it was inevitable that Starfield and Cyberpunk 2077 would square off, despite the latters release being three years ago. As the dust around Starfield was just settling down Patch 2.0 was launched for Cyberpunk 2077 in anticipation of the DLC, Phantom Liberty. Now, even the Starfield fanboys are admitting the CDProjekt Red title is better... for now.
Straight off the bat I have to emphasise that Cyberpunk 2077 has a three-year headstart over Starfield, and as we've seen with Cyberpunk 2077 itself, a game with a rocky launch can meet and surpass a player's expectations. While Starfield may be a miss when it comes to various mechanics or features, there's plenty of time to improve.
Check out our Starfield review below!
One Starfield player has taken to Reddit to discuss their feelings on both games starting out by saying "After spending a couple hundred hours on Starfield, I can honestly say that I love this game despite the fact that it falls short in some areas." They go on to say they went back to play Cyberpunk 2077 and it made them realise how "antiquated some of the technology is in Starfield."
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The first observation in the Reddit thread is how robotic and unrealistic Bethesda's character models are. In their RPG models feel more like "a mannequin" and are incredibly wooden in delivering dialogue. While in Cyberpunk "NPCs notice you" and they "seamlessly engage in dialogue even as they continue to perform other tasks like eating or smoking."
Replies delve even deeper into the gulf between the two games, "Give me ladders from CP2077 please" is a comment about how awkward climbing is in Starfield. While another reply says "The character models are 100% my biggest gripe with Starfield. Every action in animation sequence an NPC uses has a pause between them."
Common complaints raise their head; lack of a land vehicle and the scale of 'cities' in Starfield, but also users comment on how much better Bethesda NPCs used to be, "In Skyrim... a blacksmith would just continue working and turn [their head] your way when talking." Is it nostalgia programming? Or a lack of resources?
Featured Image Credit: Bethesda/CD ProjektTopics: Starfield, Cyberpunk 2077, PC, Xbox