Starfield’s New Game Plus Is Cool, But TES 6 & Fallout 5 Should Skip It
03.12.2023 - 18:39
/ screenrant.com
The new game plus mechanic in is intriguing, but future Bethesda games like and would be better off without it. Bethesda’s latest title has been the subject of much debate since its launch, and critique has only grown as the players have spent more time with it. NG+ is one of the most prominent points of contention for several reasons. It is a bit concerning for the studio's future titles, especially if Bethesda decides to double down on the mechanic. Of course, future iterations would likely be better than what it is in, but it can be argued that Bethesda games don’t even need new game plus to begin with.
[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Starfield.]
introduced a few exciting features new to Bethesda games, like expansive custom shipbuilding, but new game plus is perhaps the most game-changing. However, it is really only game-changing for Bethesda’s titles, since NG+ has been a prevalent feature in modern roleplaying games for quite some time. has highlighted how dated the studio’s formula has become, but the addition of new game plus could point to Bethesda’s desire to evolve. However, it may not be entirely necessary to craft a great experience. To be clear, Bethesda did something really intriguing with ’s new game plus, but it comes up short in some glaring ways.
Related: «An Instant Classic»: Starfield Review
’s new game plus makes perfect sense in its world, but it’s ultimately pretty shallow. Bethesda’s inclination to tie the game mechanic to a narrative concept in the game world is brilliant. When players finally reach the game’s end and discover the Unity, they are offered a choice to stay in the current universe or see what awaits in another. Upon entering a new universe, the player character becomes Starborn, taking all their knowledge from the previous universe into the next. This opens up new dialogue choices and ways to progress through the quests.
It’s a unique take on the multiverse trend that so many games, films, and television series are jumping into lately, but it does so in an intriguing way that helps define ’s lore. There is exciting potential in the idea that the player character knows exactly what the player knows and can use that knowledge to affect the world around them. It’s a clever display of meta commentary on replaying a game when already knowing everything about its characters and story. In a way, it brings the player much closer to being the actual player character.
However, doesn’t go far enough with this concept to make it a compelling part of the gameplay. There are only minor differences in ’s multiple universes, which only occur at the beginning of a NG+ playthrough. There is a huge missed opportunity to have drastically different plot