Overnight, Microsoft held their Xbox Games Showcase 2023 event, during which the company shared 27 games (21 of which will be available for Xbox Game Pass and/or PC Game Pass).
While there were a lot of exciting announcements for the Xbox gaming community, the standout for me was certainly the new IP from Bethesda, Starfield Direct, its first new universe in over 25 years
We saw the biggest chunk of Starfield gameplay yet, ahead of its September 6 launch. Bethesda Game Studios’ Starfield Game Director Todd Howard and his team provided a deep-dive on character customization, exploration, ships, and much more.
The worlds are procedurally generated which makes for an almost limitless environment to play in. Even if you and your friend visited the same location, you’d have a different experience as the environment is effectively generated on the fly. With the diversity of locations, enemies and more, this game is sure to entertain for hundreds of hours.
Bethesda now has a Gameplay Deep Dive video on YouTube. The video is 45 minutes long and if you’re keen to learn and see more of this game with a truly massive scope, offering not just one world, but 1,000.
The company says it wasn’t until now that they had the technology available to them to achieve this game.
Graphically the game looks incredible, leveraging a new global illumination lighting system that changes dynamically, based on the time of day, the atmosphere of the planet you’re on and more.
This sci-fi RPG can be played in first or 3rd person modes. There is an entirely new animation model, showcased by the smooth, human-like movements of the player.
If the game isn’t enough, there’s also Starfield-themed Xbox Controller and Headset to match, leveraging aspects of the game in the design.
Take some time to watch the video below, it’s definitely worth your time, alternatively, you can skip to any of the following chapters.
- 1:28 Your Quest
- 12:22 Character Creation
- 16:14 Skills
- 20:00 Ships
- 22:54 Companions
- 25:07 Space Flight
- 30:22 Starfield Chronomark Watch
- 31:35 Xbox Controller and Headset
- 32:49 Exploration
- 36:51 Outposts
- 38:08 Combat
- 41:49 Thank You
