Starfield's No Man's Sky Comparison is Only Going to Become More Apt With Time (2024)

One of the very first video games ever made – 1962's Spacewar! – was a multiplayer Sci-Fi game that saw players attempt to maneuver two rudimentary "ships" around a collapsing star. Ever since then, the Sci-Fi genre has remained a strong staple of the video game industry, and rather fittingly, it's usually been at the forefront of a lot of gaming's boldest innovations, with games like Doom, Half-Life, Halo, and Mass Effect all breaking new ground for the entire gaming industry. And while Starfield and No Man's Sky aren't quite as groundbreaking as those games, they set out with similar intentions.

When No Man's Sky was first announced in December 2013, many gamers thought it looked too good to be true, and the more developer Hello Games promised, the stronger the feeling grew. Many fans had a similar reaction to Starfield during its own run-up to release, and that's just the start of the two Sci-Fi games' similarities.

Starfield Might Find Itself in the Same Boat as No Man's Sky

Starfield Bore a Few Similarities to No Man's Sky On Launch

In the lead-up to Starfield's release, many fans of No Man's Sky pointed out some clear similarities between the two games. Gameplay-wise, Starfield and No Man's Sky did share some key features, with both games putting a heavy emphasis on space exploration, dogfights, upgrading and customizing ships, and creating outposts on different planets to harvest resources. Of course, there were plenty of features that also separated the two games, such as Starfield's strong RPG approach, but the comparisons were quite a big talking point for the industry just before Starfield's launch.

When Starfield was released last September, these comparisons only grew stronger, but for a very different reason. Upon its initial launch, Starfield was met with a very divisive reception, with both fans and critics alike being split on the Bethesda RPG. Naturally, this divisive reception also reminded players of No Man's Sky's launch back in 2016, though its initial disappointing reception was much more uniform across the board. But the comparisons between Starfield and No Man's Sky aren't finished just yet. In fact, comparisons between the two games might only grow louder over the next few years, though that's far from a bad thing.

Starfield's Comparisons to No Man's Sky Will Only Grow Stronger

Since its release last September, Starfield has received a wealth of updates and patches, many of which have gone a long way in fixing fans' initial grievances with the game. Bethesda is also planning to release Starfield's Shattered Space expansion this Fall, which will bring new story content, new planets, and new gear to the game. In a recent interview with MrMattyPlays, Bethesda's Todd Howard also stated that another large-scale story expansion is currently being worked on, likely planned for release next year.

As it currently stands, Bethesda's plans for Starfield seem quite similar to No Man's Sky's when it first launched. In its first year or so, No Man's Sky dedicated itself to releasing consistent updates that fixed a lot of the game's biggest issues. After that, it started to release large-scale expansions that added highly-requested features to the game. Over time, No Man's Sky went from being viewed as one of the biggest failures in modern gaming to one of the most impressive Sci-Fi games around. Although Starfield is very far from being a failure, it still isn't viewed by many as a truly great game. But much like No Man's Sky, it could reach new heights with its post-launch content.

Starfield

Developed by Bethesda Game Studios, Starfield is a sci-fi action role-playing game where players interact with multiple factions, engage in combat, customize their main character and ship, as well as explore a universe that features over 100 systems and 1,000 planets.

Action

RPG

Platform(s)

PC , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released

September 6, 2023

Developer(s)

Bethesda

Publisher(s)

Bethesda

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs, Strong Language, Violence

How Long To Beat

20 Hours

X|S Enhanced

Yes

File Size Xbox Series

101 GB (September 2023)

Metascore

86

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