Back in June, the first Starfield “review” surfaced online, courtesy of Metacritic and its user reviews. As you would expect, the review gave the game a zero. Meanwhile, on the flip side of things Xbox fans are already defending the game’s bugs before it’s even out. And these two events sum up the discourse around the game, which has been intimately intertwined with console war discourse. There is seemingly a sect of Xbox fans desperate for Xbox to finally get its massive release this generation and a sect of PlayStation fans desperate to see it fail. There have been a couple of games this generation that have been swallowed up by console war discourse, such as Halo Infinite, but not to this extent.
Videos by ComicBook.com
It’s unclear how someone managed to begin the review bombing campaign of Starfield before it’s even out. We may never know how this has happened, but a post over on Twitter has been making the rounds, showing that it may just be the start of the campaign against the game.
Of course, it’s easy to chalk up the threat as nothing more than a troll looking for attention, but we’ve already seen there’s a target on the game. And whether this is an example of trolling or not, it’s increasingly obvious Metacritic, Steam, and other places that allow for user reviews are going to have their work cut out come September.
Starfield is set to release worldwide on September 6 via Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC. When it releases, it will cost $69.99 and be available via Xbox Game Pass. For more coverage on the game, click here. Meanwhile, and as always, feel free to weigh in with your thoughts via a comment. Do you think Starfield is going to receive an unprecedented level of scrutiny and campaigns against it?
“In the year 2330, humanity has ventured beyond our solar system, settling new planets, and living as a spacefaring people,” reads an official blurb about the game. “You will join Constellation – the last group of space explorers seeking rare artifacts throughout the galaxy – and navigate the vast expanse of space in Bethesda Game Studios’ biggest and most ambitious game.”
