Summary
Starfieldhas finally arrived, and it seems to be doing almost everything right. It has taken the tried-and-true Bethesda RPG formula to a whole new genre, which has led to an exhilarating experience so far. This has quickly cemented it as one of the best sci-fi RPGs in years, with the chance to become even better thanks to post-launch DLC. While all of that sounds great, there is something aboutStarfieldthat seems to be lacking when compared toFalloutandSkyrim.
One of the coolest aspects of a Bethesda RPG is the ability for players to collect literally anything they see. The studio fills its worlds with all sorts of different items to help make it feel more lived-in, and lets players grab pretty much anything they want. This has made these games feel like a hoarder’s dream. However,Starfieldseems to be limiting playersby making their carrying capacity significantly smaller than past titles. This feels like a strange decision after decades of letting players hoard in-game items, but maybe it can be fixed.
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Starfield’s Carrying Capacity Was Not Made for Hoarders
Just like with past Bethesda RPGs,Starfieldplayers can grab lots of miscellaneous items during their adventures. Every location is filled to the brim with items, even if most of them are entirely useless. The only thing holding players back is their character’s carrying capacity. Once they have exceeded that capacity, they become overencumbered, and are forced to walk to conserve their O2. This is nothing new for Bethesda games, yetStarfielddid change one thing drastically.
Unlike previous Bethesda RPGs,Starfield’s carrying capacity is incredibly small.Fallout 4players started with a capacity of 200 whileSkyrim’s starting capacity was 300. This gave players a ton of space to gather whatever they wanted during their adventures, and it was very easy to increase that space as they leveled up. On the other hand,Starfield’s starting capacity is only 135 kilograms. While it can also be increased as players level up, it can never be as much as past games.
Starfield’s small carrying capacitymeans that players can barely grab anything as they explore the galaxy. Even clearing out one room in an outpost will result in a full inventory, which prevents players from actually becoming a space hoarder. If they are willing to put up with overencumberance, then they should have no problem grabbing whatever they want. However, most players will likely get annoyed by that mechanic, and will instead focus on picking up only the important things.
Even picking upStarfield’s important stuff can be a nuisance, though, as it does not take long for that inventory to fill up. Things like weapons and suits often weigh a lot, which makes players far more selective in what they pick up. While being more selective is probably a good thing, it does feel rather limiting after years of being able to pick up everything players can see.
It would be one thing if Bethesda had never let hoarders run wild within its worlds, but it did, and that makes the lack of carrying capacity feel strange. While players may have a spaceship to help them carry things, they should have been able to carry a lot more things in their inventory. Even leveling up does not really open up the inventory much, which makes collecting feel rather limited. Hopefully, Bethesda rectifies this ina futureStarfieldupdate or DLCbecause players want to live out their space hoarding dreams. After all, the countless markers and pens are not going to collect themselves.
Starfieldis available now for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
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