Summary
Bethesda games are no strangers to bizarre mods, andStarfieldjust got a mod that lets players explore the dark reaches of space with a Phil Spencer flashlight. The head of Xbox has played a key role inStarfield’s marketing, and his decision toputStarfieldon Xbox Game Passmay potentially kickstart a golden age for the subscription platform. As a result, Bethesda fans have had a chance to familiarize themselves with Phil Spencer, who – along with Pete Hines and Todd Howard – have beenStarfield’s biggest cheerleaders.
Starfieldis already a huge hit on Steam, despite being in Early Access, and though fans have been divided on some of its features such as space exploration or NPC AI, the reactions from the gaming community have been more positive thanFallout 76at launch. From taking down Brogan on Kreet, to meeting the Adoring Fan in New Atlantis,Starfieldplayers are steadily bonding over their shared experiences in the latest Bethesda sandbox.
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Acomprehensive mod list forStarfieldis already emerging, as its burgeoning modding community attempts to tackle ideas such as adding a field-of-view slider, changing FSR2 for DLSS, or improving upon the game’s HUD. However, amidst all these ambitious concepts, maquinaremos' mod is far more simple in its intent: to change the flashlight’s illumination texture to also include Phil Spencer’s face. The Phil Spencer Flashlight mod can be found on Nexus Mods, which has long served as the go-to site for modding a Bethesda title on PC.
Silly mods have long been a tradition in Bethesda’s games, as evidenced by the mod that changesSkyrim’s fierce dragons into Thomas the Tank Engine. Though it may take a while until the modding community starts to create solutions for a more immersive space flight inStarfield, the enthusiasm is certainly there, and it’s certainly strong. Much likeFallout 4andSkyrim,Starfield’s modding community may end up supporting the game for many years to come, especially if it manages to fixStarfield’s most criticized shortcomings.
Despite these shortcomings,Starfieldis one of the highest-rated games of 2023, and the developers at Bethesda should be proud of what they accomplished with a fresh new IP on the next generation of the company’s Creation Engine. Ultimately, whether through official updates or with the help of mods,Starfieldwill undoubtedly be a much better game in a few months from now – with or without Phil Spencer’s head illuminating a creepy hallway.
Starfieldlaunches September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
