WhenStarfieldwas initially confirmed to feature over a thousand distinct planets in one of its early reveals, it understandably blew the minds of a lot of Bethesda fans. From the beginning, the game was clearly set up to be something quite different to the other massive open-world titles from the studio, butStarfield’s unimaginable vastness quickly proved to be one of its most controversial aspects after its launch, with much of the community feeling that the space-based role-playing game is actually worse-off for its perhaps overly-ambitious scale.
Set within the local cluster of stars,Starfieldfeatures 119 unique star systems and a whopping 1,692 planets and moons between them. While not every one of these worlds can be landed on due to a couple hundred of them being either gas giants, ice giants, or asteroid-type moons, there’s still far more in the Settled Systems than the average player will ever go out of their way to see. The relatively fewStarfieldenthusiasts who have charted every planettypically spend several hundred hours doing it, which gives some context to the sheer scope of the game’s world and how much time it demands from hardcore completionists.
Starfield Needs to Do More to Keep Exploration Interesting
Ironically enough though, much of the time spent by most players inStarfield’s galaxy is concentrated in the same locations, and there’s good reason for that. Despite boasting well over a thousand worlds, a relatively tiny number of them really stand out for anything.Starfield’s planets are procedurally generated, and while there are plenty of unique planetary biomes, hand-crafted structures, and points of interest to discover, there’s still not nearly enough variety to keep exploration fresh and interesting across over a thousand worlds. The majority of moons throughout the galaxy are barren and craterous, making it difficult for even the most enthusiastic explorers to differentiate between most of them.
That doesn’t mean thatStarfield’s entire playable worldis dull and unremarkable, though. The game does feature a number of planets that really stand out, with a specific few planets harboring some of the largest cities in the game, such as New Atlantis, Akila City, and Neon. A small handful of other planets feature smaller towns and settlements too, such as Gagarin in the Alpha Centauri system or New Homestead on Titan, one of Saturn’s moons. It’s not just settlements that make a planet special, though - some are memorable for the unique quests that take place there, and others still, such as Mars and Earth, feature unique structures and points of interest that can’t be found anywhere else in the Settled Systems.
Starfield’s Settled Systems is Lightyears Wide, But Only a Few Feet Deep
There are some truly surprising and memorable quests out in the galaxy that players can really only find by stumbling across them, but the problem is that there’s not nearly enough of them. Instead, most planets end up being useful for little more thanresource extraction in the eyes of manyStarfieldplayers, leaving much of the game’s community to feel like the game would have been better off if Bethesda focused on putting more essence into a smaller selection of worlds.
Still, those who are simply passionate about wandering through the massive, procedurally generateduniverse ofStarfieldare guaranteed to have no shortage of wonderful planets to visitand views to marvel at. Just hopping between planets and moons can make for a uniquely relaxing experience, and every so often, even the twentieth barren moon will treat players to an unforgettable close-up view of a sunlit gas giant filling the sky.
Starfield
WHERE TO PLAY
Starfield is the first new universe in 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. In this next generation role-playing game set amongst the stars, create any character you want and explore with unparalleled freedom as you embark on an epic journey to answer humanity’s greatest mystery.The year is 2330. Humanity has ventured beyond our solar system, settling new planets, and living as a spacefaring people. From humble beginnings as a space miner, you will join Constellation – the last group of space explorers seeking rare artifacts throughout the galaxy – and navigate the vast expanse of the Settled Systems in Bethesda Game Studios’ biggest and most ambitious game.
