I fell in love with Starfield once I performed and reviewed it final 12 months. Clearly, Bethesda’s space-faring RPG is a divisive sport, and even its greatest followers – myself included – will let you know that it does endure from some severe flaws. However even with its flaws, it was a fully magical expertise for me. From its huge scope to the wealthy lore, from its ship constructing mechanics to the tight fight, from the satisfying development mechanics to rather more, there was a lot about it that massively appealed to the Bethesda fan in me.
Clearly, then, I’ve been keenly ready to get my arms on the sport’s first ache growth, Shattered House, particularly due to its promise of an expertise that blends Starfield’s setting and mechanics with the extra deliberate design sensibilities of previous Bethesda titles. And whereas I’ve definitely loved my time with Shattered House, it does admittedly really feel like type of a half-step. Sure, it does ship a big chunk of recent content material, numerous which I’ve had loads of enjoyable with- however does it ship the type of vital enhancements and enhancements on prime of the core formulation that many would have hoped for? Probably not, no.
“Shattered House does ship a big chunk of recent content material, numerous which I’ve had loads of enjoyable with- however does it ship the type of vital enhancements and enhancements on prime of the core formulation that many would have hoped for? Probably not, no.”
Starfield: Shattered House kicks off with you receiving a misery name that results in you and your crew investigating the Oracle, an deserted house station that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. As quickly as you enter, it turns into clear that issues have gone horribly mistaken right here, with every part from corpses to unusual, teleporting enemies, to mystical vortexes distorting the surroundings in legitimately unsettling methods. A brief introductory mission within the house station later, you end up on Va’ruun’kai, the homeworld of Home Va’ruun, the place an experiment gone mistaken has brought about widespread havoc, with space-time rifts, bizarre anomalies, and weird creatures showing in all places across the planet. And as soon as once more, it’s as much as you to place issues proper.
The brand new marketing campaign added to Starfield with Shattered House is a stable one. I wouldn’t put it up there with the perfect of the perfect that Bethesda has delivered, but it surely does its job effectively sufficient. The story informed right here isn’t notably spectacular, but it surely does fill within the gaps with numerous Home Va’ruun associated lore that was left shrouded in thriller within the base sport. Studying extra in regards to the enigmatic faction, its origins, and its homeworld is undoubtedly one of many greatest attracts of the expertise, however on the similar time, I do perceive that somebody who, not like me, didn’t look after the bottom sport’s setting and lore received’t discover an excessive amount of to wish to spend money on right here. A lot of the principle story in Shattered House is completely serviceable, although it doesn’t typically rise above that stage. From the hunt design to the breadth of the growth by way of how a lot content material it affords, there’s a lot right here to maintain you busy and occupied, particularly if you happen to have been already a Starfield fan to start with.
The setting of Va’ruun’kai, nonetheless, is certainly a a lot brighter spotlight. One of many greatest criticisms leveled at Starfield by many was its extreme use of procedural era, with solely a handful of its planets being handcrafted areas. All of Va’ruun’kai, nonetheless, has been handcrafted. The whole thing of Dazre metropolis and every part surrounding it – all factors of pursuits, all bases, all caves, every part you see on the map – all of it has been intentionally positioned.
“From the hunt design to the breadth of the growth by way of how a lot content material it affords, there’s a lot right here to maintain you busy and occupied, particularly if you happen to have been already a Starfield fan to start with.”
Because of that change, exploration feels rather more compelling and, in flip, rewarding in Shattered House than it did in most of Starfield. Bethesda’s RPGs are inclined to have a really specific flavour to them in how they lead you from one distraction to the subsequent, and the way all of that all the time appears to occur so organically. Many discovered the dearth of that model of exploration in Starfield disappointing, so to see its return in Shattered House is unquestionably a welcome change. Is the content material that you just uncover whilst you’re exploring the brand new planet distinctive in any method? No, but it surely’s all the time at the least a sure stage of enjoyable, so there’s sufficient there to inspire you to maintain taking part in.
With a decently sizeable map and about 10-20 hours of recent content material, Shattered House positively seems like a large addition to Starfield, however in different methods, it feels rather less beneficiant. For example, there’s little to no distinctive new weapons or gear to equip, and what has been added is pretty commonplace and unremarkable, to the extent that there’s a superb likelihood you could not even find yourself utilizing any of it past a really restricted quantity. There’s no new companion character, no main new gameplay mechanics have been added, and even the brand new enemies that you just struggle are, most of the time, reskinned variations of acquainted foes, with a few new skills up their sleeves (like with the ability to teleport, annoyingly sufficient).
At the same time as a lot as I liked Starfield’s base expertise, I felt that with its first growth, it had the right alternative to actually swing for the fences and perhaps attempt to convert skeptics into followers, Perhaps anticipating one thing on the extent of Cyberpunk 2077’s turnaround with Phantom Liberty would have been foolish- however I used to be definitely anticipating the general Shattered House expertise to really feel like a step up over Starfield. And whereas the addition of a brand new, handcrafted map does do some little bit of that, by and huge, the growth seems like a lateral step, and as such, one thing of a missed alternative.
“Whereas the addition of a brand new, handcrafted map does do some little bit of that, by and huge, the growth seems like a lateral step, and as such, one thing of a missed alternative.”
Even on a technical stage, Shattered House hasn’t made too many enhancements. Issues similar to extreme loading screens and static conversations with the digital camera zoomed straight into NPCs’ faces are clearly hard-coded into Starfield’s very material at this level, and I’m not anticipating these points to be mounted with an growth. However there are many different technical points right here that ought to have been mounted. NPCs hold strolling into one another, enemy AI throughout fight may be spectacularly silly at instances, there are ample animation glitches and texture pop in, and worst of all, efficiency is usually a mess, particularly if you’re attempting to drive your rover or use your jetpack out past the outskirts of Dazra metropolis.
Given the truth that it removes Starfield’s procedural era in favour of a extra handcrafted method, it feels unusual to say that Shattered House is in the end extra of the same- however that’s what it’s. It has numerous the identical strengths, but it surely additionally has most of the similar points. In the event you loved the bottom sport, as I did, there’s a superb likelihood that you just’re going to have loads of enjoyable with its first growth. If, nonetheless, you have been dissatisfied in Starfield and have been hoping Shattered House can be a considerably higher experience- sadly, it’s possible that you just’re going to be dissatisfied as soon as once more. Whether or not or not Bethesda can be extra bold with future expansions for its sci-fi RPG stays to be seen, however within the right here and now, Shattered House is a protected and enjoyable, if unremarkable, addendum to Starfield.
This sport was reviewed on the Xbox Sequence X.
