Bethesda has a long and storied history in the RPG sphere, with experience making games for over two decades. Therefore, a lot of eyes within the gaming community are on Bethesda’s upcoming space exploration RPG,Starfield. First announced during Bethesda’s E3 Press Conference in 2018,Starfieldhas garnered a lot of interest over the course of its long development cycle. The studio’s hopes are all pinned on a successful launch, as despite a reputation of creating some of the most impressive and fan-friendly games in the business, Bethesda has had some misfires in recent years. With a hit on its hands, Bethesda will be well on the way to restoring some of its previous standing in the video game community.
In the years since its announcement, Bethesda has chosen to reveal only brief glimpses of its upcoming game, teasing players with information aboutStarfieldwithout providing too many details. This approach has certainly worked to raise expectations and generate hype, butlike the recently revealedStar Wars Eclipse, Bethesda may have shown its hand too early and traded in some of the player excitement the game could have garnered in order to announce it sooner rather than later. However, now that the launch date is approaching, the developers have opened the lid just a crack to give players a better look atStarfield, and it seems like the game may have some startling similarities to titles from another behemoth in the RPG field – BioWare.
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Starfield – An Expansive RPG
As Bethesda’s first original IP in over two and a half decades,Starfieldrepresents a significant risk for the studio. If it pans out, this could be an exciting new direction for the developer, but if it fails to lift off this could serve as the final nail in the coffin for Bethesda’s reputation. Either way, anticipation is high for the release of the interstellar action game.Starfieldis all about exploration, with players given the freedom to craft their own stories and create their own adventures within the wide galaxy of the game’s setting.
Game Director Todd Howard also previously spoke about the emphasis on a “step out” moment that usually features prominently in Bethesda games. With its graphical improvements and focus on beautifully-realized environments,Starfield’s own step outmoment could be something truly unique. With multiple planets and systems to navigate, how players move about and how distinctly the planets are designed will likely be a large factor inStarfield’s success.Starfieldhas a few different regions for players to explore, like the Settled Systems which represents the 50 light-year radius around Earth’s solar system.
There will also be the wilder, more dangerous frontiers of explored space, and each area will be home to different factions and groups as an uneasy peace keeps the galaxy from spilling out into war once again. The two largest and most prominent groups –the United Colonies and the Freestar Collective– operate in different areas and have opposing purposes, and they will be among a selection of factions that players can align themselves with throughStarfield’s gameplay. These choices will also affect how and where players begin theirStarfieldadventures, much likeCyberpunk 2077’s Lifepaths.
Similarities To BioWare Titles
With the recent introduction to some of the backgrounds and factions that players can associate themselves with inStarfieldand the focus on building a complex character, it’s easy to notice similarities to other RPGs. Games likeBioWare’sDragon Ageseriesalso allow players to choose affiliations and backgrounds that have major impacts on the rest of the game. InDragon Age’s case, it’s the race and specialization of the character that affects their route through the game and how they’re perceived by NPCs, utilizing the franchise’s extensive lore and complex history to inform these aspects. For example, elves are a race that is generally subjugated throughout the series, and if players choose to play as one, they will experience the prejudices of other characters - something that can even be reflected through in-game penalties.
In BioWare titles, gamers are usually stepping into a world that already has a tumultuous and extensive history, with warring groups, antagonistic historic relationships, and tenuous alliances. WithDragon Age, there are uneasy relations between races and conflicting regions asrepresented in the ongoing Tevinter/Qunari war. TheMass Effectseries also has its fair share of dissension, and the wars and conflicts have major impacts on the in-game world that the player experiences. Likewise,Starfieldtakes place twenty years after the Colony Wars, which will no doubt have a significant impact on the setting and storyline.
A major part of many BioWare titles, fromDragon AgeandMass Effect, toBaldur’s Gate,is the use of companions. BioWare games are famous for their occasionally cringe but usually heartwarming character interactions and the relationships that players can form during their playthroughs. Romantic relationships are also a fan-favorite inclusion, with many pairings making their way out of the video game realm and into the world of fan fiction and fan art. While Bethesda games also feature them, it seems the developer wishes to emulate this aspect still further in its upcoming title with thereveal ofStarfield’s first companion. Some Bethesda companions can fall a little flat, but the developer wants to deepen these connections and create more meaningful relationships inStarfield, so it could do with taking a page out of BioWare’s book.
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Who Does It Better – BioWare vs Bethesda
BioWare and Bethesda may both be known for their award-winning RPGs, and each has its own beloved and critically lauded series, but there are still many differences between the pair. One favors first-person, the other third. Bethesda tends to create large open-worlds with a focus on environmental storytelling, whereas BioWare centers its stories on its characters and tends to have tighter plot lines. It’s really down to player preference, and whether they want unbridled freedom and aplethora of fun mods in a game likeSkyrim, or better characterizations and more emotionally charged narratives like inMass Effect 2.
The upcomingStarfieldcould very much be the best of both worlds, combining Bethesda’s love of expansive settings and player creativity with BioWare’s attention to detail on character and story. With the inclusion of an updatedOblivion-inspired persuasion mini-gameand a stated focus on making interactions, worlds, and characters feel authentic,Starfieldsounds like it’s well on its way to achieving this hybrid approach.
Starfieldreleases July 09, 2025 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
