So, Starfield was a disappointment (in my opinion). The story isn't interesting. The lore and world-building do not make sense. The game mechanics do not mesh together. (And it doesn't run well on the Steam Deck.)

But the promise of Starfield? The big space game? The big space RPG where you can play as Captain Reynolds type character? That's something I can get behind. I want to traverse space, visit different planets, get lost, meet interesting characters, solve their problems, and shoot some stuff. Two games come to my mind when I think of this:

No Man's Sky
Mass Effect

I've only played a few hours of No Man's Sky, but I think it does space traversal well. To put it bluntly, flying from planet to planet without interruption is better than fast travel. But the gameplay loop did not

Mass Effect nails the space adventure side of things. You visit multiple interesting places, you meet different people with curious problems, and you solve these problems (mainly by shooting). But it's a typical Bioware game: The places you visit are small and confined, and there are (comparatively) few of them. The space traversal is done by clicking a few buttons in a menu.

My question is: Are there any “big space games”? Are there any games that deliver on the promise of Starfield? What are your favourite sci-fi RPGs?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] winety@lemmy.zip 6 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I’ve had my eyes on the X series for a long time. But they’re “fly around in your ship and do stuff” games and not “fly around and walk around” games, right? I’ve also heard there’s no learning curve, more of a learning wall.

You’re right, Star Trek Online is close to my ideal game. If only it weren’t a janky MMO…

I looked at Derek Smart’s games. I don’t think I’m cut out for this. But they kinda reminded of a GDC talk by Jeff Vogel where he talks about how he makes a living by making these niche isometric RPGs.

[–] darreninthenet@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

What about it being a janky MMO takes it away from being your ideal game though?

I really wouldn't look at DS's games, they are shite.

[–] winety@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

What about it being a janky MMO takes it away from being your ideal game though?

Quite a bit, I think. It being an MMO has some practical consequences, namely the fact that I can't play it offline and the monetization of the game. It also influences the game mechanics: For example, STO's combat uses tabbed targeting¹. I like tabbed targeting² but I don't think it's the peak of combat systems; a different combat system could/would make the game more engaging and enjoyable.

I can look at the individual parts of the game. There STO shines. But when I look at STO as a one compact package, it doesn't.

¹ It also has a shooter mode but I remember it being janky as hell.

² I'd actually love to see a sort of “offline MMO” which would use tabbed targeting.

[–] darreninthenet@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 1 day ago

Thanks!

[–] Demigodrick@lemmy.zip 11 points 3 days ago

In X4 you can walk around on ships and stations, jump in other ships etc. It's very limited though, which is a shame.

The gameplay is fantastic though, you could lose days building an empire.