Will Starfield Ever Get a Cyberpunk-Style Renaissance?

Whatever you do, don’t call it Starfield 2.0: At a recent preview event for the big updates and content drops coming to Starfield, Bethesda seemed eager to downplay any comparison to the kinds of extensive overhauls enjoyed by the likes of Cyberpunk 2077, No Man’s Sky, or indeed, Fallout 76.Personally, I think they’re selling themselves short: while the Free Lanes update isn’t a big ground-up remake of Starfield that magically transforms it into a different game, none of the other things we might be tempted to compare it to are that either. No Man’s Sky and Cyberpunk 2077 are still, away from all the hype, largely the same minute-to-minute experiences that they were at launch. Whatever they clamp onto it, Starfield is and will remain Starfield – a space life sim and questing RPG that offers a scifi twist on the basic core gameplay that Bethesda have been peddling since Morrowind. The same framework, the same idiosyncrasies, and more or less the same engine. The latter being the big, underlying Starfield problem you cannot fix by throwing more stuff into it. Overhaul or not, what’s coming on April 7th is a suite of crowd-pleasers: a bunch of free DLC, a not-free expansion, the much rumoured PS5 version, and an extension to the ever popular best-in-class ship builder. The Free Lanes update is the key thing: it vastly expands the space sim part of Starfield’s burgeoning package to include Cruise Mode, which essentially adds a new layer of game sandwiched between the on-planet and in-orbit stuff that’s already there. Cruise Mode allows for manual travel between planets, something which was always technically possible, but pointless, arduous, and infamously broken. Now it’s a cool, fast way of getting around star systems that comes with its own unique challenges and radiant events. Free Lanes also adds a new major space port, Anchorpoint, sure to be a wretched hive of scum and low-tier freelance opportunities, like the average Games Journo discord.Fans of Fallout’s vault boy bobbleheads (that’s all of us, right?) will enjoy the new Colony Wars action figures and associated playsets: a set of interactive toys that give stat boosts. This adorable addition feels like a concession to the idea that Starfield always felt a bit more po-faced than the other Bethesda games. It’s certainly the least intentionally goofy, and not in a good way. Bringing back this beloved Fallout feature in this enhanced in-universe toy form brings a sense of sorely missed daftness, but also meaningfully connects Starfield to its much more beloved stablemates: a reminder of why Skyrim in Space was such a compelling pitch in the first place. For better or worse, Starfield is every bit a Bethesda game, and we used to love those warts n’ all. Cruise Mode looks like it’s more or less a giant “room” where you fly around a diorama of the solar system. Interdictions that take you back into Normal Space do so with a very obvious bokeh-dissolve that really doesn’t hide the join all that well. Making a space game with Bethesda’s tech is like building anything more substantial than a personal blog in WordPress: possible, with caveats. Cramming a space sim into a framework designed very specifically to make Elder Scrolls games was always going to be something of a bodge job. They’re doing the game design equivalent of building a car with nothing but garden tools, the fact that it gets anywhere at all is quite remarkable. Though it’s Bethesda’s most forward thinking game in spirit, in practice it’s a massive regression, a throwback to the procedurally generated vastness of Daggerfall, a game so big it felt tiny: boasting a land mass twice the size of actual Great Britain but with nowhere near enough intrigue to fill a shed in Swindon, it could also have been described as irresponsibly big. Its sequel, Morrowind, the game that put Bethesda on the map and provides the basic template for their games to this day, made a point of being entirely hand-crafted. Not even a single percentage point of the size of Daggerfall, it nonetheless felt enormous, because its map could barely contain all of the intricate adventures within. Back then, Bethesda learnt the lesson that less is more, but it seems to be a lesson it is eager to forget. Starfield isn’t anyone’s favourite Bethesda game. It certainly isn’t mine (Morrowind, need you ask). But I admire it for how close it gets to an ideal that should be entirely out of the question. If nothing else, it’s a masterclass in making do. Free Lanes isn’t a do-over, or an overhaul, or even something that makes Starfield palatable for those who bounced off it before. But it does add a rich new set of features and intrigue to a game that many of us desperately want to love, because for all of its shortcomings, it is Skyrim in Space, and even after we’ve been presented with a gigantic neon sign that says “Skyrim in Space Doesn’t Work”, it remains a most enticing prospect. Jim Trinca is a Video Producer at IGN, and when he

Apr 4, 2026 - 20:21

Will Starfield Ever Get a Cyberpunk-Style Renaissance?

Whatever you do, don’t call it Starfield 2.0: At a recent preview event for the big updates and content drops coming to Starfield, Bethesda seemed eager to downplay any comparison to the kinds of extensive overhauls enjoyed by the likes of Cyberpunk 2077, No Man’s Sky, or indeed, Fallout 76.

