16BitHero

I was really excited for Starfield but sadly I'm giving up (for now) about 25 hours in. It really feels like several different game ideas tied together but none do each component as well as other games. A common wish it seems is for the developers to have curated a specific number of systems and planets rather than have these bland procedurally generated ones. I think you can certainly play it a number of different ways but I found myself jumping through numerous load screens to take on the next quest which all felt somewhat disconnected and lacking any sense or feeling of discovery. I'm wondering how many others have taken the difficult decision to shelve it for now. I'm going to play through Cyberpunk a second time instead (then the dlc).

@fabisputza007 I'm catching some flak over at the current Starfield patch article comment section for having the same opinion.

@ChromeMud Many gamers in this day and age have multiple consoles; there is nothing pro PS5 in my train of thought and I certainly didn't allude to the ludicrous statement your sarcastic comment conveyed. In my opinion the best example of current gen console gaming prowess is Flight Simulator on your beloved Xbox.

@JayJ @Darylb88 I wasn't comparing system power, I just thought maybe Sony would push for a 60fps option whereas Bethesda clearly had total creative control as Starfield started development long before the acquisition. I can't help comparing Starfield to other games which have succeeded in implementing a 60fps option though, especially when in my opinion Cyberpunk for example, actually looks better. Anyway, I'm just being an entitled picky gamer!

@Boogaloo_Jenkins The more I play it the more I think if Starfield was on PS5 or Bethesda was owned by Sony then it would have a 60fps option. The graphics are so basic they could definitely hit 60, especially if Cyberpunk, Spiderman and Horizon Forbidden West can and they all look better than Starfield.

@jonmac547 I hope it's a free update for current owners, albeit a massive file size. I bought the current version for when I occasionally let my Gamepass sub lapse. The new gameplay options look incredible.

Starfield is definitely up there. Some crackers this year, I really enjoyed Hogwarts Legacy despite not considering myself a Potter fan, the Horizon Forbidden West dlc was decent, Diablo 4 was addictive for a while but my personal GOTY is Aliens Dark Descent because I'm as huge Alien Saga fan and that game ticked so many boxes. Still gotta play RE4 remake and I know Phantom Liberty will likely be top 5.

I used to play FIFA then PES then FIFA again religiously. The issue I have now is I'm not in school or university anymore and other genres of games have become so large and long that there simply isn't time for sports games outside of a few exhibition matches here and there. Most people I know who play the season, career and franchise modes barely play anything else. Oh to be young again...

There is almost nothing revolutionary about Starfield but it is sublime video game escapism nonetheless. Like many others, after a rather underwhelming first 5 hours or so, I'm now hopelessly addicted. It's not perfect and I'd have changed plenty of elements but what we've got is still a great game, especially for Sci Fi fans.

I bought the Series X for Microsoft Flight Simulator but it's probably had as much if not more playtime than my PS5 by now. Gamepass has been excellent to catch up on Xbox One games I missed last gen not to mention excellent indie titles and now Starfield and the Bethesda acquisition has more than made it worthwhile.

@somnambulance I either want a really good concise campaign or yeah I could be open to a bigger multiplayer approach. Co-op has essentially saved me from boredom in the recent entries.

6 was the first and only game in the series I didn't finish, it really did get tedious. I think it's partly because it was too large and also didn't really evolve the formula enough. Blood Dragon was short and sweet, especially for 80's pop culture fans and Primal remains my favourite overall for reasons I can't explain. Ultimately I hope they reduce the map size and introduce some different quest/story features or something, not just new ways to blow stuff up in a big boring Ubisoft map.

The only time I like the PS5 controller better is for racing games thanks to the amazing gyro controls (GT7 from the cockpit is just incredible). Other than that, both controllers are perfectly fine for current gaming. The haptics on dual sense are novel to begin with but you soon don't notice when in the thick of the action and it's actually better to turn them off for competitive accuracy in many games.

I'll definitely be getting GTA 6 second hand after a few weeks. Rockstar doesn't deserve our money. Greedy greedy company and way behind the competition at this point.

@Acurisur I have to pay closer attention I guess although I have been waiting on the Series X upgrade. Really happy to hear it satisfies fans of the franchise.

I've wanted to play this game for ages, still waiting for a sub $20 price point. In other news, as a fan of another amazing franchise, Aliens Dark Descent is my personal game of the year. Until Starfield perhaps.

Silly decision and why I'll keep Gamepass for console only and buy (multi platform) multiplayer games for PS5 as I usually have PS plus active. If Microsoft did away with these stupid arbitrary decisions and included multiplayer with Gamepass I'd likely stop buying ps plus AND buy multi platform games for Xbox instead. Their business decisions are baffling at times.

What is the Pure Xbox take @fraserg? At this point I think they should include online multiplayer access with Gamepass tiers rather than introduce a Gold replacement for 1$ less than Gamepass for console. Seems arbitrary?

This is actually a very decent list albeit with some previous gen exclusives but I skipped Xbox One completely so this current gen on Gamepass has been incredible value thus far. I'd argue Xbox has had more or at least better overall exclusives than Nintendo. The Switch has a handful of genre defining games which almost every owner erm, owns. Xbox is pretty solid though. PlayStation is consistently strong from generation to generation with a few hiccups here and there. It's a good time to be a gamer.

I'm fortunate to own all three but it would benefit everyone if all remain competitive and although there will inevitably be system exclusives, I do hope the exclusive content and release windows for multi platform games die a quick death.

