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Starfield review roundup - Embargo lifts as critics reveal thoughts on Bethesda's new RPG

Space is great, turns out

Kate Harrold

Updated 09:41 26 Apr 2024 GMT+1Published 17:02 31 Aug 2023 GMT+1

After years of waiting, Starfield has finally arrived.

Bethesda's open-world RPG has landed after no small amount of hype and plenty of anticipation. But what do the critics have to say about Starfield? Does it live up to previous efforts like Skyrim and Fallout 3, or does it fall flat?

This afternoon GAMINGbible is here to round up all the biggest review scores and critic reactions for you. So let's get going as soon as the embargo lifts at 5pm BST!

Thank you for joining us for our review round-up. Impressions will continue to pour in over the coming days as more reviews are posted online and players gain early access - and we'll continue to keep you up to date on the very latest news.

8 months ago16:28

TechRadarGaming opted for a score of 4 out of 5. They wrote, "I’ve enjoyed the time that I’ve spent with the game, and I fully expect scores and scores of people to be playing this for years. There’s so much here for willing captains who want to explore every different station, survey and map out every world. For me, I’ll be left looking up from the ground, wondering if a more interesting version of the game is out there in the stars somewhere."

8 months ago16:25

At the time of writing, Starfield has landed a score of 88 on Metacritic on PC. This is subject to change as more reviews are added.

8 months ago16:24

Windows Central gave the game a score of 4.5 out of 5. In their review, they wrote, "Starfield tries to do a lot. Over the course of writing this review, I've gone from a 4/5 to a 5/5 and eventually settled on a 4.5/5. The highs are extremely high, but the lows are baked into the system and trip up what would otherwise be a perfect sci-fi gameplay experience."

8 months ago16:22

Next up, we have GamesRadar who gave a perfect score of 5 out of 5. They wrote, "Starfield isn't really a game you play to complete, it's more about living whatever sort of life you want in the literal universe Bethesda has created. Whatever you're thinking of doing, you almost certainly can do it, and the scale is almost a release in a way – you'll probably never see or do it all, so just enjoy the moment. There's months, if not years, of discoveries buried away in here, and even after 80 hours I can't wait to see more."

8 months ago16:20

ScreenRant gave Starfield a score of 4.5 out of 5, writing in their review, "Starfield is perhaps the most ambitious game from Bethesda, and is almost certainly the game every Skyrim and Fallout fan has been waiting for. It introduces new concepts, mechanics, and addicting sandbox elements expected from an epic science fiction RPG at the cutting edge of innovation. Even though Starfield is slightly rough around the edges, it never detracts from all the fun and adventure. With engaging storytelling, charismatic characters, and an enthralling world, Starfield is an instant classic and a triumphant homecoming to blockbuster gaming for Bethesda Game Studios."

8 months ago16:16

VGC have given the game a perfect 5 out of 5. They said in their review, "Starfield is undoubtedly an experience that players will stick with for years to come. It’s content-rich in a way that’s rare in modern gaming, and exactly the experience that people who’ve been hoovering up different versions of Skyrim for years have wanted. It doesn’t truly reinvent the wheel with its mechanics, but almost everything it does, it does so well, that it’s a truly engrossing experience."

8 months ago16:14

IGN are on the lower end of review scores, rating Starfield a 7 out of 10. The site's review reads, "It’s never a great sign when someone recommends a game on the grounds that it gets good after more than a dozen hours, but that’s very much the kind of game Starfield is, and I do recommend it. There are a lot of forces working against it, and the combination of disjointed space travel, nonexistent maps, aggravating inventory management, and a slow rollout of essential abilities very nearly did it in. It was the joys piloting a custom spaceship into and out of all sorts of morally ambiguous situations in a rich sci-fi universe that eventually pulled it out of a nosedive."

They continued, "I’m glad that I powered through the early hours, because its interstellar mystery story pays off and, once the ball got rolling, combat on foot and in space gradually became good enough that its momentum carried me into New Game+ after I’d finished the main story after around 60 hours."

8 months ago16:12

GameInformer have deemed the game a 'Must Play'. In their review, they wrote, "It took me a long time to fall in love with Starfield, and even after I did, certain aspects didn’t work for me. But the things I didn’t enjoy are vastly outweighed by my enthusiasm for this new, original science fiction universe, the breadth of its adventures, and the appeal of its many interwoven stories. Go in with the expectation that it will take some time to find your footing in such a vast gameplay space, and there’s a universe well worth discovering here."

They gave the game a final score of 8.5.

8 months ago16:08

Let's start with our review. We gave the game a perfect 10 out of 10, writing, "Starfield is without a doubt a monumental release - and not just because it's Bethesda’s first new IP in 25 years. Every now and then, a new game comes along that changes our perception of what the industry is capable of. Starfield is that game. This is beyond what we’ve come to know an open-world to be. Bethesda has created a universe that, despite its vast scale, maintains interest and an impressive attention to detail throughout."

We continued, "The journey you embark on will dazzle you, and I have no doubt that players will be gripped for months, perhaps even years to come. Here is a playground where you can be whoever you want to be. I simply cannot stop thinking about Starfield and the wondrous secrets it still holds. Bethesda, I have one word: bravo."

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Topics: Starfield, Bethesda, Xbox, PC