When Starfield first came out in 2023, I was so excited to play the game. I mean, I love open-world games, and I love space, so it felt like the perfect match for me. But I didn’t have an Xbox console or a desktop reliable enough to run it, so I abandoned the chance of ever playing Starfield.
Then, I was allowed to trial a gaming laptop last year, and the first thing I downloaded was Starfield. I played the game for about a week or two, and while it was a bit glitchy, I loved it.
So when Bethesda announced the launch of Starfield on the PS5, I was excited to fully immerse myself in the world for longer than 2 weeks and play on a console I’m familiar with.
I’ve had the game for about a month now, and I have a few thoughts.
Journey to the Sol System
Starfield is an open-world space opera that spans across literal universes. Even though the game has been out for years, despite all the issues that have popped up since its release, nothing will take away from how visually stunning the game is. It embodies everything I would imagine space to be like, and the possibilities of what you can do in the game feel endless (especially with the addition of the Free Lanes update and the Terran Armada DLC).
In terms of gameplay, I have pretty similar sentiments to our initial review when the game first came out. So this review is solely looking at my experience with the newer aspects of the game and its improvements since launching on the PS5.
Although the first couple of hours setting up the world through heavy dialogue and long cut scenes still felt as tedious as the first time I played, so it seems like nothing has changed in regard to that aspect.
New and Improved Features on the PS5
Thankfully, Bethesda took full advantage of the DualSense controller. What I found hard about navigating the menus while playing on a laptop was how counterintuitive it felt. The first time I played, I spent way too much time trying to figure out how to get to any of the menus, and flying the ship almost felt impossible.
But the introduction to Starfield on the PS5 allowed for the navigation of the menu to feel more seamless. Utilising both sides of the touchpad, you can either change perspectives by clicking the left-hand side or get straight to the map by clicking the right side. The light bar on the controller is also reflective of your health, which is a nice touch. And having the intercom come straight through the controller made it feel even more immersive.
You can also feel a difference in combat or while mining with the adaptive triggers, adding physical resistance to different types of weapons.
Though I would say that the best part is probably the swipe functions on the touchpad, where you’re able to bring up your inventory, your skills, and the missions by swiping. It makes it so much easier to access without having to fiddle around and figure out what buttons to press to get to which menu, and it was honestly a game-changer for me.
Space Explorers
Another feature they’ve also added that is available on all platforms is the ability to switch to Free Lane mode. At first, I didn’t know what to think of this. Being able to travel quickly between locations at the click of a button sped up the game and got you right into the action, so the thought of aimlessly flying through space for what could sometimes feel like forever wasn’t as appealing to me.
But after playing around with it, switching to cruise mode left the stakes of the game at the door (in a good way). It feels like you can finally take a breather and recoup while manually flying towards your destination or a random encounter that may or may not pop up along the way. You almost feel at peace getting to fly through the stars.
Cruise Mode is also where you can get X-Tech, a type of currency that allows you to upgrade your weapons and gear with the legendary modifiers, as well as update engines and shields on your ship.
The addition of The Terran Armada DLC was also made available across all platforms, giving users a relatively short side story where they get to make use of their spaceship a little bit more than they do in the original campaign.
Glitching Through Time and Space
I’ve seen other users mention crashes, and I thought I might get lucky enough not to experience any of that. But after about 5 hours of gameplay, while just walking through one of the planets, I glitched. Not that big of a deal, because it was easy enough to just jump locations through the map.
On a personal note, I also seemed to glitch in real life playing the game, getting quite motion sick every time I would hop on. After about 2 hours, I changed the FOV to 80, and that seemed to calm it down for a bit. But I couldn’t play for long periods of time because eventually that feeling would come right back.
So if you are prone to feeling dizzy or nauseous while playing games, especially ones like this where the world is so vast with so many moving parts constantly floating around on screen, it might be good to change those settings before you even start playing.
Final Thoughts
Even after clocking 20 hours into the game, you barely scratch the surface. There’s so much to Starfield, with the inclusion of the Free Lanes update and Terran Armada DLC only giving players more to explore in the already massive universe.
All in all, introducing Starfield on the PS5 is certainly a game-changer, with the DualSense controller changing the way I play for the better and making the game so much more enjoyable and immersive than it would be on a desktop.
FOUR AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights: The added haptics on the DualSense controller; Free Lanes update
Lowlights: A few glitches here and there
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Platforms: Windows, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5
Available: Now
Review conducted on PS5 with a code provided by the publisher.
Featured header image also provided by the publisher.
