Forget Starfield Shattered Space DLC; I believe one improving feature will save the game.
Although Starfield has drawn a lot of criticism since its release, resolving one fundamental gameplay issue could help to turn things around or attract fresh gamers. Reviews for the Starfield Shattered Space DLC still lie at a lackluster "Mixed" on Steam; yet, expanding on one feature could change all that. One of the main ideas of the game is enjoyable and interesting but badly underused over the large worlds dispersed over the Settled Systems.
Starfield simply needs more random space encounters.
The author has spent almost 250 hours playing Starfield, yet they still see and agree with many of the complaints that still exist today. Fans of the Fallout series of games probably saw it through rose-tinted glasses, but as time passed and New Game Plus playthroughs got underway they began to see what the game lacked. Sadly, one area of Starfield that has not received enough attention is its best feature. Sure, important missions like the UC Sys Def vs. Crimson Fleet drive players into their ships for vast expanses of gameplay, but beyond using the scanner, space travel generally is a severely underused part of the game. For someone like the author, who spent many hours customizing and developing their ship, the reality that there is not much to do out in the expanse of space undercuts their technical efforts.
Starfield Random Space Encounters Are Superior
Starfield features a lot of quite amazing random space encounters ranging from absolutely terrifying to entertaining and emotionally poignant. Speaking with the captain allows players to turn off the gravity for a zero-G party experience, so the Starfield party cruise ship is most likely one of the more exciting encounters where players come across an intergalactic rave ship. An elderly woman called Grandma invites the player over for a cup of tea and some friendly discussion, therefore offering another less exciting but equally fascinating and heartwarming interaction. Though it's not the most exciting goal, it's a pleasant diversion from the rinse-and-repeat gameplay of visiting a point of interest and blasting lots of Spacers. Two more less fascinating but nice contacts included the Valentine Sea Shanty, a wandering pilot and vocalist who serenades the player with his wonderful voice. Though it's not the most thorough search, similar, more typical interactions like getting stopped by Faraday's Budget Tours or the Magic School Bus-esque ship with an annoyed teacher give a reason to really fly around in space.
The horror missions of Starfield transcend the others.
Though tragically most players will never even see, even after hundreds or, in some cases, thousands of hours of gameplay, probably two of the best random space encounters are ones that most players will never even encounter. One such case connects with popular culture and is a creepy detective-esque mission on a deserted space station. The titular Pale Lady from Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark abandons ship in Starfield. Though never seen firsthand, she can be heard; traces of the crew and audio records reveal a fascinating journey players will never be able to travel. Although the main bad guys in Starfield in Terrormorphs and the Xenomorphs in the classic sci-fi horror picture extraterrestrial have clear links, there also is another random space encounter with a ship known as the Colander that introduces even more hideous extraterrestrial termed the Interloper. This random space encounter sticks out as one of the better events in the game, with comparable looks as the gross-out body horror found in the Entangled mission – in which players must decide to save Rafael or a full station of people.
Starfield Players Shouldn't Have To Search The Galaxy For Interesting Activities
Though Starfield has received its fair share of criticism, most likely none as constant as the complaint that the vastness of the Settled Systems leaves lacking activities. Reddit threads including unusual biomes are the most highly valued postings on r/Starfield due in great part to a dearth of fascinating POIs. The pathetic justification that it would be "realistic" for the galaxy to be totally empty of the content doesn't really hold water in a game that is intended to be interesting and exciting, in a game that allegedly celebrates the wonders that may be found out in space. The flaws of Starfield became even more clear after initially playing Cyberpunk 2077 in 2024. Though a far more limited universe devoid of space travel, Night City is bursting with fascinating and entertaining material on almost every street corner; there was never a moment when the author thought the game lacked content. Though that game also had pseudo-Radiant missions, the author didn't mind completing them since typically there was a nice interaction or two on route to get there. The fact a player might spend practically hundreds of hours in Starfield and not come across every random space encounter the game has is evidence of how meaningless space in the game seems. Given that this is a space game, this is a negative thing since for the author it comes just short of failing in its intended use. Like they do with the Fallout games, the author enjoys Starfield and finds it to be entertaining; nevertheless, they also recognize the obvious problems with it. Like many Bethesda games, their titles have great more potential; as tech improves and more games are created in UE5, the obvious negative effects of their production approach become more evident with every release.
Starfield Shattered Space Needs Additional Random Space Encounters
Though the Starfield Shattered Space DLC excites the author to learn more about the Va'ruun—an obvious exclusion that feels more like they ran out of time than it was intentional—the author is hoping it's not just another Trackers Alliance. Although the author is seeking for a few more significant enhancements or content additions, even if they know it may be more wishful thinking than a possible reality for the future, those searches were good after playing the game for over 250 hours. Though no official date has been established as of right now, Starfield Shattered Space is scheduled for release in the Fall of 2024. Rather, the author is expecting Bethesda merely starts to publish some free DLC packs adding arbitrary space missions. From merely chatting to other arbitrary ships over the intercom to more thorough and fascinating missions like the Pale Lady ship, these might span anything. The business still has a few sci-fi series they might choose from; they have never held back when parodying or satirizing popular media. While most people would consider that bar to be rather low, additional random space encounters could possibly preserve Starfield from being precisely what the detractors suggest.
