Summary

  • Starfield players may experience crashes during long playthroughs and high New Game Plus states due to a technical issue with save games.
  • Some bugs, like a planet crashing into the player, can add to the unique and charming experience of Starfield.
  • Bethesda is still actively working on Starfield, with a large team and plans for an ambitious DLC update, suggesting continued support and improvements for the game.

After landing on the first moon of Porrima III and exploring the immediate surroundings, a Starfield player inexplicably bore witness to the nearby planet crashing into them. While Microsoft billed Starfield as the least buggy Bethesda game, a few strange glitches still made their way to the final product. Thankfully, the vast majority of them have been harmless from a gameplay perspective, and could be categorized as the kind of bugs that give Bethesda titles their charm.

However, arguably the biggest technical issue that Starfield faces is tied to long playthroughs and high New Game Plus states. Once a save game becomes too clogged by the new dynamic FormIDs, Starfield players can frequently experience crashes when loading into an area, regardless of platform. While Bethesda has been meticulous in addressing the game's issues with each new Starfield update, it may take more time to find a solution to the crashes.

starfield outpost crash bug new game plus long playthrough save issues
Starfield Player's Outpost Breaks After Almost 600 Hours of Gameplay

After experiencing constant crashes due to a long playthrough, a Starfield player is forced to enter Unity in hopes of escaping a gamebreaking bug.

By 

On the flip side, sometimes a bug happens to be so bizarre that removing it may potentially detract from the experience. This is certainly the case for DuctTapeNinja99, whose trip to Porrima III-A was dramatically enhanced when they saw the Red Mile planet flying towards them on a collision course. Upon realizing the gravity of the situation, they recorded the event with their phone, capturing the exact moment that the planet's texture crashed into the area, and ultimately disappeared.

The reason why this bug occurred remains a mystery, but it has the same energy as the entire city of New Atlantis disappearing from the game, or a headless Andreja casually greeting the player in Starfield. Though the official modding tools for Starfield are slated for release in early 2024, the team behind the Unofficial Starfield Community Patch is already hard at work fixing some of the miscellaneous glitches that don't require access to the new Creation Kit. Given that the scope of the mod includes misplaced objects, a misplaced planet could certainly end up on the fix list at some point in the near future.

As for the developers at Bethesda, Todd Howard revealed that about 250 employees are still working on Starfield, suggesting that the upcoming Shattered Space DLC will have an ambitious scope. While Bethesda has remained tight-lipped on what the content update will bring to the game, Starfield fans are expecting that it will either cover the enigmatic House Va'ruun or New Game Plus. With so many resources still pooled into the game, hopefully, Bethesda will also give Starfield a final polishing touch.

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Starfield Tag Page Cover Art
10 /10

Starfield
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Action
RPG
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Systems
PC-1 Xbox-1
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Top Critic Avg: 85 /100 Critics Rec: 83%
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Released
September 6, 2023
ESRB
M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs, Strong Language, Violence
Developer(s)
Bethesda
Publisher(s)
Bethesda
Engine
proprietary engine
Cross-Platform Play
no multiplayer
Cross Save
no
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
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Starfield is the first new universe in 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. In this next generation role-playing game set amongst the stars, create any character you want and explore with unparalleled freedom as you embark on an epic journey to answer humanity’s greatest mystery.
The year is 2330. Humanity has ventured beyond our solar system, settling new planets, and living as a spacefaring people. From humble beginnings as a space miner, you will join Constellation – the last group of space explorers seeking rare artifacts throughout the galaxy – and navigate the vast expanse of the Settled Systems in Bethesda Game Studios’ biggest and most ambitious game.

How Long To Beat
20 Hours
Metascore
86
Genre(s)
Action, RPG