This game sorta feels like No Man's Sky and Mass Effect had a baby, but it's a diet version of both of those games. I'm only an hour and a half in so far; it's probably too early to judge. One thing I speculate might turn off some Bethesda fans is the lack of focus on exploration. For those who got their kicks out of venturing into a countryside to find random points of interest, this game (so far) feels a bit more on rails.

Quibbles aside, it's pretty good. Feels like a near endstate culmination of polish which most Bethesda games don't reach out of the box. Gorgeous environments and lighting, the most human looking NPCs they've managed to create, and a decent enough job so far with the writing. The soundtrack is great; I'm getting nostalgic vibes for some of my favorite science fiction. If you are a science fiction junkie and are curious to see Bethesda's take on it, this seems like a can't miss.
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So this is free on my X-Box Game Pass, at least the basic version anyway? There's a Premium Edition for $99.99, so I don't really know the difference. This type of game really isn't my thing. I typically get into them for awhile and then get bored. I've never finished a version of Fallout or Mass Effect, for example. But it's free, so I'm downloading it.
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Well, I got my level up into the 20s, but as has been the case with every other Bethesda game I've ever played, I'm abandoning my initial run and starting over after realizing how many things I fucked up/missed/could have done better. So I just hit level two! :-)

Really enjoying this, though, despite the warts. Only encountered a couple of buggy missions. I'm wondering if they'll still be buggy on the replay.

One thing I recommend - join Vanguard early. They have a space combat simulator you can use that counts toward the kills you need to rack up to advance piloting. Huge oh shit moment when I realized I missed it. Also, apparently there are certain types of beverages you can drink which will increase the rate you gain experience. Never paid any attention to that, either.
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Sleeping and hour gets you a long xp boost too and they stack.
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I finally got around to starting this up tonight and frankly all these decisions about character build choices, optional attributes, and skill trees give me "skill tree anxiety." I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have the patience to go back and start over if I'd gotten to level 20.

The game doesn't tell you shit and I'd like to blame it on me being jet lagged, but I'm really struggling to figure out much of anything. (For example, a big goose egg on my first lock picking attempt, still don't understand that at all. ) I don't remember Fallout being this hard to figure out. Youtube has been my constant companion tonight.

I think I'm getting too old for this shit. I definitely don't have the patience for the learning curve. :-)
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I'm right there with you, brother. I'm 58. I learn slowly and forget quickly. And yes, this game basically throws you into the deep end and gives you the finger as you're drowning. Stick with it, though. It is worth the slog.

I'm finally starting to get somewhat competent in the shipbuilding department. I found a good video about upgrading one particular ship and followed the instructions exactly. Later I was able to improve on it by swapping out/adding components, and came away with much more maneuverability and power. Later tonight I think I'll do a complete rebuild of one of the pirate vessels I captured (you delete every component and then start from scratch) and see if I can create something useful. I've watched enough videos that I should be able to.

After I get the ship stuff down, I'm going to start dabbling in creating outposts and modding equipment. The problem is you have to unlock multiple skills by leveling up, and when you get to higher levels it obviously takes much longer to do that.
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Yeah I was thinking I was just a bit older than you, 62. And yeah I get it on the learning things. One of my problems is I didn't have a lot of patience at my best, and the aging thing is NOT helping with that. AT ALL. LOL

I was just up to Level 2 and i decided to restart, and I still think I probably have made a lot of really dumb mistakes. Hopefully nothing too impactful. I'm up to 4 now, I'm in the first space port. It is addictive but I get frustrated easily.
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Wow. Actually put some time in after the Chiefs game to wind down and the criticisms are valid. If you like the Bethesda 'experience' you'll love this game, but the problem is it shows it's age badly and so far I've seen next to no actual evolution to he formula.
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Game is dangerous. A 45 romp turns into a 3 hour bender real quick.
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Besides a couple of inconsequential crashes, the game in all intents and purposes, is really good (IMHO). The game is also very good looking on full ultra settings. I'm not entirely fond of the spaceship fights, but I'm sure it'll be easier with a better ship.

Enemies are too easy, even on hard. I may try very hard on a new game+, though. Don't restart because of this! Just finish the first round and try other stuff after you start a NG+. Evidently you can keep doing NG++, +++, etc., but I'm not entirely sure. There's an item that gets better every iteration. Not that it matters now, but when mods make the game even better, I'm sure it'll be nice.

I'm not sure why people are complaining when there's tons to do and so many side quests to find. If you do this, then the world won't feel "empty".
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Sure, there's "tons to do", but it's literally the same shit people have been doing in Bethesda games for over a decade, outside of the space combat. So it's pretty fucking stale.
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A lot of quests in this game are amazing….even the small stuff can turn on a dime into something interesting with twists and turns. The main story has me hooked and the faction storylines I’ve played through so far are fucking awesome.

Far from “fucking stale”….

Starfield is an amazing game, love it.
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I mean what did people expect? A Bethesda game to not be a Bethesda game? They simply took their same formula and added a ton more to do and put it in space. Not sure what everyone was expecting.
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Exactly.
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They promised a lot more than a typical Bethesda game, and that's really all this is. I can boot up Fallout 4 right now and have more or less the exact same experience minus jumping from System to System instead of walking from Settlement to Settlement to look for barren planets to set up mat farms on. Exciting.
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