Starfield’s best early-game gunfight takes place in zero gravity
Bethesda Game Studios isn’t necessarily highly regarded for its expertise in digital gunplay, but afterward StarfieldThat could very well change. Numerous critics, including here at Polygon, have praised its combat. Personally, I found the weapons to feel heavy, reasonably accurate, and satisfyingly powerful. It’s a big improvement over the collection of feathered pop-guns from the Fallout series.
Turns out there’s an excellent opportunity to test drive those new weapons early in the game. In fact, this zero-gravity firefight might be one of the game’s very best.
(Ed. remark: The following contains spoilers for the side mission to the Almagest space station Starfield.)
On my way from Alpha Centauri, while following the Mantis mission series, I came across the Olympus star system. Around the planet Nesoi I came across a fairly standard looking radial space station, which looked a lot like Constellation’s own starbase known as The Eye. However, when the station was called, all that returned was static. Never a good sign.
When I boarded the station, I found myself at the end of a gilded corridor – completely weightless and guided only by the jets on my backpack. Through the windows on either side I could see that something was wrong, there was a lot of debris floating around the empty space station. Just then a Spacer floated by, its bark signaling the start of a serious firefight. One level below, all hell broke loose.
The battle space rewards aggression, with little more than a single decorative grid separating the player from the bulk of the enemies. Proficiency with a jetpack should allow you to close the distance quickly, isolating individual enemies in the room. Grenades and shotguns also help break up the core group, which is surprisingly good at repositioning itself and using cover to its advantage. It also helps that the action starts quite close to the airlock. Towards the end, even my robot Vasco got in on the action.
What surprised me most was how well the physics system performed. We have seen it There are a lot of potatoes flying around in Starfield, but not that many corpses. I’m happy to report that Bethesda’s classically comic ragdoll effects are well-tuned to zero G, with dead spacers spinning spectacularly around the room and even providing cover as they sail by.
It comes down to? Almagest is an excellent early playground. If you haven’t explored yet, bring some of your favorite weapons and make a solid save point. You’ll want to play it again and again to put the game’s combat systems to the test.
Just remember: if you fight in zero G, the enemy’s gate has been broken down.