Starfield’s hopeful exploration of mankind’s future among the many stars (with a wholesome dose of zany sci-fi thrown in too) appeared to persuade sufficient critics when the sport launched a bit of over a 12 months in the past, however it additionally confronted harsh criticism from longtime Bethesda followers and gamers anticipating rather more superior recreation design. Does the Shattered House growth repair any of these central points?
The brief reply is: no, probably not. Bethesda Sport Studios appears to be fairly pleased with Starfield general, and it is sensible that the studio is sticking to its weapons with this new IP after being caught bouncing between Fallout and The Elder Scrolls for greater than 20 years. “It’s what it’s,” I’d say. For all its faults, the sport seemingly was a monetary success for Bethesda Softworks and its Microsoft overlords, and most of its tough edges (at the very least those that do not have an effect on its philosophical and engine-related foundations) have been ironed out at this level through patches and free content material updates.
BGS nonetheless needs to help Starfield for a very long time, and work on a second growth appears to be underway, however are the Settled Programs value exploring additional? After this primary DLC, I would say sure, however Shattered House is much from a great refresh, at the very least at this time limit.
The story takes gamers to the putting Va’ruun’kai, the hidden homeworld of the large and mysterious Home Va’ruun, the cult-like faction that solely reared its head within the base recreation and, for essentially the most half, was the stuff of legends. In conventional sci-fi horror style, all of it kicks off with a go to to a derelict house station. As a substitute of Xenomorphs, nonetheless, the participant faces a reality-bending disaster that is messed with the material of space-time and created aggressive ‘ghosts’ out of the poor souls affected by it.
This cataclysmic occasion happened on Va’ruun’kai, the place we quickly study Home Va’ruun is definitely nicer than we might been advised… at the very least after shifting on from the ‘outdated’ Serpent’s Campaign. The non secular zealots roaming the celebrities are rejected by the present leaders, so all is nice so long as you do not offend them or convey extra strangers to Va’ruun’kai. As for you, your arrival is seen as an auspicious signal from the Nice Serpent, so that you successfully change into the ‘foremost character’ of yet one more storyline.
Let’s get Shattered House’s greatest downside out of the best way first: It is too costly for what it gives. Priced at $30 (maybe much less if you happen to grabbed Starfield’s Premium Version final 12 months), it largely looks like a faction questline that could not be completed in time for launch. It is not considerably longer than the units of missions from the UC Vanguard, the Freestar Rangers, or Ryujin Industries. Va’ruun’kai is a brand new world with its personal tradition, ‘metropolis’ (extra of a city), and hand-crafted places, but neither combating its cosmic horrors nor exploring the cataclysm-affected locales feels very totally different from what’s within the base recreation. Weapons and tools units aren’t as distinct as in different DLC packs from Bethesda both.
Alternatively, it packs one of many better-written questlines within the recreation, and the Va’ruun lore and mythology are genuinely fascinating, particularly after studying they don’t seem to be this naturally hostile group of individuals. In truth, they’re coping with as a lot political squabbling and infighting as the remainder of the Settled Programs. Many of the six-to-eight-hour marketing campaign (if you happen to beeline the missions, that’s) is definitely spent convincing Home Va’ruun’s homes (sure, their society is not a monolith) to collaborate and repair what’s been damaged. After all, that includes taking care of their urgent issues first, and it is a stable alternative to study extra about Va’ruun’kai that Bethesda’s writers made good use of.
Fight encounters, whereas basically an identical to something within the base recreation, really feel fairly intense fairly often, with the devs recommending that your character has at the very least reached degree 35 or so. I can affirm issues get hectic, particularly in the course of the ultimate quest, and, with out entering into spoilers, I extremely recommend stocking up on meds and good armor.
Maybe the most important disappointment that is not associated to the ‘bang for the buck’ is that the reality-bending scenario affecting Va’ruun’kai isn’t correctly explored past how and why it occurred. Even if you happen to undergo each log you’ll find mendacity round, loads of lingering questions aren’t answered by the tip. Extra egregiously, there are no new mechanics to talk of on this growth. Past getting barely teleported round after colliding with house tears and glowing goo, there’s nothing in Shattered House that impacts how Starfield performs nor everlasting upgrades that considerably alter the principle character.
Whereas Starfield did ‘effectively sufficient’ and is slowly however steadily build up a modding group (very like each different BGS recreation), its redemption/enchancment arc was demanding an absolute smash hit of an growth. As a substitute, Shattered House looks like extra of the identical, simply of a special taste and stuffed inside an costly bundle. If you happen to’ve performed Starfield for a whole lot of hours already, be happy to make the grav drive leap to Va’ruun’kai. In any other case, get your house exploration repair elsewhere.
Starfield: Shattered House is at the moment obtainable on Xbox Collection X/S and PC. The bottom recreation may be performed through Sport Cross, however the DLC is bought individually.
