Review bombing Starfield has already become a hobby for those who have no love for Bethesda’s latest open-world space exploration RPG. A few weeks ago, review bombs pushed Starfield’s Steam core down into 'Mostly Negative' territory, for instance.
That was before the holidays set in, and people settled for their two weeks of celebrations. After the New Year, the review bombs begin anew. This time, they are protesting Starfield’s most recent win at the 2023 Steam Awards for Most Innovative Gameplay.
Over the weekend, the Starfield Steam page has seen an influx of negative reviews once more. Some of these comments directly question the recent win for Bethesda’s latest intellectual property.
One called Starfield “a joke” and made a passing remark, seemingly accusing the studio of passing on cash to grab the Innovative Gameplay win.
Indeed, some pundits have expressed surprise at the nomination and more so for the award. Critics say there is no innovation at all with Starfield’s gameplay because it has elements of the studio’s previous games with no new mechanics introduced.
Given that Starfield is only four months old, some defenders think that Starfield may need to receive some updates and changes to sway public opinion. This phenomenon was observed over the years with Bethesda’s other RPGs.
Paul Tassi of Forbes, for instance, opines that a major update via the DLC Shattered Space or the series of updates promised last month will bring the RPG back into positive territory. These patches are expected to introduce “new ways to travel” to the game.
A Redditor also said that, while he is confident Bethesda will update Starfield at some point, the changes won’t be what other players are hoping for since they claimed the studio is seeing the issue in a different light.