Recent reviews by john

I've spent $100 on this game and I don't regret it... but I wouldn't recommend it either. I've enjoyed every single Bethesda game from Morrowind to Fallout 76 and that doesn't change here. I found enjoyment in the game but around 30 hours in I realized that this wasn't gonna be like Bethesda's previous titles. Todd Howard did a good job of managing expectations but I still couldn't help but feel disappointed.

In a game about exploring the mysteries of space and joining a space exploration group, exploration isn't fun. It took me veering off the beaten path ~3 times for me to come to this realization and the issue lies with their procedural generation.

• There are few structures and tons of places for those structures to spawn.
  
• The structures are the EXACT same. No variety and companion comments are the same. I explored an abandoned farm and ~600m from it was the exact same location. I had thought it was a continuation because I missed the full story on the previous farm but no, it was a literal copy and paste. The companion triggers were in the exact same spot with the exact same comment. I even remember one of the comments, it was something along the lines of "We have to do these scientists justice by finding their research" and in previous games this would've been a short quest but in this one it was just a throwaway comment.
  
• Those static objects you see in proc gen locations will be there in the next one. I found an Advanced Urban Eagle at level 3 from an abandoned He-3 mine. Around 10 levels later I find it again in the same spot... and again when I encountered another one of those copy-pasted mines. There's also a dead Crimson Fleet Pirate on the outskirts of one of these locations. He's there every time regardless of enemy type.
  
• The main quest uses these locations with an added cave section to it that takes two seconds to walk through... like okay?
  

• Originally posted by Todd Howard:

  "We hope everybody enjoys it for what it is, but it is an exploration different than we've had"

  Different, yes -- but not better nor equal.

Exploring planets also sucked.

• Your only option to get around was using your feet. It works in other Bethesda games because you can stop somewhere and you will 100% encounter SOMETHING. In this game you're just walking for fun, maybe you get to scan some flora, fauna, or a rock but don't worry if you don't because you'll see them again on another planet.
  
• I'll give them props because the planets had different biomes as well as a large variety of flora and fauna. Obviously you'll see repeats it's not plausible for them to make something different for every planet; but unfortunately, at the end of the day, the planets still felt the same.
  
• I did notice there were seemingly more interesting planets to explore as I played but ~40 hours in I had given up on exploring any further and didn't even bother.
  

• Originally posted by PC Gamer:

  "I think there's a certain beauty to landing on those and feeling 'I'm one of the only people or the only person to ever visit this planet,'" said Howard.

  Every planet has been touched by humanity. There's a proc gen location in each and every one of these planets.

The game is heavily quest driven and relies a lot on dialogue. Dialogue is something I've never cared for and ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ is there a lot of it. If you enjoy that then that's cool but personally it wasn't for me so it's not something I could say was positive or negative. I can speak on the quests though.

• UC Vanguard: Honestly this felt like it could've been the main story. I enjoyed it and it was fairly compelling even if it was a bit predictable. The response to my final choice felt weird though, there wasn't a right or wrong but every companion made me feel like there was a right choice despite it making sense for them to side either way. I did this questline first and had high hopes for every other one but SIKE. A set piece here is also reused for the main quest. It made sense in this questline, not so much for the main quest.
  
• UC Sysdef/Crimson Fleet: This one was alright. I tried to blend in as much as possible while remaining good but the choices you make really don't matter at all. The downside of starting this questline is if you have a quest where you have to kill Crimson Fleet members you WILL accrue a high bounty if you're seen doing it. Like it was fun, you're a pirate searching for treasure, except you're in space. Can't hate on that.
  
• Freestar Rangers: DISAPPOINTING and BAD. Started off strong with a little mystery and some handcrafted set pieces as well as the narrative of serving the people while also keeping the big guys happy. Unfortunately, the end to this wasn't good. The final battle was you killing a guy in a mech factory. He has a name and dialogue but is otherwise just another faceless enemy. Spice it up, let him use the mech he already doesn't care about regulations. The conclusion to the story was very tell not show. They TELL me the big bad guy was in fact not bad-- in fact, he was a pretty stand up guy and he was just doing what was necessary. Like every person you interact with says this and if you respond with "Nah I think he was pretty ♥♥♥♥" They'll respond with "Nah you're wrong lil bro." So why in my interactions with him he was a pretty ♥♥♥♥ guy? In fact, one of my hired companions told me he was a ♥♥♥♥ guy too - like it was integral to her backstory - so why are you trying to make it a moral dilemma? It felt forced.
  
• Ryujin Industries: ACTUALLY FUN. I liked this one despite it relying on a poorly implemented mechanic (stealth). I did this one last and maybe it was because it was a change of pace but I enjoyed this one as well as the story they came up with.
  
• Main Quests: I didn't feel very strongly about these quests. Some of them were cool because they were handcrafted but there were some that took place in a proc gen dungeon so what was the point of doing it. I liked the direction they took, it was kind of grounded in reality. I still wish there were advanced aliens though lol. Didn't like the temples though. At first it was cool, but then you gotta do that slow ass zero-g floating around bs 24x. Even more on NG+
  
• New Game Plus: I STARTED a NG+ playthrough because when you're out of quests there isn't really much to do but I never finished it. The Starborn dialogue they give you feels like a glorified pass this persuasion check option and I wish it was implemented better. Maybe it gets better but in the quests that I started it felt like ass and I really don't feel like playing this game anymore.

Overall, the game felt disappointing and unfinished. There were many times when I felt like I was onto something good and then it just stopped there. My prime example of this is the Red Mile. There are probably 2-3 quests that send you there, one of them is for the explicit purpose of just going there; it's also mentioned a couple of times, so you know I would expect it to be something cool right? When I get there I get to talk to a few people and the one thing you can do is run from one location to another and then back. Do that 30+ times you get a reward. Like great, is that it?

I'm not sure if this game can be fixed with updates or even mods. I really hope I'm wrong because I enjoyed it I just had the feeling that it needed something more every time I played. The one mechanic I enjoyed with the only flaw being the controls sometimes was ship building. I could spend hours on that.