I’m fairly fond ofStarfield‘s goofy, often sterile sandbox universe. I’ve gotsome strange reasons as to why that’s the case, but generally, I like the game well enough. I was very excited aboutShattered Space, too.Starfield‘s first DLC isn’t doing all that well review-wise, however.
In more concrete terms,Shattered Spaceis currently stuck with a ‘Mixed’ review rating over on Steam, with just over 600 reviews posted in total. Now, we had some inclination thatBethesda might be playing it safe withShattered Spaceahead of the DLC’s release, but that’s really not the issue here. In fact, even though I do thinkShattered Spacedid fail to deliver in some crucial areas (more on that later), I also think its current review rating is somewhat undeserved and may have fallen victim to the “Starfieldbad” hype.
Starfield’s new Shattered Space DLC comes with some strange omissions, but that’s not the reason why it’s got ‘Mixed’ reviews
It takes just the tiniest bit of scrolling throughStarfield: Shattered Space‘s reviews to see that many, if not most of the negative posts could be considered meme-worthy. A very significant number of these reviews, in fact, appears to be reviewingStarfieldonce again instead of adequately critiquing the new expansion pack.
So, with that in mind, I recommend takingShattered Space‘s Steam review rating with a pinch of salt at hand. Things arereallynot as dire as the reviews might make it seem at a glance.
That being what it is, the flip side of things is that I’m completely befuddled by some of the choices Bethesda appears to have made here. Now, note that I’ve obviously not completed the DLC in its entirety, butShattered Spacedoes not add any of the following:
Shattered Spaceis, instead, a collection of fancy new Va’ruun-themed stories set against the grander backdrop ofStarfield‘s universe. This is certainly fair enough, but I am deeply confused as to why Bethesda wouldn’t choose to build upon some of the game’s strongest core features. Like, for an obvious example, the ship-building systems.
This is the bit that really grates on me, in particular.Starfield‘s lead creative producer, Tim Lamb, specifically mentioned in ainterview with Gaming Boulevardthat Bethesda has “introduced new ship customization options [withShattered Space], which allow players to really tailor their vessels to their playstyle.” There aren’t any of those to be found here, from the look of things. And I’d be eager to wait longer to see if Bethesda hid some key goodies behind endgame-tierShattered Spacecontent if the modders hadn’t datamined all the new items within hours of the DLC’s release.
In general, then, I do recommendShattered Spacefor those who are keen onStarfieldin general. It’s a solid new piece of content that genuinely does riff with the likes ofMorrowindandSkyrimin some important ways. The fact that it stubbornly refuses to improve upon those bits that were genuinely exciting and important to the coreStarfieldgameplay experience annoys me deeply, however.
In a roundabout way, I guess the “Mixed” reviews kind of do fitStarfield: Shattered Space.
