A reader offers his hopes and theories on what Bethesdas mysterious sci-fi game might be and how it would differ from Fallout and Skyrim.
Thanks to Fallout 76 Bethesda are not in a good place right now. Their reputation is at an all time low and while Doom Eternal looks promising thats more of an id Software game. In fact, all their best games now, and in the future, seem to be from studios other than their main one called Bethesda Game Studios – the one led by Todd Howard.
I would now imagine itll be a long, long time till we see Fallout 5, not least because they have two games announced that are presumably going to come out before it. One is The Elder Scrolls VI, about which we know nothing, and the other is Starfield, about which we know even less.
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The Elder Scrolls is obviously a long-running franchise so you can at least guess the basics of what itll be like but Starfield is a complete mystery other than its obviously sci-fi and presumably an open world (or galaxy) game.
The only thing we really have to go on is the teaser, which to me is reminiscent of Elite, in that all you see is a big planet and a small spacestation. Knowing that Elite was never that big in America though I have no idea whether this is an intentional reference or if Im reading too much into it. But I know thats the kind of game I hope it will be.
Space combat simulators are all but dead at the moment, and have been for a decade or so, but I would love to see a return to the sort of space trading games that used to exist, something like EVE Online but thats primarily single-player and, you know, fun to play.
Fun is the watchword for me because the only other game like this at the moment is Elite: Dangerous and that takes itself far too seriously too. Unfortunately, a light touch and a sense of humour is not exactly what Bethesda are known for but Im thinking a Han Solo/Firefly style of tone instead of the super-seriousness of the other games Ive mentioned.
To make sure its marketable to non sci-fi fans Id hope that it would allow you to walk around as a pilot, like Elder Scrolls and Fallout, both on planets and spacestations. Add in some shooting action and dialogue and you could fill it with just as much character as other Bethesda games without making it just about flying around in deep space.
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Id also have it so you can hire a crew and get to know them. A bit like Mass Effect but less formal and again more like a Firefly/Chewbacca kind of thing. Maybe they could be real players in co-op or maybe youd just level them up and order them about, but their main goal would be to make the game seem like you were never alone and were actually part of a team.
Basically, I want it to be Skyrim but sci-fi, with you able to go to multiple planets and chose to be a trader, pirate, bounty hunter, mercenary, soldier or anything in betweRead More – Source