'as one marine on their own will be quickly overwhelmed and dragged away to become a meaty alien incubator - if they're lucky'

I'd rather be killed instantly than wait around to give chest birth!

Excellent and thorough review, clearly a must for Aliens fans like me. Hopefully it sells better than the brilliant Alien Isolation did so other developer's consider trying their luck in this amazing universe. I do hope they patch the 'barking of orders' when attempting to move quietly down corridors.

Flight Simulator was one of the only actual surprises and has given the only truly current gen experience a new lease of life with all those new gameplay elements.

@Banjo- Contraband by Avalanche Studios - first teased at E3 2021

One of the most ambitious games ever developed surely. I haven't been this excited for a game since, well maybe ever. I'd much prefer a 60fps option but I'll still play it at 30 if I have to.

This (and now Starfield) is the reason I own a Series X. Hoping it's an update as I purchased it for when I take breaks from Gamepass. If it's a whole new 220GB + download I'll just have to deal with it. Looks incredible!!!

The gameplay looks ok but the lazy Fortnite esque cartoon aesthetic that seems to be the industry go to nowadays is unfortunate. Most gamers aren't teenagers anymore.

@Moonglow I have no expectations (to temper any disappointment) but I would like to see something from all those you've mentioned above. I no longer have a backlog on Gamepass or regular Series X games so I'm trudging through an epic backlog on PS5. I'd like to have the problem of two backlogs again!

None, I cancelled Gamepass for now, waiting on Starfield. I know there will undoubtedly be a few decent indie additions between now and then but I can catch up with those later.

Diablo 4 courtesy of a generous friend. Feels just like Diablo 3 but with a much better/darker aesthetic and more of the same is fine by me! Also picked up Deliver Us Mars on sale.

They've got to bring the prices of these down if they expect more people to buy them. 2TB internal SSD expansion for PS5 is as low as $129 now.

Anything on Xbox exclusives Indiana Jones and Contraband - both from excellent studios.

@Kaloudz I feel the same way but if they nail the aesthetic and the mechanics and challenge is there then this could be a real nice surprise.

I just had to play this wonderful sequel on release. 30fps was jarring at first but you quickly get used to it and the game is really quite stunning. I'd prefer most games to be 60fps but I can still enjoy 30 in some cases.

@Widey85 ditto this whole comment ha.

I highly recommend this game - platforming with a cat in a dystopian city and a decent little story to boot. Charming (and occasionally creepy).

I've suspended Gamepass until Starfield as I've essentially played everything I wanted to since the Series X release. If anyone else is in this position and wants FIFA (I haven't bought it for years but fancied a kick about) then in the US it's $17 for the digital version through GameStop.

New (good) games please Microsoft.

@Tonmoy Agreed, I gave Hi Fi Rush a good 45 minutes to an hour and it just wasn't for me but I recognized it as being a great game overall. Same with Elden Ring, I put in 10 hours then quit but still thought of it as GOTY for several reasons.

I thoroughly enjoyed Ghostwire Tokyo and for anyone hesitant about the slightly repetitive, been there done open world format, I finished the game in maybe ten or twelve hours by largely skipping the side quests. The game is gorgeous and changing a couple of controller settings makes it a very smooth experience. Once I finished the story I actually wanted to crack on with the side missions and Spiders Thread DLC so now I can just hop in without getting burned out.

@Sebatrox It may be a niche title but Flight Simulator is what I purchased the Series X for originally and that gets a 9.5 for me. A true current gen experience.

Indiana Jones, maybe another Wolfenstein from Machine Games, and Contraband from Avalanche studios are also highly anticipated for me.

Arkane Austin need to watch the SkillUp review and move on to the next project. Microsoft really need some quality control to be implemented across their studios. They have talented developers being wasted. Someone must have pressured Arkane to move away from what they're good at to please the masses but leave those games to the cynical live service devs as we need innovation to continue.

Contraband, Indiana Jones, Avowed, Fable etc let's see something promising.

Thank you SkillUp (for his honest review of the game in it's current condition albeit worse on PC than console). I still can't believe people are so impatient as to play a broken/bugged game rather than wait a few months for patches. So many other games to play in the meantime. I guess if you're in school or college you might risk spoilers from friends?

I do think EA didn't want to delay the game and probably forced Respawn to release it unfinished knowing it would sell and patches would come.

I'll definitely be playing through this. I was the outlier who got the N64 without Super Mario 64 because my parents would only get one game to start with and I made that Shadows of the Empire
(I did get Mario next!). I'm fairly sure the speeder bike level in Mos Eisley paved the way for Episode 1 Pod Racer as the sense of speed eclipsed even Extreme G at the time.

@TheSimulator an epic wishlist 😉

@Romans12 Agreed. The Series X is a good and competitive console unlike the Xbox One but two years in and the software story remains the same with Microsoft.

Definitely giving co-op a go once the 60fps patch drops.

@Kaloudz It's a continuous story throughout the trilogy so I recommend starting at the beginning and seeing if you dig it. I personally liked the first game the most but all are worth it if you like the story/world building.

@Kaloudz Metro is more of a story driven survivalist fps, you definitely need to look for ammo and supplies on harder difficulties much like Resident Evil but I wouldn't class it as a looter shooter. I'm not keen on those either although Borderlands is fun in co-op.