As the developers of both The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, among many others, it’s hard to imagine how hyped fans are to see more of Bethesda’s first new IP in a long time. Unfortunately, outside of the initial trailer at E3 2021 and 5-minute footage in March, Bethesda hasn’t shown much of Starfield.
With a little over half a year to go before its launch, it’s safe to say that Bethesda probably won’t be talking much about Starfield until June, which would have been the schedule for E3 2022 before it was canceled. If it’s any consolation, we are getting more news of Starfield, albeit from an unofficial source. Reddit delivers with its latest video game leaks with five new screenshots of Starfield from an old 2018 Starfield build. The five pictures feature game assets, textures, and mock-ups for the HUD. Although Starfield will probably look different once the game comes out in November, these early looks do hint at the direction that Bethesda is taking with the project. Specifically, when it comes to its aesthetic, Bethesda is aiming for a “NASA-punk” theme. Many gamers have described this as an attempt to bring back the magic of spaceflight, a foreign feeling to the majority of today’s gamers. What’s particularly interesting about the leaked assets is their quality - there’s a chance that the early concepts might have been final or close to it and the final build won’t look too different.
Unfortunately, the original poster didn’t include any context attached to the images. This leaves gamers are still in the dark about the setting and narrative of Starfield. Perhaps this is for the better. Even if today’s audiences have been desensitized to space travel and flight, Bethesda could take advantage of the mysterious allure surrounding Starfield and that we still know very little about the world beyond. For what it’s worth, Bethesda believes a lot in Starfield. At least, enough to prioritize the sci-fi RPG over working on The Elder Scrolls VI, which says plenty. Starfield is Bethesda’s first foray into science-fiction, so it’s easy to understand why some fans are concerned. Hopefully, Starfield doesn’t buckle under the weight of expectations as Bethesda’s first new IP and game.
