RPGs is players’ ability to explore in almost any direction and be guaranteed some sort of event or quest that pulls you into the game’s world.
Starfield, meanwhile, requires players to hop around the galaxy from planet to planet. There isn’t an expanse to walk into as much as there is a menu to navigate, something other players have already called out the game for.
However, even exploration locally has received some serious criticism from players. NakeyJakey put together a description of why he doesn’t like Starfield’s exploration and how it supposedly pales in comparison to previous Bethesda RPGs.
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Jakey had scathing criticism for Starfield: “25 hours in and exploration in Starfield is utterly dreadful. You land on a planet, it generates a bunch of locations (most of them like 400 meters away if not more) and you WALK.”
Not having any vehicles to explore the planets in Starfield is mind-boggling.Imagine if Elden Ring didn't have a horse lmao
— The Act Man (@TheActMan_YT) September 9, 2023
He then criticized the game’s lack of vehicles that forces players to run around planets. Though there’s much more space in Starfield in terms of surface area, NakeyJakey wasn’t impressed by much of it.
“This is such a drastic step back from the amazing sense of exploration and wonder that Skyrim and Fallout 4 inspired that it truly baffles me. I want to like this game so bad.”
Fellow creator The Act Man chimed in, mirroring the sentiment of many players that the game’s lack of vehicles is “mind-boggling”.
While the majority of people agreed with Jakey’s sentiment, many still enjoyed the game despite this flaw and weren’t as bothered by the lack of exploration as others.
And, while mods may come in and save the day at some point, it’ll take time and isn’t ultimately an excuse for a feature that many players are asking for not being there on launch. Although Todd Howard himself did explain why the team decided not to add vehicles.
