Starfield has been out for a while, and the community has started to form opinions. These opinions range from singing the game's praises to uninstalling it within the first few hours. Many insist that the game gets better the more you play. If you need more patience to find out, here are some popular reasons some players hate Starfield.
Perhaps you're just here to fuel your anger against Starfield, and we're here to help you with precisely that. If you ever argue against a Starfield fan, consider these ten reasons why Starfield deserves hate. But hey, if you're a fan, wait for our piece on ten reasons to love Starfield (We're Starfield Portal, after all).
So, let's get into our list of grievances against Starfield.
10 Things Players Hate About Starfield
Combat AI Feels Outdated
One of the main components of Starfield is the combat system. While the weapons and their modifications are pretty fun, and even the gunplay feels satisfying, the enemies leave much to be desired. They need to update the Starfield AI to be intelligent enough to pose a realistic threat.
The enemies stand in place like bullet sponges and shoot at you from static positions or basic cover. It breaks the immersion from what could've been excellent combat.
The Game Economy is Strange
First, for those who understand this struggle, check out our credit farming guide. With that out of the way, would somebody at Bethesda like to explain why a Starship sells for roughly the same as approximately 45 sandwiches or a single shotgun?
The in-game economy is quite harsh if you plan to be a Trader without the commerce skill. Worse than this, however, is the feeling of dissatisfaction when you go to sell a legendary or highly valued piece of gear and find that it only sells for chump change.
Too Many Menus and Loading Screens
Yes, you can tell me it's my fault for not playing on a high-end machine, but that does not forgive Starfield and its overly complex UI. More than just the excessive amount of loading screens, sifting through five menus to fast travel to a location is the opposite of immersive.
What makes matters worse is that you'll be frequently fast-travelling across hundreds of planets, so good luck navigating all that UI.
Inventory Management is a Nightmare
Speaking of menus, one menu you'll see the most is the Inventory. We could give the usual tips such as "don't pick up useless items", "sell unnecessary items", and "use your ship's cargo storage", but none of these excuse the fact that inventory management is simply lacking.
There are no good options to sort items using meaningful stats, and you're required to memorise a lot of stats before deciding what to get rid of. Inventory management becomes a chore that breaks you away from the gameplay consistently.
Not on the PlayStation
This is the most accessible complaint to make, and this is for all my Sony bros out there. Starfield being unavailable on the PlayStation and being a Microsoft exclusive isn't the game's fault. However, it does limit the player base quite a lot and is a good reason for PlayStation owners to curse the competition. Nobody should have to buy a second console to enjoy a game in modern-day gaming.
Basic Skills Tied to Levels
Alright, Bethesda, I enjoy the expansive skill system, but can you please explain why I need to learn skills for simple actions like pick-pocketing and combat slides? These barriers add a layer of artificial progression that should not be there in the first place and should be reserved for other impactful upgrades. It makes the already gritty levelling-up requirements feel even worse, as you must invest points into these basic abilities.
NPC Movement Speed
Starfield has a lot of quests where you must follow an NPC from point A to point B. While there are some annoying bugs where the NPC doesn't move to their required position, this is not the worst offence.
During the quests where you have to follow NPCs, everyone walks at the same annoying pace, faster than walking and slower than running. You're the only one in the entire Settled Systems with the ability to run!
Too Many Barren Planets With Procedural Generation
Starfield has a relatively impressive procedural generation system that makes for some convenient and convincing encounters. However, once you get used to it, it takes away a lot from the exploration aspect of the game because you know exactly what to expect.
While many planets are meant to be barren, it's still a big waste of potential. It doesn't help that the two major factions are a military society and American space cowboys. You start to see a lot of missed opportunities for world-building in Starfield.
New Game Plus is Wasted Potential
I was blown away when I heard Starfield's new game plus changes go up to NG+ 10, and the limitless possibilities flooded my mind. Unfortunately, I soon discovered that the options were, in fact, quite limited, and there were barely any changes across NG+ iterations.
You can read about the new game plus changes and form your opinions, but it feels like a wasted opportunity for what could've been so much more.
Some Systems Feel Like Afterthoughts
Speaking of wasted potential, the same applies to many of Starfield's mechanics. The outpost building system, in particular, is a victim of this problem as there isn't much of a point to it unless you have a specific method of playing based around outposts and crafting/researching in mind.
(BONUS)You Cannot Romance VASCO
Okay, I'm just joking around here, but the discussion of being able to romance VASCO was quite popular before the release of Starfield. People were quite excited about all the potential romance options in the game.
However, we only get four measly romance options. While these characters get fleshed out, and you can connect with them, they're all from the same goody two-shoes archetype when we look at Sarah Morgan and Sam Coe. Andreja's romance is a bit more of a standout, but there was potential for more.
That concludes our list of 10 things players hate in Starfield. Be sure to check out our other guides and articles while here, or maybe not if you do indeed hate Starfield...