Bethesda is known for its iconic openings. The prison break in The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, the Vault opening in Fallout 3, and of course the soaring dragon attack in Skyrim before you're set free in a sprawling fantasy world. In an exclusive Starfield Gamescom demo, Todd Howard was on the scene to give GamesRadar+ a first look at the opening of what is undoubtedly the most ambitious upcoming Xbox Series X game in years.
This new look at Starfield is the first we've really seen of the opening of the game. Bethesda put together an abridged gameplay demo, moving from your first steps through an Argos Extractions mining outpost, to character customisation, to exploring the endless expanse of space. Honestly, it's incredibly impressive, and shows a marked improvement on the excellent 60-minute demo which blew our minds apart back in the summer – facial animations look sharper and more defined, the environments look more vibrant, and combat looks really damn capable.
Starstruck
The opening of Skyrim is still the best thing Bethesda has ever made
Something that surprised me about the Starfield opening, though, is just how quickly Bethesda goes full-on Interstellar. After moving through a mine, learning the basics of movement and shooting, hearing some admittedly sharp dialogue and classic Bethesda quips, your character is quickly led to a mysterious Artefact which has been unearthed by the crew. And from there you're given this massive vision of the galaxy. Starfield isn't wasting any time in embracing the creative freedom of true science-fiction. From there we hit the sprawling Starfield character creator options – customization, backgrounds and traits, and all that good stuff that we've seen in the past.
A little detail I really appreciated in this opening beyond that, however, was just how responsive Starfield seems to your presence. There's a moment where the character nabs a sandwich from an NPC and they audibly complain about it – it's small, but it speaks to the sort of immersive world building Bethesda has always been so fantastic at. I also love that you have to manually put on your space helmet before stepping out in the airlock, and the first look at the planet's surface is stunning – a distraction that's difficult to ignore, even as the Crimson Fleet shows up for your first firefight.
"There's a moment where the character nabs a sandwich from an NPC and they audibly complain about it"
Lots of enemies, weighted and heavy first-person shooter action, and a remarkable step up from the floaty firing and haphazard melee seen in Skyrim and Fallout 4, at least from this look from a distance. While the scale and scope, depth and detail is impressive, it's the combat that really caught my attention on this new look at the game. Enemies are fast and reactive, working cleverly within the environment as ships fly overhead and tankers explode. And from there, just out into space. Out you go – welcome to the entire galaxy, hope you don't lose your head.
Bethesda took us one step closer to launch with this exclusive look at the game, and I couldn't be more excited. Whether you're jumping into the Starfield early access launch on September 1 or waiting for the game to hit PC, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Game Pass on September 6, this really does look every bit one of the best RPGs in years.
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