Summary
As far as Sci-Fi gaming franchises go,Mass Effectis definitely up there as one of the greatest of all time. While the series' last entry was an immense disappointment,the originalMass Effecttrilogyis still considered to be a masterpiece, with some great combat mechanics, excellent writing, and top-tier world-building, something that BioWare excels in. And thoughMass Effect 4is confirmed to be in the works, it isn’t the Sci-Fi game on people’s radar right now,Starfieldis.
Bethesda’s next major open-world RPG,Starfield, is set to be the developer’s most ambitious project yet, and tensions are high. With this being the first game sinceFallout 76’s disastrous launch, and first major Xbox Game Pass game sinceRedfall, there’s a great deal riding onStarfield, and that pressure must be insurmountable for those actually working on the game. But if Bethesda can pull it off,Starfieldcould end up setting the new standard for Sci-Fi RPGs, and that’s a high bar forMass Effect 4to leap over.
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Starfield Could End Up Setting a High Bar for Mass Effect 4 to Beat
There are certain things that BioWare’sMass Effect 4will probably end up doing better thanStarfield, regardless of how good the latter ends up being. The story is one such element. Though Bethesda RPG stories are usually fine, they’re never the strongest aspect of the game, but the same can’t be said for the originalMass Effecttrilogy. A similar argument can probably be made aboutStarfield’s companions. Though there seems to be some great variation in possible crewmates,Starfield’s companionsprobably won’t reach the same heights as iconic gaming characters like Garrus, Wrex, and Tali. But aside from that,Starfieldcould end up raising the bar to unseen heights.
TheMass Effectseries used to be renowned for its Sci-Fi exploration. Whether it was the bustling Citadel or desolate planets with no life on them,Mass Effect’s Sci-Fi environmentslooked and felt great to explore, and did an excellent job of immersing players in the universe. ButStarfieldlooks like it may outdoMass Effectin this department, in quite a few ways.
Starfieldwill let players loose on an entire galaxy. And while only around 10% of its planets will be hand-crafted, that’s still far more planets thanMass Effecthas ever had, and though it hasn’t been confirmed just how large these open-world areas are, it seems like a safe bet to assume thatStarfield’s populated planetshave a lot more going on thanMass Effect’s. Players will be able to talk to countless NPCs, get a slew of quests and errands, build bases, and otherwise just explore all of these planets at their own pace.Starfieldhas the potential to immerse players in a Sci-Fi world like never before.
This extreme level of Sci-Fi exploration is also enhanced byStarfield’s ship features. During the course ofStarfield, players will be able to pilot and customize their very own spaceship, swapping out parts and upgrading vital systems along the way to make it all their own. WhileMass Effectlet players upgrade the Normandy with new parts, it had real no bearing on the gameplay itself, only acting as a checklist to achievethe perfect ending inMass Effect 2. InStarfield, the player’s ship is a vital part of the experience, and it’s all their own. Even ifStarfielddoesn’t quite live up to expectations, the sheer number of systems and mechanics in the game is going to set a high bar forMass Effect 4to reach.
Starfieldlaunches September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
