Starfield Director Explains Why There Are No Vehicles

Todd Howard has addressed why they chose not to have vehicles in Starfield. Starfield is finally here and fans are digging into just about every aspect of it. Bethesda intentionally kept the new RPG shrouded in secrecy for the better part of a decade, only really starting to talk specifics this past summer. The new game builds off the foundation the developer has laid with Fallout and Elder Scrolls, but takes it all to space and allows you to explore a thousand different planets. Some players have been disappointed by how they can explore the world, especially after playing games like No Man’s Sky which lets you fly in and out of atmospheres and fly your spaceship around the planet itself. In Starfield, space travel is a bit more limited as you can jump between systems, but you’re largely orbiting around planets for combat until you enter a cutscene to land on a planet.

Players are also a bit annoyed by how exploration works in Starfield. You must walk everywhere which makes sense for planets with cities, but is a bit less enjoyable on more desolate planets. This can become an issue when you become over-encumbered while exploring and can no longer run without actively harming your O2 levels or fast travel back to a ship. Fans are hoping a future update or mod will add in some kind of rovers or other ground vehicles, like No Man’s Sky, and let you move through the world with a bit more ease. However, Todd Howard claimed in a recent interview with Bloomberg this is intentional. Essentially, it all boils down to forcing players to move through the world at a certain speed and allow them to take in different things without speeding right through them.

Why Starfield Has No Vehicles

“It’s something we consider, we’re going to do outer space, we’re gonna do planets, once you do vehicles, it does change the gameplay,” said Howard. “By focusing on once you land your ship, you’re on foot, it lets us make it an experience where we know how fast they’re seeing things. In one sense you do have a vehicle, you have your space ship, you can go around in space. On the surface, you do have a jetpack which you can upgrade which is a super fun, new experience for us. And obviously, planets have different levels of gravity which makes that unique for many planets.”

Starfield Review

ComicBook.com gave Starfield a 4 out of 5 and noted that despite its issues, it’s a worthy Bethesda RPG: “My opinion of Starfield is overall high despite what the many criticisms outlined here might suggest. It’s a Bethesda RPG, and even Bethesda’s middling options blow competitors out of the water when it comes to choice and freedom, so Starfield was always going to be a success. Whether it’s enough of a success to uplift Xbox and make someone buy a new console is another discussion, but Starfield itself is perfectly competent and – dare I say it – fun, and even the most frustrating moments were unable to deter me from wanting more.”