Personally, I think they’re selling themselves short: while the Free Lanes update isn’t a big ground-up remake of Starfield that magically transforms it into a different game, none of the other things we might be tempted to compare it to are that either. No Man’s Sky and Cyberpunk 2077 are still, away from all the hype, largely the same minute-to-minute experiences that they were at launch. Whatever they clamp onto it, Starfield is and will remain Starfield – a space life sim and questing RPG that offers a scifi twist on the basic core gameplay that Bethesda have been peddling since Morrowind. The same framework, the same idiosyncrasies, and more or less the same engine. The latter being the big, underlying Starfield problem you cannot fix by throwing more stuff into it.

Overhaul or not, what’s coming on April 7th is a suite of crowd-pleasers: a bunch of free DLC, a not-free expansion, the much rumoured PS5 version, and an extension to the ever popular best-in-class ship builder. The Free Lanes update is the key thing: it vastly expands the space sim part of Starfield’s burgeoning package to include Cruise Mode, which essentially adds a new layer of game sandwiched between the on-planet and in-orbit stuff that’s already there.

Cruise Mode allows for manual travel between planets, something which was always technically possible, but pointless, arduous, and infamously broken. Now it’s a cool, fast way of getting around star systems that comes with its own unique challenges and radiant events. Free Lanes also adds a new major space port, Anchorpoint, sure to be a wretched hive of scum and low-tier freelance opportunities, like the average Games Journo discord.

Fans of Fallout’s vault boy bobbleheads (that’s all of us, right?) will enjoy the new Colony Wars action figures and associated playsets: a set of interactive toys that give stat boosts. This adorable addition feels like a concession to the idea that Starfield always felt a bit more po-faced than the other Bethesda games. It’s certainly the least intentionally goofy, and not in a good way.

Bringing back this beloved Fallout feature in this enhanced in-universe toy form brings a sense of sorely missed daftness, but also meaningfully connects Starfield to its much more beloved stablemates: a reminder of why Skyrim in Space was such a compelling pitch in the first place. For better or worse, Starfield is every bit a Bethesda game, and we used to love those warts n’ all.

Cruise Mode looks like it’s more or less a giant “room” where you fly around a diorama of the solar system. Interdictions that take you back into Normal Space do so with a very obvious bokeh-dissolve that really doesn’t hide the join all that well. Making a space game with Bethesda’s tech is like building anything more substantial than a personal blog in WordPress: possible, with caveats. Cramming a space sim into a framework designed very specifically to make Elder Scrolls games was always going to be something of a bodge job. They’re doing the game design equivalent of building a car with nothing but garden tools, the fact that it gets anywhere at all is quite remarkable.

Though it’s Bethesda’s most forward thinking game in spirit, in practice it’s a massive regression, a throwback to the procedurally generated vastness of Daggerfall, a game so big it felt tiny: boasting a land mass twice the size of actual Great Britain but with nowhere near enough intrigue to fill a shed in Swindon, it could also have been described as irresponsibly big.

Its sequel, Morrowind, the game that put Bethesda on the map and provides the basic template for their games to this day, made a point of being entirely hand-crafted. Not even a single percentage point of the size of Daggerfall, it nonetheless felt enormous, because its map could barely contain all of the intricate adventures within. Back then, Bethesda learnt the lesson that less is more, but it seems to be a lesson it is eager to forget.

Starfield isn’t anyone’s favourite Bethesda game. It certainly isn’t mine (Morrowind, need you ask). But I admire it for how close it gets to an ideal that should be entirely out of the question. If nothing else, it’s a masterclass in making do. Free Lanes isn’t a do-over, or an overhaul, or even something that makes Starfield palatable for those who bounced off it before. But it does add a rich new set of features and intrigue to a game that many of us desperately want to love, because for all of its shortcomings, it is Skyrim in Space, and even after we’ve been presented with a gigantic neon sign that says “Skyrim in Space Doesn’t Work”, it remains a most enticing prospect.

Jim Trinca is a Video Producer at IGN, and when he isn't fawning over Assassin's Creed, he can be found watching Star Trek and eating stuff. Follow him on @jimtrinca.bsky.social

Tags:

House Flipper peaks at 63k players

What's Your Reaction?

Dislike

Love

Funny

Angry

Sad

Wow

XINKER - Business and Income Tips Explore XINKER, the ultimate platform for mastering business strategies, discovering passive income opportunities, and learning success principles. Join a community of thinkers dedicated to achieving financial freedom and entrepreneurial excellence.