The Elder Scrolls 6 fans reassess expectations following Bethesda's latest release

If you thought that Starfield was divisive, well, that might look tame compared to the reception to Shattered Space.

This may come as an upset to some people but there’s little arguing with the fact that Starfield is a good game.

Just how ‘good’ varies from person to person, and it may be on the lower end of the scale for you, but the original release - despite all of the noise online - secured a very respectable score of 83 over on Metacritic.

Shattered Space, however, sits at a much more measly 59.

I have to say, I had quite a fun time with the expansion, awarding it a score of eight in our review.

Certainly, Bethesda plays it way too safe but the DLC does do an excellent job of showcasing the improvements the studio has made to Starfield over the last year.

The fact that metascores range from 40 to 90 show just how much of a divisive release Shattered Space is.

With that in mind, the expansion has left fans feeling concerned about The Elder Scrolls VI.

Yes, this is a return to more familiar territory, but beyond setting, I am wondering what prospective players are hoping to find in TES VI that they didn’t find in Starfield.

After all, The Elder Scrolls VI is being made in Starfield’s Creation Engine 2.

You should give Shattered Space a try if you did enjoy Starfield at launch.

Reddit user minimumsuggestion698 kicked off a discussion, saying, “Is there still hope for us for TES VI?”

They continued, “I know that from the Starfield DLC release, everybody here has been walking on eggshells with TES 6, including me, but is there something that you really hope that happens with BGS and this game? Maybe some game changing mechanics , or maybe the studio coming to [its] senses, releasing a new hit like Skyrim was at the time?”

“I'm still hopeful, yeah. I don't think TES VI will be a 10/10 game, but I expect it to be good. There's no denying that Starfield had problems, but if you ask me, a lot of the biggest issues with the game won't matter for TES VI. In TES VI, we're not going to have massive, empty procedurally generated worlds,” responded crystlazar.

“I think Starfield gives us a good idea of what it’ll probably look like graphically and some of the mechanics in that game may be implemented in 6 as well,” commented ObvsThrowaway5120.

I have concerns about The Elder Scrolls VI.

Visually, it’s being made - as I said - in Starfield’s engine so while yes, a focus on handcrafted locations in TES VI will rid of some of that emptiness some players felt with Starfield, that game did have a number of bustling handcrafted locations too, so if you don’t like those, I’m not sure TES VI will feel all that different beyonds the medieval fantasy setting.

I also think part of the problem with Starfield is that so many have deep nostalgia for Skyrim, but maybe it's not that Starfield ‘isn’t as good’. Perhaps it’s just that Bethesda’s approach doesn’t hold up in today’s market like it did back in 2011.

Skyrim was cutting edge upon launch, but I don’t think it’s incorrect to say that many feel that Starfield is somewhat outdated.

With Starfield, players can rest on the excuse that it’s not The Elder Scrolls but if they feel the same way when The Elder Scrolls VI drops … well, then we enter dangerous territory.

Maybe it’s time for Bethesda to try something radical and innovative, but only the response to The Elder Scrolls VI will determine if such a decision is necessary.

We wait with baited breath.