Is Starfield worth returning to for Shattered Space?

In 2023, Bethesda Game Studios‘ Starfield launched with a lukewarm reception on Xbox and PC. It’s the first new IP developed by Bethesda in 25 years, and acted as a wrench thrown into the machine that created intricate and engaging stories within the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series. Starfield was poised to be bold and ambitious, and while I generally enjoyed the experience, it’s hard for me to argue that it was the colossal boom for Western RPGs that Skyrim once was. However, the new Shattered Space DLC was a chance to return to the game and step into a world of new content and quality-of-life updates.

After 50 or so hours, I walked away from the Milky Way galaxy late last year. I was content with my time after rolling credits and experiencing a portion of the surprisingly enriching endgame content. However, I never took the time to experience everything that came from the major update back in May, which added surface maps, expanded planet boundaries, and more. In August, Starfield also added the Rev-8 land vehicle, improving planetary traversal. Then came the Shattered Space story expansion — so it felt like the perfect storm for me to dive back down the Starfield well.

So, did I get what I was hoping for, or are some stones better left unturned?

Shattered Space has compelling bones for a 12-hour experience

With a focus on exploration of a sole planet, focus on the mysteries behind a religious cult

Shattered Space was an anticipated content drop for me, as it was the excuse I needed to reinstall the game on my Xbox Series X. Returning to the game I genuinely enjoyed last year, I had to retrain my brain’s every moment for the first couple of hours. As the captain of the Starborn Guardian, I received a distress call from a large starstation known as The Oracle. Upon docking and discovering it had no gravity to speak of, I began running through the gauntlet to acclimate myself to the game.

Shattered Space focuses on one of the game’s primary religious sects, known as the Va’ruun faith. Worshipping the Great Serpent, players are taken on a quest to discover the inner workings of this religion and how the communities of Va’ruun’kai are managed. Throughout, Shattered Space unearths strange and haunting anomalies that appear, representing horrors and maddened civilians of Va’ruun’kai. The entire narrative experience takes roughly 12 to 15 hours to complete, and the setting is by and large the greatest feat by Bethesda Game Studios’ art department in the game. With a smattering of warm fuschias and bright blues painting the sky, I couldn’t help but be enamored while playing on my OLED TV.

The story expansion takes on a bit of a horror tone with space ghosts appearing throughout missions — perfect timing with Halloween right around the corner. With a lackluster array of new weapons at my disposal, I went up against new horrors in the form of Vortex-powered members of House Va’ruun and Vortex Horrors. There are some outright scary moments in Shattered Space, especially if you’re playing with a nice pair of headphones, and my time spent on the Oracle felt very claustrophobic at times. Certain areas on Va’ruun’kai can also feel like you’re isolated in a sea where anything can pop up.

Shattered Space goes heavy on lore, but varying levels of player choice

I can be bad, but does it even matter?

Having a rich, drawn-out narrative beat taking place in Starfield should feel like a bonafide win. At launch, Starfield was criticized for creating thousands of procedurally generated planets but lacking engaging content.

To avoid being as wide as an ocean but deep as a puddle, Shattered Space takes place entirely on Va’ruun’kai. Over 12 hours or so, Va’ruun’kai becomes far more of a character within the story than any other planet in the game — it feels unique with more to see and do throughout the expansion. So much so that during the entire DLC, I never once left. However, as soon as I wrapped up the core narrative, Va’ruun’kai doesn’t really offer much else. There are some shops and some smaller POIs, but nothing makes me want to exist on the planet as a member of House Va’ruun.

One of the aspects of Starfield that I’ll continue praising Bethesda Game Studios for is its ability to craft deep and engaging lore. The Va’ruun religious governance is introduced during the base game, but Shattered Space is a chance to explore the theocratic cult. The expansion covers a lot of interesting story beats, with typical Bethesda choices peppered throughout. There’s a serious amount of player agency in how certain missions play out — to a varying degree.

However, all this being said, you’re forced to make key choices whether or not they fit your character. Stripping away the RP from the RPG, Shattered Space basically holds the entirety of the narrative hostage unless you agree to join House Va’ruun. So, if you’ve spent 100 hours roleplaying as a character who opts out of any form of faith, you’re a bit out of luck when it comes to Shattered Space.

However, keeping in line with the darker tone of the narrative, the DLC lets you be far more evil than the base game. Serving or disobeying the Great Serpent deity, there’s a chance to either play with nobility or act as a diabolical jerk. In one instance, you’re chosen to help arrange a dual between disputing brothers. I found myself with the option to tranquillize both brothers, effectively disarming them during the dual. However, I could opt to ignore the pleas to do so or render one immobile, handing victory over to the other. Despite all the minor choices throughout the storyline, once I was asked to align myself with one of the Va’ruun houses, I was fairly disinterested as none of them stood out to me in any meaningful sense.

Starfield feels more optimized a year removed from launch

With quality of life improvements and a new form of traversal, Starfield feels better to play

Bethesda Game Studios

This may seem like a “no duh” moment for anyone who’s stuck with Starfield over these past 12 months. However, as a reinstituted fan, I’m pretty delighted by the improvements Bethesda Game Studios have made to the game. In May, the team dropped its largest update at the time. Based on an outpour of community feedback, Starfield now supports updated surface maps with current points of interest available to see. There have also been tweaks made to carry capacity, ship inventory systems, customization within ships, and more. All of this allows for Starfield to feel more like a full-fledged Bethesda game rather than one that hobbled with one leg tied to the other due to over-ambition.

The Rev-8 land vehicle is a game changer for traversal. Planetary exploration was a chore in the base game when exploring outside city hubs. The Rev-8 handles similar to the Halo Warthog, has a mounter turret for combat and a pretty sweet booster system to hit jumps. As it is Bethesda’s first attempt at creating a land vehicle, it’s still a bit janky to use. However, for getting from one side of a map to the other, this is a step in the right direction. The introduction of Rev-8 addresses one of the core pain points of the game, which was uninteresting traversal after you land your ship. Starfield’s ambition is impressive when looking at the star map. But walking on the surface of each planet, I ask myself “Why am I doing this?” The land vehicle makes me forget to even consider it.

From a performance standpoint, Starfield runs objectively better. The game now offers far more frame rate targets, including 30, 40, 60 and uncapped frame options. However, it’s the VRR mode that, if available, is the best option. It’s understandable, given the scope of the game, that Bethesda had to make concessions, launching with only 30fps on console. However, the studio has shown an impressive amount of determination. This results in a much more fluid experience on console.​​​​​​​

Does Shattered Space and updates move the needle for Starfield?

Starfield had such big shoes to fill, it’s hard to place it on the same pedestal as Elder Scrolls

Bethesda Game Studios

I’m currently coming up to the 70-hour mark in Starfield. I’ve been enraptured by some of the game’s lore, the character stories, and true moments of exploration in the Shattered Space DLC, and it’s these facets that make Bethesda Game Studios stand out in the western RPG market. Shattered Space is far more focused on cohesion, making the DLC a must-play for those wanting more stories within this universe. This is even despite some concluding events falling flat for me.

Apart from that, Starfield’s quality of life changes and system updates have improved the moment-to-moment experience. However, if you’ve been turned off by the barrage of loading screens, limited unique items and loot, or rewarding exploration — you’ll likely have the same opinions today. Starfield: Shattered Space is more of the same game I played in 2023. Only a bit more refined, but still imperfect — which is enough for me.